Category: Travel

Karneval

Volume 2, Day 4

Though the Karneval der Kulture was taking place over a four day weekend, Sunday was to be the highlight with a big parade. As that was scheduled to begin at 12:30 and I was up bright and early at 5am, I had plenty of time to kill in the morning. I drank coffee and focused on German language study, but still ended up feeling a bit peckish and restless. I went out to stretch my legs and find a bakery or something. German supermarkets close on Sundays for some anti-capitalist reason, but there was a bakery in operation. Despite the weather report indicating cooler temperatures, the way the was beating down on me convinced me that I needed to switch to shorts.

Around 11am, I gave up on hanging around the hostel with any vague idea of forming an impromptu group and headed over to the Karneval grounds. It was a good 3 kilometers away by the direct route, but I took a scenic route, cutting through a number of parks and the heart of Kreuzberg. I must remark that every single bench of the first park had a drug dealer. I’ve seen tons all over the Friedrichshain area, which I guess makes sense with the clubbing culture. But, it is annoying, to constantly have to fend off the low key sales pitches (“How are you doing?”).

While wandering through Kreuzberg, I noticed a bustling Mexican restaurant (called Que Pasa). Their Sunday brunch looked like a decent price, and if there was actually Mexican food involved, it may be worth bookmarking. I’ve also noticed at least five “Que Pasas” around Berlin.

I was following a green strip along a river/canal the final stretch to hit the corner of the Karneval. The first collection of booths was all Latin American food and I was stricken with an urge to start pricing plane tickets from the US to Chile. My stomach was growling and I had to start thinking about strategizing my consumption. Especially, considering how insanely priced the alcoholic offerings were. That certainly didn’t seem to slow down the Germans, many of whom appeared at least two sheets to the wind. I crossed the river on a bridge to the main section of Karneval, where there was a greater variety of food stalls interspersed with the odd stage and amateur performance. Spotting a bratwurst shop, I had to grab one. Perfekt.

Checking my watch, I saw there wasn’t much time until the parade was to begin so I skipped the rest of the karneval to head two blocks south to actual parade route. People mountain, people sea. Spotting a Spati, I popped in to grab a refreshment and milled about along the parade route looking for a decent place to watch. The parade was really something. I had an inclination that a German Carnival of Cultures would be racially tonedeaf, and I was not disappointed in that regard. Most of the floats (or more like processions as it was less about a big vehicles than thematic groups of people) was aiming to capture the spirit of some global culture. The first one was about Amazonian aboriginals, so I got to see lots of white people pretending to be First Nations.

Its like being back in Tokyo, except I didn’t go to that festival

I was smart to pick the side of the parade route with my back to the sun (so it wasn’t shining in my eyes), but it still sizzled my back. Having long since finished my first beer, I was getting thirsty and eventually decided to risk losing my otherwise good spot on a beer run. I had to walk a couple blocks south from the parade route to find a Spati (bodega) and picked up two. I watched another hour or so of the parade and it seemed to be almost over, so I decided to hit the pizza place on the corner selling “mini-pizzas” for 2.50 each. A so-called mini pizza is essentially just a quarter of the full-sized oblong pizza, so upon further reflection I realized that these Italians have a pretty good scam going. (Based on countless research, a full pizza costs 6-8 euros). Obviously, the pizza was amazing.

I headed back towards the bodega to grab another beer and I was shocked to notice that they had increased all the prices. In fact, I could clearly see one guy still quickly working to cover all the original price tags with handwritten new prices. Surge pricing for beer, that’s a new one. Whereas the shop had been empty on my last visit, it was now completely full of people. There was an international group loitering around outside the front, and when their leader called out in English “ok let’s go, keep moving,” I impulsively followed along.

It was a school group from some university in some small town in Germany, just in town for the Karneval. I chatted with several of them while walking along the streets. They turned left at some point back up towards the parade. Because of the parade, the police had closed all the adjoining roads to traffic, so the massive crowds of pedestrians had taken over a lot of the streets in a sort of impromptu block party. While heading up this one street, there was a group of German youths who had chalked out a disco floor and dancing to a pair a speakers propped up on a third floor window. Carried away with the spirit of the day, I stopped and danced for a while.

People Mountain, People Sea

Alone again, I continued to find that the parade was actually still in full swing. An African DJ was playing beats out of the back of a pickup truck and about a hundred partiers were following along. I slipped into that crowd and continued dancing. I dropped out of the parade at the next Spati to get something to quench my thirst. As this shop was right on the parade route, there was a queue to even get into the shop. I must say, though the shop owners upped the prices in response to the celebration, they weren’t exactly gouging us. The beer was still a fraction of what it would cost at a bar or restaurant.

I sipped my beer and watched the parade for a bit, occasionally moving backwards against traffic to see what was coming next. As an Indian float came by playing a textbook Bollywood type track, I noticed two familiar faces in the following crowd of dancers. It was two of the university students I walked with for a bit. I merged into the parade again and danced along the route all while marveling at the chance of meeting that group again. It wasn’t much longer before they exited the parade and I tagged along. The next goal was to find somewhere to sit and rest and have a drink. According to Google Maps, there was a park nearby, so we headed that way.

While loitering on the street at one point, either waiting for stragglers or debating specific plans, a German drug dealer came by to peddle marijuana. How refreshing to have a local drug dealer. I think he was selling at 10 euros an ounce and the students just started forking money over to him. “Give me one, no, make it two, actually five.” I tried to intervene to haggle a little bit, but astute businessman that he was, he clearly saw no reason to leave any profit on the table when the customers were so eager to part with their money.

We found the park and decided to split up to source food and beverages. I went with one guy to grab some beers and water. We returned to the rendezvous point, but still had to wait a while for the food group to return. The food group did not actually bring any food back with them. Afterwards we headed into the park to find a place to sit down. On one field, there were two impromptu discos set up with actual speakers and djs. We hung out for a while, but around 7, they had to take off to meet up with the rest of their group. I figured that was a good time for me to begin the journey home.

When I was only a couple blocks away from the hostel, I spotted a Turkish bakery and bought some calzone type bread filled with spinach and feta. Three doors down, I spotted a line for gelato, and ate my bread while queued for dessert. It came in a waffle cone. It was amazing. In fact, the whole day had been full of just the best food.

I returned to the hostel, drank a lot of water, and finished watching “The Sixth Sense” before going to sleep.

Shokolade brotchen1.5
Bratwurst mit brotchen3.5
Beers6.8
Pizza5
More beers and water3.5
Backery1.6
Eis (Shokolade mit minz)2.2
Total: 24.1 EUR
(188 RMB)
(USD 27)

Running Total: 3480 RMB (USD 503)
Daily Average: 870 RMB (USD 125.75)

Einkaufen

Volume 2, Day 3

I must have spent at least four hours in the morning writing and studying German, and I also spent 20 minutes working out in the courtyard. I declined to go for a jog because I was thinking I’d do a lot of walking.

As I was about to head out the door to a fleamarket, my plans were slightly derailed by the arrival of an email. A mutual friend had put me in touch with a Berlin-based contact. Earlier in the morning, I had dashed off a “hi” message, not really expecting a prompt response. At this point, there isn’t much of a story to tell, other than that I had a window of a couple hours where I looking for Wi-Fi hotspots and refreshing my inbox to see if we were going to arrange a meetup that day for a lunch or coffee.

Having sent out a reply and not wanting to sit around the hotel lobby waiting, I headed up the street to find the fleamarket. It wasn’t there, though, I felt validated that the sign was clearly there advertising “Jedes Samstag.” I headed a little further north to the Boxhagener Platz, where there was in fact a Wochendmarkt. Because there were no available Wi-fi hotspots and I was waiting for a email response, I didn’t walk around the farmer’s market. Instead, I headed back towards the hostel and popped into the shopping mall. I browsed the Rewe Supermarket after dashing off another email to kill time for a bit.

I headed back to the hostel for a few minutes before literally turning around and going back to the supermarket to buy some stuff for lunch. I was hungry and went a bit overboard buying a salad, cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and serrano ham to make a hearty salad.

I ate my lunch at the hostel courtyard while a group of women and one guy were practicing a dance routine for a performance at the Carnival of Cultures. There was a lot of twerking involved, so they attracted the attention of a group of guys roaming around with beers in hand. Finishing my lunch, I went into the lobby where the sofas are more comfortable than the picnic table to study a bit more German.

I started getting sleepy so I ran upstairs to take a nap. It was nearly 3pm before I got back up and I realized I was wasting the day. I still wanted to checkout the weekend market, so I wandered over that way. As I was leaving the hostel, I heard a huge racket. There was a truck rolling down the street with a punk band playing on it. A police van with a dozen officers in riot gear followed dutifully a short distance behind. I need to get over to this Culture Carnival. It has got to be insane.

The Farmer’s Market was wonderful–exactly what one would expect of a farmers market: produce, herbs, cheese, sausages, handicrafts, and a couple of stalls serving Turkish food. I was stuffed, but I grabbed a doppio espresso and leisurely wandered around, “channel switching” between snatches of overheard conversations, 95% of which were in German. Maybe it was the caffeine boost or the more static nature of the market, but I found it much easier to eavesdrop of conversations than in the streets and parks. Actually, roaming the streets, I feel I am as likely to eat not-German as I am to hear German.

During my second loop of the market (which wasn’t that big to begin with), I noticed that most of the stalls were breaking down and packing up. The market must end by 4pm. I headed back to the mall for the nth time, finally determined to get a SIM card. I lurked around the Saturn electronics retailer where I observed one foreign tourist get set up with O2 service before deciding that I should just roll the dice on the cheapest option–the Aldi downstairs. I bought the 12.99 Euro starter pack and headed back to the hostel to see if I could manage the registration on my own.

I don’t know how long ago it was, but Germany has some strict identity verification laws for telecommunications. I had to plug in a bunch of information to the AldiTalk website (only available in German) then go through a webcam live interview to get registered. The UI is a bit patchy and created a bit of a headache by sending me to a German speaking interviewer even though there were options for different languages (e.g. English and Turkish) and I definitely selected English. I muddled my way through until there was a problem with my data. Relaunching the registration process, I noticed that my passport validity date was entered incorrectly. I blame the UI because I specifically entered the right year through the popup calendar. Anyways, the second time through was in English and went very smoothly. So, I should be paying 3.99 for 500 MB of data on a 4 week cycle deducted from the 10 Euro starting credit. I’ll need to pick up another 5 Euro recharge from an Aldi before I leave Germany, but I should be all set as EU rules forbid roaming charges.

I hung around the hostel not really sure what else to do. Most of the travelers are in large groups and there isn’t really the chill backpacking atmosphere where everyone is friendly and striking up conversations. It would help if I smoked and was drinking like a fish, but nonetheless, Berlin is a bit isolating. Having nothing better to do, I fulfilled my filial duty with a Skype call.

Afterwards, I decided that there was no point in hanging around the hostel, so I grabbed the left over paprika chips and my picnic blanket and decided to grab some beers and lay out on the lawn. On the way, I decided I might as well go a little further and go have a beer at the Holzmarkt. I still grabbed some mineralwasser and a couple beers (a Becks and a Grapefruit thing that I guess wasn’t actually a beer and only 2.5%) at a supermarket on the way.

The Holzmarkt was crazy packed. I sat alone and drank my beer. I was originally thinking of getting a pizza there, but the prospect of queuing twenty minutes for a second beer plus thirty minutes for a pizza did not seem too appetizing. I decided, I might as well save money and grab something cheaper outside. In the end, I walked all the way back to the hostel without getting anything else. The truth is, I wasn’t actually that hungry and it was already past 9pm.

I headed up to the room to try to chill out and watch a movie before going to sleep. I got through about 20 minutes of The Sixth Sense before my eyes started drooping uncontrollably. I don’t even think it was dark outside before I went to sleep. These long summer days are insane. I thought Beijing had long summers, and I was just in Sapporo, northern Japan. It’s mindboggling, but I guess it explains a lot of the European character.

Groceries9.22
Double Espresso1.5
AldiTalk SIM card12.99
Beer & Water2.72
Draft beer4
Total:30.43 EUR
(237.3 RMB)
(USD 34.35)

Running Total: 3291.9 RMB (USD476.4)
Daily Average: 1097.3 RMB (USD 158.8)

Friedrichshain

Volume 2, Day 2

I got a pretty good night sleep, despite several roommates stumbling in at some point after a night of clubbing. I spent a couple hours downstairs drinking coffee and working on the computer until about 8am when my stomach started growling and I was getting a bit of wanderlust.

My first stop was at the Aldi to buy a big bottle of mineralwasser, along with an apple strudel and a pretzel for a breakfast. The offered me a receipt–this is notable because I had been hesitating at the cash registers by instinct waiting for a receipt and embarrassing myself when the cashiers were like “Can I help you?”–and I was surprised to find some surcharge of 25 cents on there. Checking a dictionary, I found it was for a “deposit.” I was confused about this for most of the day, but it eventually made sense (next time i went to store and looked closely at the price tags). I suppose 0.19 Euros for a bottle of mineralwasser is too cheap, so a bottle deposit on top of it is perfectly reasonable. Of course, now I need to figure out if I can actually get the money back. It must be the case because, in the evening, I saw a guy collecting plastic bottles.

Anyways, I crossed the train tracks to check out RAW-Gelande (more on this later) and the streets around Boxhagener Platz. It looks like a cool area, with lots cafes and stuff, but it was pretty early in the morning, and nothing was going on. I parked myself at Boxhagener Platz for about an hour to study German on my Handy. At 10, the fountain kicked on, and between that (which is perfect for kids to run around), the neighboring playground, and the kindergarten groups on their outdoor excursions, I really became primed for viewing the city through the filter of kids. It must be the resonance with my subconscious past, but its a weird. Normally, as I travel I think about things through a lens of “would my parents like it,” but now I’m thinking about things through a “would my China-based friends with kids like it.”

Karl-Marx-Allee

Moving on, I headed over to a green spot on the Google Maps, but it turned out to be a cemetery. I headed up to the big road for a stroll along Karl Marx Allee. If this is what Soviet German architecture is like, sign me up man. The buildings are big, the avenue wide, but it isn’t imposing at all. At least compared to the brutalism of Tiananmen Square.

I reached the Computer Game Museum and decided to shell out the 9 euro entrance ticket. When I overhear conversations in German, I understand maybe half. But when people speak to me directly, I understand zero. The ticket salesperson probably asked me three times in German (before switching to English) if I qualified for a discount ticket. (Also, just now as I am typing this at 7:45 am someone asked if I wanted to drink a beer. Repeated in German a couple of times and my brain did not process any of it). The Computerspielemuseum was pretty cool with an impressive collection of old hardware, tons of videos, and lots of playable games. I spent over two hours, and could have easily killed a day playing the arcade games. I would say some of the choices of playable games were a bit off, e.g. no one visiting a museum is going to plop down and play a few minutes of a role playing game like Final Fantasy VII that requires a major time commitment.

Snake, Rattle and Roll!

It was well past noon at this point, and I headed two blocks north to the Volkspark Friedrichshain, passing by a Lidl to get some food for a picnic. I wasted a lot of time in the grocery store going back and forth over my menu, but man, I’m really enjoying myself looking at the food. I wanted to get a salad, but they only sold one kind of salad dressing. I settled for a couple pieces of bread, a bag of Babybells, a fruit juice, and a bag of cookies.

I wandered about in the park, Berlin’s oldest, before finding a fairly shady spot by a pond. The hill was a bit steep, and I couldn’t quite get comfortable to take a nap after eating my meal. I also kept reaching into the bag for more cookies. It was the 500g bag of assorted cookies. For 1 euro (compared to 4 in China)! I must have known subconsciously that I would eat them all and I did.

I’m getting used to being in Germany and they way people go about their daily lives. Any stretch of grass is going to have a handful of white-ass men stripped down to sunbathe. Everyone, everywhere is smoking. It takes the most extreme punk aesthetic of tattoos everywhere (face, neck, hands) and piercings all over the face to shock my conservative East Asian values. Speaking of which, there was a Japanese bell on the other side of the pond. It was dedicated to denuclearization, but I couldn’t figure out when/where/who made it from the signage. I strolled a bit more around the park, enjoying the sunshine and the relaxed atmosphere before heading west to Alexanderplatz. I passed it on the north side to do a loop around Berlin Mitte.

I popped into St Marienkirche, half of which is scaffolded for renovations, and it felt weird to enter a gothic cathedral for the first time in a dozen years and with hundreds of Buddhist temples in between. I sat and listened to the organ for a while (the organist rehearses on Friday and Saturday afternoons). The church had free wifi, appropriately dubbed a “godspot.” The funniest part, however, is that the terms of service say you agree to follow “the laws of man, especially copyright law.”

If it ain’t Baroque, don’t fix it

The whole area was so typical European and scenic. I could see the spires of another Cathedral (Berlin Dom?) a block away, the city hall is on the other side of the plaza which has a giant fountain of Neptune in the middle. The Ferhsehturm, which has been my primary point of orientation is right there. Walking back past the TV tower and the train station, there wasn’t really much at Alexendarplatz proper. It’s mostly just shopping malls and department stores and trams and pedestrians mixing it up. My only regret for pigging out on the cookies was that I couldn’t dare get any gelato, which was being sold everywhere and looked amaaazing.

I had to wait 5 minutes for a guy to get out of my shot

I followed Alexanderstrasse to Holzmarktstrasse to head back towards my hostel. I was looking for something on Holzmarktstrasse that was mentioned in the Lonely Planet, but I didn’t quite remember what. The street is cut off from the river, but at one parking lot I spotted people milling about with beers on the riverside. So, I headed in and discovered the ramshackle artist collective that is Holzmarkt. I swear I was transported to Southeast Asia. Between the chill vibe of people hanging out and drinking, the shoddily built shacks housing the bars and restaurant counters, and the young Europeans who embody the gap year backpacking look, you could have teleported the whole setup to Vang Vieng and no one would have noticed.

The beers seemed a little pricey and I still wanted to let my liver recover for Beijing, so I found the proper exit and continued along the street back home. As I was walking along the East Side Gallery for the nth time, I noticed literally everyone was holding a beer. This city is insane. I thought it was strange that they all had the same beer until I came across the pickup truck with twenty crates of Sol beer. They were giving it away for free. I couldn’t exactly pass up free beer, so I headed to the grassy area between the wall and the river to sit for a while. Finishing the beer, I left it next to a trash can where there were already a dozen others. Is it littering if there is already litter?

Back in the hostel, I sat in the back courtyard to study for a bit. However, someone asked me if I had a light. I didn’t, but I could see a smoker through the window in the smoking room. I borrowed his lighter then sat over by the Indian guy who needed it to finish his joint. He had just arrived from Amsterdam and was planning to party a couple days in Berlin before going to eastern Europe. The sun kept moving around the building and after shifting out of the sunlight a couple of times, I suggested we go inside.

A couple of Dutch guys were playing pool and we sat by the pool table. They finished, and we played two games. I went up to shower because I was feeling gross from being outside all day. The Indian guy was also staying in my room so he was hanging around. I charged my phone a bit while getting in a bit of internet time before I agreed to go out. We headed up the street to a streetside stand selling currywurst and draft beer. We walked around the RAW-Gelande area, which looks like rundown warehouses (being adjacent to train tracks) but is now a collection of bars and music venues. It was already past 8pm but the sun was still high in the sky. Since he was planning on going clubbing at midnight, he had tons of time to kill and was asking me about cool places to hangout and get a drink (or have a smoke). I mentioned Holzmarkt and suggested we grab a roadie. Walking back past the S-bahn station, several street musicians were set up. The first (a single guitarist) was playing Metallica to small but enthusiastic audience. The second (a pianist) was playing Pachabel to indifferent passerbys. The third had a huge audience. A petit girl playing folk music that sounded like it could be original.

Continuing the journey, there was a very drunk and shirtless man, rolling around on the sidewalk. I gave him a wide berth, but when he got up and started walking away, leaving his cellphone (and lighter and rolling papers) on the sidewalk, I got worried. A group of Spanish tourists called to him, but he was too drunk to hear them. So, I grabbed the cellphone and ran him down.

We barely made it down to the corner before my companion needed to stop for a cigarette break. Noting the time (past 9 pm and still light), I started thinking about needing to go to sleep at some point. We didn’t go much further, stopping in the park by the Wall, which was really crowded with various groups having their drinks. I had long since finished my drink and either wanted another or to go to bed. I hung for a while as my companion prepped his hash-infused cigarette, but eventually bid him goodnight as I was bored and crashing.

It was a long day. I hope they aren’t all like this.

Breakfast1.52
Computer Game Museum9
Lunch4.42
Pool (1.5 per 30 min)0.8
Currywurst & Beer6.5
Dunkel Beer1.5
Total: 23.74 EUR
(185 RMB)
(USD 26.77)

Running Total: 3054.55 RMB (USD 442)
Daily Average: 1527.3 RMB (USD 221)

On the Commie Express

Well, after a brief and boozy couple of days in Beijing (which I consider either a vacation or a pit stop), I am back on the road starting phase 2 of the global travels–summering in Europe. It sounds so fancy, though the reality is I am expecting it to be pretty grungy as I rub shoulders with gap year students in cockroach filled hostels and have to constantly guard against pickpockets. East Asia is so safe and monocultural, it is going to be quite an adjustment hanging out in Europe, where the people let it all hang out.

Anyways, the journey begins with a red eye flight to Moscow departing Beijing at 2:45 am. Though I have no interest at the moment in visiting Russia or learning Russian, I didn’t mind getting a little taste of the experience. Its surprising how easily I could pass for Russian. People always just start speaking to me in Russian. My Aeroflot did not crash despite getting lots of concerned looks when I told people I was flying through Moscow, and the airline had some interesting peculiarities. Firstly, the airline company promo/safety video, which had supermodel level flight attendants in stilettos with a prominent text underneath disclaiming “Actual flight crew,” was a bit startling. Sure, the Asian airliners have meticulous age, weight, and appearance standards in their hiring practices, but it is just part of the unspoken baseline societal misogyny. Secondly, I found the English phrasings interesting. Every time, the flight attendant came by with the cart, she said “I can offer you …” with an almost poetic cadence to list the options. There was also something about how the air turbulence announcement was phrased, but I’ve already forgotten the exact wording.

It was daylight when we landed in Moscow and because I was mentally adjusting the time incorrectly, I was thinking I had only 15 minutes to make it over to the other terminal. It was a good airport with tons of restaurants, shops, and at least four different mini-hotels of sleeping pods. It is not entirely true, but I got the strong impression that all the signage was only in Cyrillic and Chinese, which would have been very disorienting to anyone operating on 2 hours of sleep and trying to figure out the gate of their next flight.

It was another two hours from Moscow to Berlin, where passport control was performed by armed police officers. I wasn’t asked a single question, got right through and didn’t even have to wait for my luggage. I hung out in the arrival hall for a bit to access Wi-Fi and figure out where my hostel was ( I booked it without doing too much research). The airport didn’t sell SIM cards and I had already gotten a hook up with Euros in Beijing, so there was nothing else to do but catch the S-bahn into town.

I had a weird feeling as all the first impressions of Europe came crashing down on me while puttering along in the train. Europeans are fucking weird. They come in such an assortment of shapes and sizes, often tattooed and pierced, and definitely wearing unfashionable clothing, I’m reminded of how aesthetically hard it is to return to America, but its a through the looking glass version of that.

Not London Bridge

It was really easy to get to the hostel, which was only a few minutes walk from the train station, at the edge of a river crossed by a medieval looking bridge. I was about 4 hours too early to check in, and plopped down on a couch for about twenty minutes to use the internet while a huge school group occupied the other half of the lobby. After the 30 or so high school students filed out behind their teachers, I asked about stowing my luggage before checkin and decided to go out for a bit to look around.

It turns out I am living in former East Berlin, a stones throw from the section of The Wall that has been preserved as an art mural. I took a stroll along the East Side Art Gallery which was crowded with multilingual tourists and again so, so many high school groups. I guess June is the month for school trips.

Build the Wall!

I was pretty thirsty, and kept my eyes open for a convenience store or supermarket. There was literally nothing along the way, but I saw people heading from the Ostbanhof to the riverside park with pretzels and drinks, so I figured the train station would be a good place to try. There was a McDonalds, a Subway, a Starbucks, and a Dunkin Donuts, but the smell of the bakeries… oh my god, talk about remembrance of things past. There was a particular smell, some sort of cheese, but I couldn’t quite figure out which bakery it belonged to. The breads and pastries and pizzas look so gorgeous and seem so reasonably priced. But I needed to hydrate and needed an actual supermarket. There were actually two in the basement. As it was nearly noon, I decided to make a picnic of it and grabbed a salad and a loaf of bread with the 1.5L mineral water.

I headed over to the lawn between the wall and the river and found a shady spot to eat my makeshift lunch. The bread with chunks of garlic in it was amazing. The salad… eh. Most of the salads came with either “senf” or yogurt dressing. Even the greek salad I bought, which should just be red wine vinegar, was a yogurt dressing. As I was eating my salad and reading the ingredient list, I realized that yogurt dressing is just Ranch dressing, but with yogurt in place of the buttermilk. The mayonnaise didn’t kill me, but come on.

I took a nap, then walked along the river for a while. It was really hot. Like really hot, so I headed back to the hostel to get out of the sun until it was time to check in. I had to pay extra for sheets. I didn’t even know that was a thing, but the front desk said that was what I had booked. WTF, Europe. At least the dorm room is enormous and the facilities as a whole are clean and spacious.

I didn’t go anywhere in the afternoon, which is just as well because a thunderstorm rolled in. It cooled things off outside, but the non-airconditioned hostel didn’t benefit much because there wasn’t good airflow. After the storm, I wandered over to a neighboring shopping mall to look for a Vodafone store and look around. My China Telecom phone defaults to Vodafone for its roaming service, so I figured that may be my best carrier. I didn’t buy the SIM card because there is a 25 euro activation fee then it costs 10 euros a month. It’s not a temporary tourist, that’s an actual phone plan.

Around the mall, I checked out the food court, a drug store, an Aldi. I’m blown away by how cheap stuff is. After years of going to the import supermarkets in Beijing, and grabbing 5 RMB German beers, 13 RMB Ritter-sports (sale price), and whatnot, the actual prices are quite reasonable. I think I am going to eat so much bread, pastries, cheese, wine, beer, chocolate, and gummy while I am here, I won’t even have time to eat schnitzel or wurst (which I can grab at the Turkish restaurant next door for 2-4 euros). Meals in the food court were 6-7 euros including a soft drink. I really wanted to kick myself when I looked at body wash. I literally bought one on my last day in Beijing and I wish I hadn’t. The “cheap” Chinese brand cost me more than a fancy brand here.

I bought some gummies and a rittersport bar, and rapidly devoured them back in the hostel while just playing on the internet. It ruined my appetite and I skipped dinner. I basically just did my best to stay awake until 8 pm so I could get a good night’s sleep and adjust to the time difference.

Flight2157 RMB
Sbahn from Airport3.4 EUR
Salad, bread, water4.42 EUR
Hostel (4 nights)618 RMB
Sheets2.2 EUR
Candy2.08 EUR
Total: 2869.38 RMB
(USD 415.25)

The first day is the worst since it has that plane ticket on there. After a month or two, the daily average will look a bit better.

Days 124-5: International Travel

Though I was spending pretty heavily the last few days in Japan, I woke up with too much money and not enough time. I would have been perfectly fine with barely a 100 yen coin because the airport bus cost 1100 yen and I had a 1000 yen deposit coming my way on checkout. However, because I had ended up not buying a JR pass, I was still a little flush with cash. Regarding time, my flight was scheduled at 1 pm, but upon further review, I realized that one needed to budget 90 minutes travel time to the airport on top of whatever is recommended for international travel.

With these factors in mind, I was able to run out in the morning to accomplish a major task–fresh seafood from a market. The Nijo Ichiba Market, which is now basically just a tourist trap, still has stalls selling crab and a handful of attached restaurants offering various donburi (meat on rice bowls) featuring salmon roe, uni (sea urchin), and various combinations of seafood. I spent way too much time indecisively walking from restaurant to restaurant comparing menus and prices and attempting to psychically suss out my best value before giving up and just picking one. It was a lot of money, but it was good to try.

Breakfast of Champions

On the way back, I swung by a supermarket to pick up a bottle of Japanese whisky as a gift (not necessarily the most premium stuff, but a medal winning recipe and appropriately boxed up). The idea to grab a bottle of whisky as a gift came about from the announcement in a WeChat group of a birthday party perfectly timed for the day I returned to Beijing. However, upon rescheduling of the birthday party, I still figured it might be nice to have something to give my advisor. He doesn’t really drink whisky, but that doesn’t matter.

Back in the hostel, I quickly packed up all my stuff and checked out. Looking at the bus schedule, I still had about half and hour before I needed to leave, so I took the time to charge up my phone. I nearly missed the bus. As I was waiting at the red light across the street from the bus stop, I saw the bus come to the intersection. It’s light turned green before mine. Fortunately, there were enough people also going to the airport to slow it down as the driver has to get off, open up the luggage containers, and do all that. Surprisingly, the bus swung by the train station (in the opposite direction) to pick up more passengers. I was starting to get a little anxious about timing as we finally pulled up to the international terminal, but everything went very smoothly. I was able to get rid of almost all my coins on bus fare, I checked my luggage through to Beijing, got groped in security, and had an hour to kill before boarding began. Having 2000 yen left, I looked at some shops and restaurants, but didn’t necessarily want to buy anything. I will note that the Chitase (Sapporo) Airport has decently priced selection of Japanese food in it food court. I plopped down at a charging station and worked until it was time to board.

Asiana Airlines fed us (bulgogi and rice) and I watched “Glass” on the 2.5 hour flight. I passed through Korean customs readily and it was a really weird feeling to not pick up my luggage. After getting into Wi-fi to message a friend and check the best route to Gangnam, I topped up my Korean metro card (actually not needed) and commuted the 1:45 downtown from Incheon Airport. Arriving at the rendezvous point a little early and a lot famished, I wandered over to a 7-Eleven to grab a bottle of grapefruit soju and a snack (a protein bar), then sat down on a step by the subway exit where some street performers were singing. It’s amazing how much I love Korea. It felt so good to be there, especially now that it was summer and everyone was out of their winter coats.

It’s really hard to get a good shot of Korean barbecue

When my friend finished work, we went straight to barbecue, ordering three cuts of pork for an amazing if slightly pricey meal. I picked up the tab, but she treated the shaved ice afterwards. We said goodbye, and I hopped on the subway (catching an express train) to go all the way back to the airport, where I had booked a “capsule hotel” room for the night. I had to walk about twenty minutes from the airport, through the long-term parking lot, underneath a maglev train (closed, but runs between the airport and a water park), to a community of high-rises and airport hotels. My hotel, despite being called a “capsule,” was just a private room with shared toilet and bath. I cleaned up and pretty much went straight to bed.

It was stuffy in the room, and I kept waking up early, anxious about the flight. Finally, my alarm went off at 6:15. I dressed, used the restroom, and went to the lobby at 6:30. The hotel manager had offered to drive me to the airport in the morning and there was one other guest also waiting at the time. Funnily enough, it probably took just as long to drive–what with the highways and all–as it was to walk the direct route.

I was already checked in for my flight, but updated my boarding pass at a self-service terminal to figure out what my gate was. When I saw the line for security, I was glad I was early. It moved along fast enough, but there must be at least dozens of flights leaving at roughly the same time in the morning.

I needed coffee and possibly a breakfast, but headed over to my gate first, where I found a Dunkin Donut literally at my gate. I think I bought a donut there the last time I flew out of Incheon (going to Shanghai in 2016). I had a breakfast, then moved to a charging station to top up my phone. It’s hard to charge in Korea since I lost my Korean plug adapter.

Asiana Airlines almost didn’t want to let me on the airplane, and to be fair, I should have been better prepared with a printed copy of my onward flight and a screenshot of the 144-hour transit visa. I only screenshotted (in Chinese) the summary page of my next flights. Of course, as they were calling to check if it was okay to fly me, they were also concerned if I had a visa to Russia. No, I am going to Germany. After everyone else boarded the plane, they finally got the okay. I sat down, but five minutes later they grabbed me and asked if I had the ticket numbers of my onward flights. I was out of wifi range and hadn’t locally saved a copy, so I was escorted back onto the gangplank to get a wifi connection. I quickly got into my email and downloaded the pdf, but the ground crew member was suddenly nowhere to be seen. Not wanting to go all the way back in to the terminal, where they could just leave without me, I simply returned to my seat. After a few minutes, we pulled away from the gate, and I guess that was that.

We were served the same meal on the much shorter flight to Beijing (except with pudding instead of yogurt). As soon as I stepped off the plane, I could feel the oppressive air attacking my throat and lungs. I followed the long walk to immigration and stopped at the visa services desk just before it and grabbed a temporary visit card. By the time I finished filling it out, there was no one in line, so I went straight up for processing. It went very smoothly and matter-of-fact. All that was important was seeing the onward flight and having a contact address/phone number. With a fancy little sticker in my passport, I proceeded to pass through immigration and customs as normal.

Thus, I returned to China, and my travel blogging will take a short hiatus until Phase II: European Vacation kicks off.

Seafood Donburi2700 JPY
Mt Fuji Whisky2106 JPY
Airport Bus1100 JPY
Flight(s)2198 RMB
Hotel 222 RMB
Tmoney Recharge10,000 KRW
BBQ52,000 KRW
Snack & Soju3,200 KRW
2 donuts & coffee6,800 KRW
Total: 3254.25 RMB
(USD 471.44)

Running Total: 43626.5 RMB (USD 6320.2)
Daily Average: 349 RMB (USD 50.56)

Whew, that air ticket really killed the daily average, but overall its pretty impressive to have traveled so much in such expensive countries for basically 50 bucks a day including everything.

Day 122-3: The Final Days

The big plans for the day was to finally get out to the Sapporo Beer Museum which has a biergarten next to it with the availability of all-you-can-eat and all-you-can-drink. Having that to look forward to, I basically didn’t do anything all day, other than debate back and forth over whether I should starve myself in preparation or not. Hanging around the hostel all morning, I did pop over to a supermarket to grab something for a light-ish lunch (a small sushi bento, enough bread so I could finish off my marmalade, and a yogurt). I took a nap and studied for a bit before I reckoned it was time to head out.

Very Japanese looking

I decided to swing by a few tourist attractions that are on the list, but haven’t been particularly enticing. Essentially, I walked over to the Old Prefecture Government Building, which hosts a few galleries about Hokkaido history and what not. One of the rooms was completely dedicated to discussing the “Northern Islands,” a group of four islands between Hokkaido and the Kuril Island chain that is contested between Japan and Russia. Though there is obviously a layer of propaganda, the Soviet Union did declare war on Japan days before Japan’s surrender just so it could grab territories in East Asia.

On my walk out to the Sapporo Beer Museum, I swung by the Tokyu Department store again to go ahead and buy the famous chocolate cake (called Mont Blanc). Afterwards, I headed over to a park to dig in. The park was next to the old Sapporo factory, which confused me as to how there were two old Sapporo factories, mere blocks apart.

It wasn’t supposed to rain, but it did anyways

Anyways, the museum was good (and free), and I resisted the temptation to hit the onsite bar to sample a number of beers while I was waiting for my Tinder date to get off of work and meet up. I did my best to get my money’s worth, but because the “Genghis Khan” grilled lamb dish takes time to cook between rounds, it slows down how fast you can eat while you have to compete against a hard 120 minute limit (and they cut you off 20 minutes before your time runs out). It was really tasty and paired well with the beers, but I probably needed another half hour to really get my fill.

It was barely 8 when we finished, and I had a 40 something minute walk back to my hostel. Being really hyper from the food, the drink, and the talking, I did pop into a convenience store (or two) on the way back for some dessert and a “digestif.”

Sushi lunch596
Choco Mont Blanc378
Genghis Khan4424
Ice cream180
Beer394
Total: 5972 JPY
(RMB 403.1 RMB)
(USD 58.32)

Running Total: RMB 40006.2 (USD 5788.5)
Daily Average: RMB 327.9 (USD 47.45)

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Day 120-1: Easing back into tourism

It’s a long stretch without a support tower

I don’t know if it is merely the fact that the Japanese segment of the trip is wrapping up soon or that I am going to have to deal with a week’s worth of travel (hopping from Seoul to Beijing to Moscow to Berlin to begin the European section of the travels), but its become apparent to me that I’m mentally checked out of Japan. I was browsing the aisles of a grocery store last night and filled with a sense of loss that despite my best efforts to eat all the junk food, I had only sampled a tiny fraction of the myriads of snacks. The same is true of the alcohol section. Heck, I’ve barely even put a dent into the curry section of grocery store. One would have to stay here a couple of years to eat one’s fill.

Speaking of food, that has become the defining raison d’etre for my time in Sapporo. After a lazy enough morning, I was resolved to go out and see something on the list of sites in Sapporo and I picked the Moiwa Ropeway primarily because there was a recommended restaurant near the base of it. I hopped on a city tram to reach the base of the mountain and was delighted to find the restaurant recommendation spot on. Given my love of curry in general, the fact that Sapporo has its own unique take on Japanese curry, i.e. “soup curry,” got me curious. The restaurant was a small mom and pop owned joint full of old fashioned bric-a-brac and I ordered a set meal including a salad and a cup of coffee.

After enjoying my meal, I walked around the corner to wait for a free shuttle bus to reach the base of the ropeway, which was only a 8 minute walk. Sapporo claims to have one of the best night views in Japan, so I imagine the mountain is quite popular at night. But I didn’t care and was going up there at high noon. As such, I got to avoid the crowds. I shelled out the money for the ropeway, which consists of two sections: a cable car and a funicular.

The view was nice, but there really wasn’t much to see. I suppose riding in the variety of vehicles is the attraction in and of itself. After thoroughly perusing the gift shop with its selection of Hokkaido specialties (including, incredulously vacuum-sealed, refrigerated raw shellfish), I headed back down the mountain.

I decided to take a longish walk and headed due east about 12 blocks to reach the river, which divides Sapporo into east and west sections. The river is flanked by grass and trees, and as I followed it north about another dozen blocks, I would occasionally pass groups of locals out sunbathing, barbecuing, or wading into the shallows. As I neared the “equator” of the city, I cut back up onto the city streets to pass the TV tower at the far east end of Odori Park on my way to a department store a block south of the train station.

I took a stroll through the basement level of food stalls, looking for one particular sweets shop while drooling at all the available delicacies. I didn’t buy the particular cake, but bookmarked it for a possible later visit. Still craving an afternoon snack, I went to check out an ice cream parlor which sells elaborate, expensive parfaits. I hesitated for a while, taking a loop around the block while I worked up the nerve to treat myself to ice cream. Sometimes, there is too much choice. After looking over the dozens or options, I finally just picked one and enjoyed it.

The buried treasure is a jelly

I walked back to the hostel, taking an underground passageway which connects the subway to department stores and is essential for commuters during the bitter winters.

After chilling out for a while back in the hostel, my stomach started growling again and I wanted to head out for some ramen. The hostel has coupons for a couple of restaurants in the area, but as I went to grab the ramen coupon, I realized that today was their day off. My backup plan was a tonkatsu place I had passed the other day. It was kind of a fast food chain, but looked pretty cheap and delicious. It was. It’s sad to think that I might not have another opportunity to eat tonkatsu before I leave.

I spent another hour or two back in the hostel trying to fix the file system on my external harddrive. I finally found one piece of software that might be able to do the trick, though I’m not quite sure how. I can access the underlying files and copied a few movies onto my computer. I was still hankering to watch a movie, but as I was moving a few onto a thumb drive, a huge group of Koreans came into the hostel. Seriously, there were 30 or so all traveling together (a school trip of some sort). They cleared out while I was looking around a supermarket for some microwave popcorn (which I couldn’t find).

The thumb drive did work with the TV, but the TV didn’t quite have the right drivers installed, so the only movie that could play had some problems with the sound. C’est la vie. It was actually getting pretty late by that point, so I gave up on watching a movie.

Tram200
Soup Curry & Coffee1100
Ropeway (round trip)1500
Parfait (“Treasure Hunter”)1250
Apple tea100
Tonkatsu w/ Miso sauce630
Cheetos91
Total:4871 JPY
(328.8 RMB)
(USD 47.55)

Running Total: 39164.1 RMB (USD 5663.32)
Daily Average: 326.3 RMB (USD 47.19)

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Day 118-119: Party Central

Could be any city in Japan, really

The ferry reached the port of Tomakomai at about 10:30 in the morning. I didn’t need to rush because the bus to Sapporo was scheduled for 11:45. So, I hung out in the cabin for a bit to avoid the huge mass of people rushing to get down to their cars in the hold. While hanging out, I struck up a conversation with a pair of European backpackers who also happened to be staying in said cabin. They were really winging the trip and spent the time waiting for the bus immersed in their phones trying to figure out plans: any hostels? any couchsurfing hosts? any campgrounds? etc. When it was time to get on the bus, they were still stuck in their indecisiveness, almost willing to wait for the next bus. I had to tell them there wasn’t a next bus and to go ahead and just take it into Tomakomai where they could find a train or bus to wherever they eventually decided to go.

It was about 90 minute ride to Sapporo and I walked from the train station down to my hostel. When I had booked it, I was under the impression that it was very central, but it turned out to be much further out than I thought. Sapporo is quite a big and spread out city, so in the larger scheme of things that assessment was correct. Anyways, its a great hostel with huge beds and all the amenities one could theoretically wish for. I checked straight in and hung out in the lounge, drinking coffee and charging my electronics. I wasn’t in a rush to go out and do any sightseeing. I’m still not.

In the late afternoon, I decided to go for a run, but that didn’t go so well. The blocks are short and the lights are timed to make one wait. Run 30 meters, wait 30 seconds, run 30 meters, wait 30 seconds. Odori Park, a long stretch of green in the heart of the city was also hosting a handful of festivals with white tents set up to sell barbecue, booze, and ramen. Between the crowds of revelers and the traffic lights, I quickly gave up on exercising.

After showering and dressing, I went to the lobby to ask about dinner recommendations, but saw a sign advertising a free pizza party. Well, that was convenient. The Brazilian guy working the front desk still gave me lots of recommendations about food and offered to head over to the party together when he finished his shift. To kill time, I popped over to a grocery store to buy some stuff for breakfast.

At 7:30, F and I went over to the other hostel where the event was taking place. It was only a block away. There was quite a crowd waiting around for their free pizzas while a team of people were hard at work prepping dough. I was so hungry and crestfallen at the realization that it was going to be at least another hour before any food would be ready. Being a party, lots of people were drinking, and after wavering a bit, I ran over to a convenience store to grab a six-pack of cheap imported beer. It was a good party and I met lots of people from all over the world. Because there were only two ovens and four groups of people, we only got a pizza once every 25 minutes. They were small pizzas and divided up among 7 people, so though I probably ate quite a lot of food over the course of the evening, I never felt full. So, when the party ended, I readily agreed with the suggestion to get ramen.

Five of us headed over to a ramen shop which had about 30 people queued up outside the door. We might have waited if there wasn’t some high pitched buzzing sound that was very unpleasant. Ramen is ramen, but Sapporo takes its ramen seriously. We found another shop that was less crowded, but still quite good. I was back and in bed by midnight.

Bus to Sapporo1310
Hostel (6 nights)889 RMB
Groceries (bread, jam, eggs)303
Beer498
Ramen850
Total: 1093.3 RMB
(USD 158.44)

Running Total: 38577.1 RMB (USD 5590.6)
Daily Average: 326.9 RMB (USD 47.38)

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Day 116-117: Sendai

Not much to look at

Sendai appeared on my radar because of the marathon, which if I had managed to sign up for in time would have meant me being in the city two weeks ago. Nevertheless, despite the time crunch requiring me to skip most of Honshu, I figured it was worth popping into Tohoku’s main city. The overnight bus was not the best with my seat front and center, but I managed to catch some zzz’s before we arrived at the Sendai train station at 6am. Japan is so bright. I really don’t understand how the sun just seems so much stronger here than anywhere else.

I was about to head to a Family Mart to get some coffee and kill some time on the internet, but I saw a McDonald’s. I ordered a Mega McMuffin (which I’ve never seen before: double sausage patty, egg, cheese, and a slice of bacon) and killed two hours there. I wouldn’t be able to check in to my guesthouse until 4pm and it was out in the suburbs anyways, so I still had a whole day to kill. I found the coin lockers in the train station to lighten my load and just wandered west, following the shopping arcades which were only full of people rushing to work.

I found a public park, which was a little run down looking, but found a shady spot under a tree and laid out my picnic blanket to take a nap. To keep my phone charged, I positioned the solar panel in the sunlight. I didn’t fall asleep, but it was good to lay down flat for a while.

Sendai has a couple of museums and stuff, but after gorging on museums in Tokyo, I don’t really want to shell out for any admission tickets for a while. The only real site to see is the ruins of Sendai’s castle, which is basically just a hill to climb. There were some views of the city, so that was nice. I was rapidly getting bored, and needed to find something to do. I looked up recommended restaurants in the Lonely Planet, and decided to try a local delicacy: charcoal grilled cow tongue. It was delicious. Finally, I wandered around the shopping arcades again until I found a Starbucks, where I parked for a couple hours drinking iced coffee.

At four, I headed back to the train station, grabbed my stuff and hopped on a line out to the suburbs to find my guesthouse. The family-run guesthouse had a B&B vibe to it and the owners were very friendly. I decided to pay the extra 700 yen for the home cooked dinner and went out for a jog.

After showering, I hung out in the dining room downstairs studying a bit of Japanese until it was dinner time. I had been thinking of availing myself of the in-house bar, but was a little put off by another guest who had her two sons with her (ages 2 and 5). They and an elderly couple as well as a German cyclist circled round the table for the dinner. It was quite good: raw tuna and this other kind of tiny fish on a rice bowl with pickles and a vegetable soup. I didn’t join in the Japanese conversation, and ate my food quickly and quietly. I was still a bit hungry afterwards and quite conflicted about whether I should do my usual post-dinner snack run and whether I wanted to drink or not.

Eventually, I caved in and headed up the street to the little supermarket to “have a look.” I grabbed a package of kimchi that was marked down 50%, a bottle of Japanese whisky, and a bottle of soda water. Back at the guesthouse, the old Japanese man was trying a flight of local sake, and several other guests were drinking beers. The table had a huge bag of snacks on it. After putting her kids to bed, the mom drank too. There was a lot of drinking going on, but I didn’t quite feel at ease.

I ended up going to bed fairly early.

McDonald’s550
Pasmo topup1000
Gyutan Set Meal1598
Starbucks604
Guesthouse (1 night)2500
Dinner700
Whisky and Kimchi815
Total: 7767 JPY
(535.9 RMB)
(USD 77.66)

Running Total: 36657.5 RMB (USD 5312.5)
Daily Average: 316 RMB (USD 45.8)

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Day 114-115: Through the Typhoon to the Horizontal Beach

Tuesday was my last day in Tokyo, but not my last day of the Grutto pass. With a flight booked out of Sapporo on the 31st, I was running out of days to move north. While I would have enjoyed another week in Tokyo, I had figured out a way to travel north without paying a fortune in train tickets and hitting a couple of destinations on the way to Hokkaido. Copious amounts of research had discovered night buses to Sendai and an overnight ferry from Sendai to a port on Hokkaido. Though that was the tentative plan, until I had tickets in my hand, I couldn’t exactly rest easy. And, I certainly can’t afford tickets unless I get some Japanese yen.

So, my first order of business, after packing my luggage and moving it to the storage room was to find the Tokyo branch of the ICBC and see if they had any relevant advice regarding my ATM woes. The ICBC was in a nondescript building across the street from the Imperial Palace. I had literally been there exactly one week ago and missed it in the cloudy intermittently drizzling morning.

Apparently, Tuesday is rain day in Tokyo, but this was no mere drizzle. If it was the end of summer, I would swear we were in a typhoon. Wind blew sheets of rain from every angle, while the stronger gusts, possibly augmented by the shapes of the skyscrapers utterly wrecked the fragile metal frames of lesser umbrellas. Despite periods of lighter rain, the overall effect was a complete drenching.

The ICBC was fruitless, though friendly. They confirmed what I had feared: my chip-based card is utterly useless in Japan. I asked about currency exchange. They didn’t handle a cash business there, but suggested I try the Bank of China around the block. The BoC had a paper sign saying they cancelled foreign cash transactions last year. Plan Z was to find a “smart exchange” machine advertised at the front desk of the hostel. There was one in the Tokyo train station, which also happened to be right there. So, the advertisement purported a coupon for a better rate via a QR code, which I dutifully saved on my phone, but the machine had no way to read said QR code. Aren’t there laws about bait-and-switch or how about just the baseline 10+% margins on the exchange rates? I plugged all my US money in because the rate was slightly less usurious, but still had to eat some of the horrendous exchange rate on the RMB. Who would have thought that the bad rate I got off the boat in Fukuoka was actually a decent rate after all?

There were a couple of museums near the train station which I figured I should visit since I was in no rush to get to Yokohama. The Mitsuo Aida Museum, located in a convention center, was surprisingly nice. Mitsuo Aida was a poet and calligrapher, and all of the poems had English translations on the accompanying placards. The brushstrokes were bold and uninhibited, but still mostly readable to my untrained eye, while the poems themselves were succinct and koan-like. Literally, the first said (paraphrase) “When it rains, be in the rain. When the wind blows, be in the wind.” How did he know there was a pseudo-typhoon happening outside?

I went to the Intermediatheque next. It was located in a shopping mall and is always free admission. I was expecting some sort of modern exercise in multimedia artworks, but it was actually more of a natural history museum as curated by artists. It had a 19th century Industrial Revolution/colonialist vibe with skeletons and taxidermied animals kept in antique display cases. I don’t if it is better to describe it as gothic or steampunk, but it had a very Victorian air to it. But, again, despite being antique scientific equipment and tons of specimens from the natural world, the arrangements were presented to be aesthetically arresting. Definitely worth repeat visits.

On the way back to the hostel, and with water squishing in my shoes, I popped into the Mitsui Memorial Museum, which was located on the seventh floor of a historic bank building. There were mostly Buddhist artworks and such. I made a pretty quick pass through, and was thinking about getting a spot of lunch at the hostel and working on my computer while drying off for a while.

However, when I returned to the hostel, I found they had a lunch rush, which precluded me spreading out and lounging for a couple hours. I grabbed my stuff and hobbled over to the train station to go directly to Yokohama. On the bright side, I caught an express train, got a seat, and didn’t need to transfer.

I got off at Yokohama station and wandered around for a bit, trying to find a JR Bus ticket window to buy my bus ticket for the following night. I eventually backtracked from the bus terminal to the train station to inquire at the tourist information desk, which notified me that there was no ticket office. I would have to book the ticket via phone, online, or at a service terminal in a convenience store. They directed me to a 7-Eleven two floors down which didn’t have said service terminal. God, these tourist information desks are pretty consistently unhelpful. I found a Lawson’s and spent close to 20 minutes trying to figure out how to find the bus route I knew existed. It didn’t help that the terminal was only available in Japanese, but I guess I’ve picked up enough reading ability that it didn’t really hinder me as much as the bad user interface. The bus routes were indexed under prefecture names, not city names.

I thought about plopping down at the Starbucks next door to rest a bit, but figured I would try my luck checking into the hostel an hour early so I could actually change into dry clothes and start some laundry. I was getting pretty desperate for clean clothes, having never hit the right window of having ready cash and time to wait around for the washing machine in Tokyo.

It was a pretty nice hostel with a spacious dorm room only occupied by one other person, so I took the liberty of spreading out a bit. I started the laundry and made a cup of coffee and sat down in the living room to work on my computer. There were a couple guests hanging out in the living room, but they were all speaking to each other in Japanese. It was actually quite weird how there was an old man getting a massage from a female guest and middle aged woman hanging out. The old man turned out to be my roommate and he got pissy with me for using a bit of rope to make a temporary clothesline that he had to duck under to access his locker, which he did every ten fucking minutes. The guy really set off my spidey sense, always keeping his backpack with him, sneaking around, and keeping a large stack of postal boxes.

Chinatown with better weather

It seemed I didn’t have much better luck socially in this hostel, so I headed out alone at dinner time to wander around in adjacent Chinatown. Yokohama is another historic port city of Japan and has a sizable Chinese population. After more than a hundred years of having between 3-5000 Chinese residents, the Chinese population had shot up to 20,000 since 1995 (I hope I’m remembering that correctly. I saw it later in a museum that banned photography). Needless to say, as I wandered Chinatown I overheard lots of Chinese, but its so annoying to get approached in English by the restaurant touts, especially when I was wearing a shirt with Chinese on it.

A lot of the restaurants advertised all-you-can-eat deals which sounded pretty tempting, but I had the vague suspicion that the unwritten fine print is that you need 2 or 3 people at the table. Other than that, most of the restaurants advertised set meals with various combinations of rice, noodles, and dimsum. It is really hard to decide what to eat when pretty much everywhere has virtually the same menu and similar prices. I must have spent more than an hour looking every restaurant over three or four times before just going for one. The food was alright, but it didn’t satisfy me. So, once again, I swung by a supermarket for a little post-dinner snacks and beer.

I hung out in the hostel living room while the old man watched some stupid television program about the right and wrong ways to sit down. He lit up when the middle aged woman with curlers in her hair came in and they started conversing. Another fellow who came in the room asked if he could chat with me. He was Taiwanese, but had lived in Japan for a long time. I never even told him I could speak Chinese.

When I finished my beer, I jumped in the shower and got ready for bed.

Pasmo top-up1000
Chicken (Lawsons)170
Hostel (1 night)124.88 RMB
Sweet and Sour Pork950
Snacks605
Total: 299.28 RMB
(USD 43.28)

Running Total: 35563.6 RMB (USD 5143.93)
Daily Average: 312 RMB (USD 45.12)

For the record, I saved another 2100 yen on museum admissions with the Grutto Pass.

I bought an additional 46,659 yen for 2100 RMB + 160 USD (or 3206 RMB equivalent) for a new personal exchange rate of 6.9 (starting the next day). In other words, every 100 yen I spend now costs an additional 0.5 RMB, i.e. everything is 7% more expensive in real terms.

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