A Stunning Train Ride to a Hostel With a View
Trip Start
Dec 01, 1999
1
59
103
Trip End
Aug 31, 2000
Awa Ikeda,
Japan
Wednesday, March 1, 2000
Not really knowing what do to with myself now that I had become 'feetless/walkless' for the present and into the near future I decided to go for a short walk to the huge street market in search of some noodles or something cheap for breakfast. The market place was huge and I spent an hour or two walking around its little streets.
...um...I walked slowly as to not allow my feet to sweat!
I then headed across to the Kochie Castle for a look and then just as had started walking around the Makino Botanical Gardens my right foot felt a little strange. After taking off my boot I found that one of my toes had split and was now bleeding.
Bugger!
I guess it was time for another long train ride.
After grabbing my pack I headed to the station and grabbed a ticket to Awa Ikeda (Oboke).
I had called the Hostel owners and asked them if I begged if they could come and collect me as I know they requested a days notice. All was well by them after I explained why.
Well wasn't the train ride something I wasn't prepared for.
The Good Book stated that it was a spectacular ride but it never actually said HOW SPECTACULARE it was. I actually found it more impressive than the train journey to Takayama. We followed a beautiful river and snaked our way through the stunning Oboke and Koboke Gorges (meaning big and small steps dangerous).
It really was an awesome train ride!
I guess my only real reason for going to Awa Ikeda was for the stunning train ride and to sleep the night at the beautiful hostel on the hill side. If I had my feet I could have planned several days of hiking and rafting. It's a pity as I would probably not come back to this part of Japan for along time if ever and the hikes are supposed to be awesome.
Oh well, although it's a real bugger for me I simply moved on with the train.
When I arrived at the station I was met the Hostel Guy. He was really kind to me and took me to a little store where I got some supplies for the evening. Day had moved to night and after the Hostel Guy helped patch up my foot I spent the night with many Japanese who were singing and playing the guitar.
During dinner we all sat to watch a movie called '24 Eyes'.
Though I had no idea what the movie was about it was pretty easy to grasp the story. Though I had no idea what they were saying I still found it a very moving movie. Only a few of them could speak any sort of English but they didn't have the vocabulary to explain most of what was being said.
On this night it didn't matter.
This night was about sitting and relaxing and having a great time indoors with new friends.
Beers N Cheers toya.....shane
Accommodation: & ; ;nbs p; Awa Ikeda Youth Hostel
Ph: 0883 725 277
3798 Nishiyamasako,
Ikeda-cho, Miyoshi-gun, Tokushima-ken
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The soundtrack to this entry was was the awesome Teenage Fanclub
The album was my favourite release of theirs, 'Grand Prix'
