So my brother finally came up to Toyama to visit. I don’t blame him for taking his time in coming up. Never mind that he was very busy, but it makes more sense, entertainment-wise, to go to Osaka. Still, it turned out to be a very eventful weekend. Maybe I’m being the over-adulating younger brother, but this guy really knows how to party. I hadn’t been drinking while the sun was up, since summer. Anyways, we got to work on a beer can pyramid. This seems to have become a family tradition. For the afternoon and early hours of the night, we made like Egyptians. (Drinking beer and building pyramids).
In order to show my brother a good time in Toyama, we left Toyama. Kanazawa city, over the hill, just under an hours’ drive away. It literally means “gold-a-plenty”, and compared to any city in Toyama, it really is. Our ride was waiting outside, and I wanted to get a picture of the beer pyramid before leaving. “Just take one in the morning”, he told me.
It was a pretty good night out, yada yada, we came home at 6am. It was fair to say I was ready for a good long sleep. I mean, I actually fell asleep at an eatery in Kanazawa before leaving.
9:42. Rude awakening.
In order to show my brother a good time in Toyama, we left Toyama. Kanazawa city, over the hill, just under an hours’ drive away. It literally means “gold-a-plenty”, and compared to any city in Toyama, it really is. Our ride was waiting outside, and I wanted to get a picture of the beer pyramid before leaving. “Just take one in the morning”, he told me.
It was a pretty good night out, yada yada, we came home at 6am. It was fair to say I was ready for a good long sleep. I mean, I actually fell asleep at an eatery in Kanazawa before leaving.
9:42. Rude awakening.
My 3rd floor apartment began shaking like crazy. I’m from New Zealand, so I am used to it. But this was a relatively large earthquake. Things started falling., and I was now fully awake. So much for taking the picture of the beer can pyramid... It turned out to be a large earthquake. Maybe it was in the news overseas (if so, thanks for your email and phone-calls of concern...) There was considerable damage to some villages in the next prefecture.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6492473.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/6492931.stm
In Toyama, the quake was about a 5 on the Richter scale. Apart from the tragedy of our beer can pyramid, my DVD player fell off my TV. But that was a piece of crap anyway.
Later on that day, I drove my brother back to Kanazawa to drop him off at the train station there. We had a quick thought that the trains might be delayed by the quake, but again, I was assured “the trains won’t be cancelled all day”. It was that kind of weekend. I dropped him off, and drove back home. Once I was on the outskirts of the city, I got an email saying the trains were in-fact cancelled. He wasn’t able to call me, and I couldn’t call him, because of the chaos of the earthquake. Disaster zone communication breakdown....
Luckily, the trains were restored early that night, and my brother was able to get home that night without missing work. But this is just another example of my bad luck with trains and transport in Japan. Just a quick reminder
¨ A catastrophic power failure of my car at a relatively busy intersection.
¨ Missing the last train in Osaka, having to ‘sleep’ at an internet café until the first train.
¨ Going to Tokyo, when someone throws themselves in front of our train.
¨ Being unable to go home from Tokyo by train, due to “heavy wind”.
So, in conclusion, the causes of my misfortune with transport are: Mechanical Error, Human Error, Terrorism/Tragedy, Extreme Weather, and now Natural Disaster. All I need now is “dangerous animals” and “act of God”, and I will have achieved complete Transport Incompetence.
Later on that day, I drove my brother back to Kanazawa to drop him off at the train station there. We had a quick thought that the trains might be delayed by the quake, but again, I was assured “the trains won’t be cancelled all day”. It was that kind of weekend. I dropped him off, and drove back home. Once I was on the outskirts of the city, I got an email saying the trains were in-fact cancelled. He wasn’t able to call me, and I couldn’t call him, because of the chaos of the earthquake. Disaster zone communication breakdown....
Luckily, the trains were restored early that night, and my brother was able to get home that night without missing work. But this is just another example of my bad luck with trains and transport in Japan. Just a quick reminder
¨ A catastrophic power failure of my car at a relatively busy intersection.
¨ Missing the last train in Osaka, having to ‘sleep’ at an internet café until the first train.
¨ Going to Tokyo, when someone throws themselves in front of our train.
¨ Being unable to go home from Tokyo by train, due to “heavy wind”.
So, in conclusion, the causes of my misfortune with transport are: Mechanical Error, Human Error, Terrorism/Tragedy, Extreme Weather, and now Natural Disaster. All I need now is “dangerous animals” and “act of God”, and I will have achieved complete Transport Incompetence.
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