Noboribetsu and Tokyo

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Leaving the peace and quiet in the farm behind and with sadness in my heart, I took the train to Noboribetsu Hell Valley. The strangest thing is that I run into the first WWOOFer I met in the farm in a train station that is out of nowhere. She is also done with another WWOOFing host and on her way to her next host. It is such a coincidence, what is the chance I would see someone I knew in Japan.

The national park I am heading to is called the Valley of Hell. It is a result of the specific geology in the area. There are smoking coming out of the valley, it looks like "Hell". It kind of remind me of Yellowstone National Park. Too hard to put it in words, look at the photo la. The thing I found most interesting is Japanese people's sense of humor. Throughout the park and the close-by town, there are many very cute (not scary) devil statues. The theme of hell is all over the places including the toilet, train station and the bus. It is very pleasure to hike around the park and enjoy soaking my feet in the hot spring river. Paradise...

After Noboribetsu, I caught the trains to Sopporo for my flight the next day. One of the most fustrating moments during my trip happened during my transfer. I got on the train heading toward Sopporo that support to depart in 10 mins. I settled down and waited patiently. Ten minutes passed, then half an hour, then an hour... the train is not moving. The conductor continues to make annoucement through the speaker, but in JAPANESE only. I really wish I know Japanese during those 1.5 hours waiting in the cold weather. Darn it!!!!

Flew into Tokoyo the next day and settled into the hostel in Asakusa, my favorite area in Tokyo. Going into Tokyo is one of the biggest mistakes I made in my trip. Tokyo is overcrowded with people everywhere, fast pace and loud, the exact opposite of Hokkaido. If you are ever in Tokyo central station, you will know what I am talking about. The central station is so big and have so many people going in million directions. And more importantly, the people are cold. They just walked by you and focus on their destination. I got overwhelmed and felt siffocated. I lost interest in going out to the city center. I spent most of my time strolling in Asakusa, chilling next to the riverbank, people watching, water watching and enjoying the breeze. The most fun time in Tokyo is listening to an Australian traveller's crazy travel stories. He loves monkeys and kind of look like one too. = ) I have a first in Tokyo this time: waited almost three hours for food. There is this famous sushi place in the fish market. Since I did not make it to the fish market last time in Tokyo, I thought I would try it this time. It was sort of a mistake. The line is around the corner and the shop can only take about 10 people each other. There are only two set meals that you can choose from, both are expensive. But supposely the fish they served is the best. By the time I got int, I was about to faint. The sushi was great, but I am not sure it is worth the wait. I sweat I will never wait that long for food anymore!!!!

Time to say goodbye to Japan and heading to HK and China. I will have my first meeting with the volunteer group the next day, kind of excited. Hope it will turn out as great as my WWOOFing experience.

Sayonara, Japan!!!

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