Day 17 - Number 47
Trip Start
Dec 17, 2007
1
10
30
Trip End
Feb 14, 2008
Fukui,
Japan
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
I wasn't planning to visit Fukui on January 2nd but an opportunity developed so I took it. I was returning from Tokyo and I was planning on meeting my old college friend, YN, in Osaka to catch up on each other lives. After realizing, I could get off the Shinkansen in Kyoto and catch the express train to Fukui that took just over a hour, a plan developed. Luckily my friend YN was game on my idea and agreed to met me in Kyoto.
Tokyo was beautiful when I left, sunny with blue skies so I was able to watch Mount Fuji in all its glory as I rode west and the mountain was completely snow capped this time
Mount Fuji
. YN was waiting for me at Kyoto station with the tickets to ride the Thunder-bird. She had been worried that we couldn't make the train as there was only 15 minutes between my arrival and the Thunder-bird's departure but as the experience traveler I knew there would be plenty of time and I even put my bags in lockers which luckily was on the same platform as the train. Unfortunately, the train was packed with New Year travelers and we had to stand the entire way to Fukui which was fine with me. There was a big contrast in weather between Tokyo and Fukui, sun and blue skies vs. cloud and snow. There was 6 inches of snow in Fukui which made the view out the window of train beautiful. Fukui is another small prefecture on the Japan Sea and it is just north of Kyoto. Fukui is famous for Echizen crab and that what we were looking for for lunch. Unfortunately, we couldn't find anyplace that specialized in crab so we settled for a soba restaurant in the department store that had a special lunch set with a bit of crab which turned out to be pretty good. We didn't have much time and we missed going to the famous temple that was established in 1244. Oh, well but I have been to Fukui and maybe on my next visit I could see the beautiful coast and the large collection of Nuclear plants. I did enjoy a nice long talk with YN.
Luckily on the way back to Kyoto, the train was not full so we could sit and talk
Yes, I am in Fukui
. Then I got my bags and hopped on the Super Hakuto to go home to Tottori. The Hawk as I like to call it, runs between Kyoto to Tottori with stops in Osaka, Kobe and Himeji and it the train that all people in eastern Tottori take to go to the big cities and the train feels like an old friend (which actually as some new cars which gave the Kyushu trains a run for their money). I got back to Tottori and 9 inches of snow at 10:30 and it felt good to be back "home" after a long journey. Unfortunately, I had given away my heater and kotatsu so my apartment was cold.I felt very satisfied to finally completed my goal of visiting every prefecture in Japan. I didn't set out to visit all 47 but as I traveled through Japan and visited many new prefectures, I started to realize that I have been to a majority of the prefectures and I decide to set the goal to visit everyone. I have always loved geography and I remember in the 5th grade of elementary school of scoring a 96 on a test of all the US states and their capitols. I always enjoyed looking at maps and wondering what do these places look like. By traveling, I have been able to fill in the spaces on the map with images, people, sound, color and smell. When something happens in those far off places, I can put a face to the event. "Yeah, I remember how that place looked".
Of course, the ultimate goal of my travels are to visit every country in the world.
Today's blog is dedicated to Chisato Moritaka, a cute Japanese idol pop singer from the 1990's who had a song about rocking around Japan where she sings about every prefecture and their Capitol in a list form from Hokkaido to Okinawa. Sure, it is a silly song but it was a good way to learn about all the prefectures in Japan.
Comments
Great Job!
You are doing a great job writing on your adventure. We love your pictures. The picture of Mt.Fuji brought back memories of our train trip. Mom
Congrats!
I was honored to witness the moment you stepped out of the train at Fukui station! Congratulations on your completion of visiting every prefecture in Japan!