さよならと…

Whistlestop

Last stretch now, guys. Let's race through this so we can get to the grand finale.

Nagoya

Louise Ward, this is how much I love you:

That's right, I would risk my life fishing for plastic Magikarp to get you a birthday present! That's how much!

Anyway, now to establish a little context.

We set off Saturday morning, we being myself, Steph and the spirit of Mai (the real thing being unable to come due to illness). Shinkansen there, around 5000 yen. We'd originally planned to stay the night at Mai's, but being only in spirit her family didn't recognise her, so we were homeless. Instead we'd be travelling back that evening, once our day of fun had some to an end.

First things first, the Pokemon Center, and the video you saw above. Looks like Nintendo are really trying to get their unwanted 2009 merchandise off their hands. You won't see me complaining, though. After a quick lunch at a sushi place to get our plans sorted, we headed for the river and the Nagoya Tower, which is kinda impressive. More impressive was the Oasis 21 Shopping Center, with its garden on the roof.

Anyway, moving on, we went in search of a certain temple (name escapes me) as we were informed via seance with the spirit of Mai (incredible what mobile phones are capable of these days) that they did some nice traditional sweets. We didn't find any sweets there, but we sure did find something.

Could not believe my luck. Apparently by sheer coincidence we happened to turn up on the one Saturday of the month that these crazy people decided to run their cosplay meeting, coinciding with a traditional music exhibit (or something, didn't pay much attention to that bit). Sensational.

Getting hungry, and with the light fading, we made our way back towards the center of town and food. As was expected, Nagoya central was not the cheapest place to eat, but we did manage to find ourselves a great tofu place in a small shopping arcade near the station. Having had our fill, we went on home. Shinkansen back, 5000 yen.

Fukuoka

Steph and I travelled considerably further from home this time. But worth it, oh yes was it worth it. I would have travelled to the center of the Earth in order to complete my tour of the Pokemon Centers. And now I have; all across Japan there is no Pokemon Center I have not seen. It's a little sad, I must admit, not having any new surprises left in store. All I can do now is wait for a new one to open (unlikely). ...

So yeah, Fukuoka. The last Center stood in a quirky shopping center called Canal City, opposite the Ultraman shop. Though I was not taken immediately by its bright colours and funny music, there was one thing that could sway my opinion, and that was patrolling killer robots.

In-credible.

Ice-cream in some American place and then it was out again to find ourselves a place to stay (the Shinkansen having taken a good portion of the day from us that morning). This time our Manga Cafe of choice was semi-famous 'space create', and was not bad at all. Great showers, for example. Watched Spiderman 2, half of Japanese-and-not-subtitled Watchmen, and then it was to bed.

Next day was hot. Too hot. Not in the best of moods we set forth for the coast, not wanting to leave Japan. Our destination was 'Noko-jima', a small island reachable by 10-minute ferry, which was also far too hot. Could well be, though, the closest I will ever get to a bone-fide tropical island. It was that sort of heat, that sort of landscape, and boy did it make for some good photos.

And the bugs! Those things were nasty! Still can't quite tell what that black butterfly thing was; it was massive! And those ants... Normally I quite like ants, but they sure can do some hideous things to other bugs.

It was worth nearly dying. I will take the memories of Noko-jima to my grave.

Dinner back in the center, amidst the pouring rain, and then off to catch the night bus home. Not the most unpleasant trip home ever, thanks to a giant Pikachu plushy, but not something I would happily repeat.

What came next? Preparations for leaving. And then actually leaving...

Thanks for reading.