Monday, July 19, 2010

Where was I?

The night of that first full day, I really wanted to take another long walk, but I think I was ready to drop by 8:30. They don't do daylight savings here, though, so it did get dark really early. I wouldn't figure that out for nearly a week, however, and thought I was just out of my mind from suddenly being on the other end of the earth, thinking it was getting dark way too soon.
I had eaten plenty despite the vegetarian thing- there are dango, cracker and cookie stalls all over the place, and on top of that I got inarizushi and an enormous apple from the supermarket down the street (it was tiny, and reminded me of New York) though that meant I wasn't really eating any vegetables. Knowing I'd soon be picking my own dinner more or less every day made that easier to run with, though. Asakusa at night is very peaceful- there were a few tipsy businessmen talking really loudly while stumbling home, and some outdoor restaurants were open with people sitting at tables on the sidewalks, but it was pretty quiet. There were a lot of nicer looking bars and restaurants that seemed to be open, but since I don't eat most things they'd serve, I was alone so I wouldn't drink, and I speak so little Japanese, I didn't go into any. They are mostly very small and cozy- looking almost like residences, and I'd love to check some of them out again if I spoke more or was with other people, but that night it was fun just to wander around and soak up the atmosphere. There were still more places open on the main roads, but I tried to stay away from the convenience stores for the most part, since they're full of really interesting snacks that I didn't need.
I got up the second morning a little later, closer to 7, and walked around with my hotel coffee one more time before I'd have to leave. I actually had to go back to the post office a second time so I could mail stuff I'd bought back home, since I'd picked up a lot of omiyage that I really couldn't fit in my overstuffed bag.
It was sad to leave, but there was still so much more to do- I squashed everything into my giant 35-dollar-on-amazon backpack (I think it must have weighed near 45 lbs with everything) said goodbye to the hotel staff and made one last lap around Nakamise Dori (basically just means central market street- Asakusa's had a big market there for hundreds of years, I think) ... Then went down into the train station to start making my way towards Osaka.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

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