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Published: July 12th 2008
5001 Fuji
The antarctic explorer vessel Fuji, now at anchor as a museum in Nagoyako harbour area. Leave it to me to find out if there are any cute vessels in the city I happen to be passing through. ;)As the Moomin-painted A340 descended towards
Centrair, the major regional airport on an artifical island south of Nagoya, the sky seemed somewhat blueish in colour, but as we came closer and closer to the ground the sickly grey haze got more and more prominent and started to consume objects at the horizon, and then creeping steadily closer and closer. For some reason I have developed an idea that much of Japan (and other cities in Asia for that matter) seems to be consumed by this grey hunger. Buildings in drab concrete whites, beiges and greys don't add much spice to the variety either. On the other hand, this is more than compensated for by a colourful and interesting population.
My philosophical wanderlust was swiftly whisked away by a breeze of hot air streaming towards my face as we disembarked onto the tarmac. I felt an urge to check to my right to see if there might be an ignorant flight officer testing his engines at the other stand, but apparently no; the hot wind must instead originate from the innards of the Earth's bowels. I didn't know this type of heat existed in Japan and quickly praised my decision to
cut back a bit on useless stuff in my bags. Mind you, when you are staring out the window at fifteen degress and rain, you don't always make the correct assumptions about what might be useful gear to carry with you. For example, the umbrella I used to ward off the drizzle yesterday would now serve well to protect against an aggressive stare from the sun instead.
Since last I visited, Japan has now enforced new security regulations, including the much talked about fingerprint collection. Still, it was pretty much business as usual, apart from pressing down your index fingers twice and smile for one of those silly digital cameras the proceedings were pretty much the same. The immigration clerks still zealously check your arrival cards before you even get to your turn at the head of the line, the customs inspectors still want to rifle through your bags, the gate bus drivers only make announcements in Japanese and the forms to fill out are still as complex and confusing as ever. I think most of us sailed through without a breeze, the system may be a bit on the bureaucratic side but everybody is really polite and efficient.
This efficiency doesn't stop at immigration either, my transfer from the airport included seeking out the Cathay Pacific ticketing counter, exchanging money, find out how to buy tickets for (and pick the correct) train to travel downtown, then battle the crowds at the main railway station to try and find the subway and then pick the correct of the 16 station exits. I noticed the same thing during my trip to Kyushu island last year, the Japanese are experts at mass transit systems. I used to think Hong Kong and Singapore were excelling in this area, but when you see the complex systems involving different railway companies and modes of transport I still think these behemoth stations are fairly easy to navigate.
After the 40 minute
Meitetsu train journey from Centrair to Nagoya railway station (that set me back 850 yen, and another 200 to transfer to Sakae via subway) the twentysomething hours in various vehicle compartments started getting the better of me. You feel like you are walking around in wrinkled clothes with a layer of cheese covering your face, and the effect is enhanced by the smartly dressed and squeaky clean citizens who I am sure
Chief Petty Officer's quarters
I kept waiting for this guy to pull his move, but he didn't seem to be able to muster up the courage must be wanting to take wide circles around me. I don't much care for nightflights, they might be a decent deal for businessmen in first class, but sure as hell not for a trip in economy. You are washed up on the shore of a foreign country not wanting to do anything else than sleep, and realize it is still ten in the morning. Hotel policies seem to push back check in-hours, usually to 2 o'clock, but in some cases even until 4 pm. I reached my hotel at 11.30 and after having dumped my bags there I still had two and a half hours to go before being allowed into my room to freshen up. I suppose I could have spent it slumbering in the air conditioned lobby but instead decided to do a little quick sightseeing stroll.
Without bags to justify my miserable appearance I lumbered back into the now sizzling hot streets and wondered what the chances of finding a nice place in the shadow were. Hardly in a mood to sightsee I still decided to take up one of my targets at once, seeing as there is so little time available to me in Nagoya
after all. So I took the subway down south to the harbour area and picked the quicker of the two attractions there, namely the Fuji antarctic explorer vessel, which now lies in port as a museum. It was also a good way to hide away from the aggressive sun deep in the bowels of the ship. At some points I did feel a bit lulled, but whether it was the effect of the occasional wave from a passing pilot vessel or the fact that I after my trip was ready to collapse in the hot afternoon I really couldn't tell. So when I finally returned to the hotel I just grabbed some sushi and foodstuffs from the convenience store around the corner and then went into a much needed shower followed by an equally needed pillow grab.
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