It's always an adventure negotiating the back blocks of Japan with narry an idea, inspiration or plan! Once again taking advantage of the ridiculous good value that is the Japan Rail Pass, this time we're going to try to find our way in and around the nooks and crannies of Kyushu with a five day unlimited pass that can take us anywhere on the island that steel tracks will go! The Shinkansen is included as are all limited express trains and a few novelty/quirky ones at that: we just need to find the time this week to do a vague sort of plan of attack.
Budget Asian airlines don't often drop from the sky, so we're hoping this record will hold just a little longer. Despite all their efforts to trade us up in terms of hotels, rental cars, luggage weights and even meals and snacks, we've resisted all overtures and have the basic no-frills 7 kg carry-on, legs cramped onto the seat in front, middle of the plane cattle call. Who cares for a few hours? Not us!
We're leaving at the crack of dawn on Sunday, flying to Fukuoka, catching a taxi to the train station, changing our vouchers for a rail pass, booking some tickets on the limited express to Nagasaki, then catching the tram from the station to the hotel before meeting up with Mark and Himiko. That's the plan as best laid! We'll wine and dine and sight-see with them for the remainder of the day and that night before trundling off in another train, destination unknown, on Monday morning. Our mission is then to train-hop around the island, staying at little ryokan (inns) in tiny towns and cities dotted around the southernmost of Japan's great island system. It will be a further blast for me following on from my 30th anniversary tour last Christmas: I remember getting covered up in the hot, massaging sands of Beppu and eating a mixed seafood grill on the seashore more than those three decades ago!
In preparation for the big trip we've been doing exactly nothing! Consumed with the demands of work, where we've negotiated a very heavy grading burden lately along with the vagaries of a new unit on Shakespeare, we've been content to flop, quite unceremoniously, on the lounge on the weekends recovering before the working week rolls around again. My enervating man-flu hasn't helped matters and the most I could manage was a wander down to Lutetia to get some sandwiches on the weekend, even accepting Cassy's offer to walk and get some takeaway pizza from the incomparable Pizzeria Oggi for our Saturday night dinner.
While I sneaked into an early bed on Friday night to tend my heavy chest, Cass went out to Sherry's place for the latest installment of her Book Club. From all reports they had a great time and as usual, wined and dined impressively and found out all the latest and greatest about each others lives and loved ones, with a touch of salacious scandal dolloped in to the mix if you please!
While in the flight and accommodation booking mode, we made some bookings for the Sunshine Coast to meet up again with Ross and Ainsley this July. They conveniently plonked their school holidays in a quiet period between football games and we're looking forward to the annual festivities already. Speaking of football, it would be remiss of us not to mention the mighty resurgent Knights: two from two to start the season.....it's looking very promising!
Must away! I'm reading the impressively written Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan, while Cass is, with much sadness, slowly eking out the final pleasures that Kinsey Milhone will bring to us in Sue Grafton's ultimate alphabet mystery, Y is for Yesterday.
Photos: inflatable toys on car roofs, money fans and outdoor shots, notably of cherry blossoms which we hope to see in full bloom in Japan come next week. Last photo: Spirit Week is upon us and my homeroom kids decided to dress as "teachers"....not bad!