{"id":9100,"date":"2011-03-12T23:00:16","date_gmt":"2011-03-13T04:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.wykontario.org\/?p=9100"},"modified":"2011-03-14T10:59:50","modified_gmt":"2011-03-14T14:59:50","slug":"on-the-train-nikko-to-tokyo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.wykontario.org\/?p=9100","title":{"rendered":"On the train Nikko to Tokyo"},"content":{"rendered":"

March 12, 2011 13:59<\/strong><\/p>\n

The train!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLeaving in 2 minutes\u201d….so I was told at the train station information booth.\u00a0 The station guy didn\u2019t even bother to check the contents of my pass but simply asked me to hurry up.<\/p>\n

So….I did.\u00a0 I waved at the train master to signal I was coming.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t even have time to buy my bento box, but who cares.<\/p>\n

In disaster situations like this, I will board whichever is the first available train.\u00a0 I only hope this is not the \u201cD\u201d train.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s 13:59.\u00a0 I have a bar of large Cadbury chocolate (with fruit and nuts), few raisins, a handful of almonds and a mug of freshly-brewed tea with me.\u00a0 That should keep me going till I arrive in Tokyo 90 or so minutes later.<\/p>\n

I used to munch on a pack of Cadbury chocolate (same as now but only a smaller pack) and tea each day when I worked in Citibank in the early 70\u2019s.\u00a0 I only weaned myself from them when I started to carry my first child.\u00a0 Tea, nuts, raisins and chocolate are a lovely combo!<\/p>\n

On reflecting back and as I get older, I do firmly believe that things do happen for a reason….<\/p>\n

\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My train pass \u2013 the very last minute at the point of sale, I made a change from a 2-day pass to a 3-day one.\u00a0 There wasn\u2019t any premonition of a disaster and getting stuck on the second day.<\/p>\n

\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My Skype communication tool \u2013 I set it up only the night of my departure for Nikko….simply to make call to UK to cancel my reservation at the bunk-bed hostel in Tokyo.\u00a0 Now with LAN and cell lines out, the Skype is my means of communication where there is Internet connection.<\/p>\n

\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My knapsack stuff \u2013 I carried 2 days of underwear instead of 1 just in case.\u00a0 And, now I got to use the contingency supply!\u00a0 I only consumed the biscuits and chocolate cookie yesterday to save some of my energy-replenishment supply for today.<\/p>\n

\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My stay \u2013 Nikko is a quaint little resort-type of town, only much smaller than those in resorts like Banff.\u00a0\u00a0 On the day of my arrival, it was sunny with the snow-capped mountains standing so gorgeous against the bright blue sky.\u00a0 I told myself I like the town and could come back again in the Fall or Summer.\u00a0 Now, I have my wish of extending the stay, though not in such positive way.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My coffee shop – I didn\u2019t have a chance to go back to the clean and quiet UCC Cafe to enjoy my cup of brewed coffee (the only brewed coffee in town).\u00a0 Well, it\u2019s something for my next trip here….that cosy shop with its own flair.<\/p>\n

\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The cats\u2019 meow \u2013 the night before the quake, the cats were meowing a lot outside the window.\u00a0 On the night of the quake (last night), some meows were more intense.\u00a0\u00a0 The cats must have sensed the heat!<\/p>\n

The town is very quiet today despite it\u2019s a Saturday.\u00a0 The tourist loop bus is empty.\u00a0 When I saw no crowds in front of the train station from afar, I asked myself if this was a positive or a negative sign.\u00a0 But the fact taxis are stationed at the entrance, I tell myself it\u2019s more of the former.<\/p>\n

The train is packed.\u00a0 I cleared the seat beside me for the next passenger.\u00a0 In times like this, who in the crowd would like to stand all the way on the 90+ minutes\u2019 train ride?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

March 12, 2011 13:59 The train! \u201cLeaving in 2 minutes\u201d….so I was told at the train station information booth.\u00a0 The station guy didn\u2019t even bother to check the contents of my pass but simply asked me to hurry up. So….I … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[184,96],"tags":[126],"class_list":["post-9100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-japan-earthquake","category-travel","tag-rose-ho"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wykontario.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wykontario.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wykontario.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wykontario.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wykontario.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9100"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wykontario.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9100\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9102,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wykontario.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9100\/revisions\/9102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wykontario.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wykontario.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wykontario.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}