Toroi-San in Japan: Part 1

March 30th to April 9th, a friend of mine from Oklahoma came to visit me in Japan. He flew into Osaka, took a bus to Kyoto, took another bus to Yokohama, and then took a train to Yokosuka. What follows is an account of that trip. None of the names or places have been changed.

I took the train from Yokosuka to Yokohama. Four people later, I found the departure point in downtown Yokohama. I had a hard time following Noriko's walking map and about twice doors and gates on my route had already been close and locked for the night. The bus itself drove on the tollway and stopped every two hours at rest stops. Finally, seven hours later, I stepped off the allnight bus at 6a.m. and Kyoto welcomed me with near freezing temperatures and snow. All I had was a fleece jacket, a knit cap, and a decorative handkerchief. The above picture is the view the early morning citizens had. It didn't help that, in addition to lack of sleep, I had a severe head cold, a wet hacking cough, and was shivering.

I had about 7 hours to kill while I waited on Troy's plane to land in Osaka and for him to successfully book a bus ride from the airport to Kyoto Station. I decided to do a little recon and find the two guesthouses we'd be staying at and check out an early morning aikido class at the Kyoto Budo Center (See other blog for details about that!). A little recon= I walked one hour and couldn't find the first guesthouse so I walked about 30 more minutes to the Budo Center. I then had to wait about an hour and a half until the class started. This didn't improve my various ailments and conditions.

After the aikido class, I headed out to find the other guesthouse. I found the street, turned around once, consulted the map, realized if I'd just walked about 100 more feet their sign would've come into view, turned around and found it. I started to develop a new problem during this 4th hour of almost nonstop walking- blisters on my little toes! It was about noon and they told me check-in was at 3. I left my backpack and headed out again to get to know the area a little bit and kill some time (and worsen the condition of my toes).

2:30 pm found me outside the Gojo Guesthouse, eating a snack from the 99yen store and watching my wristwatch. By this time, I had developed a limp in my right foot. I started to wonder why I mailed myself these shoes when I first left Oklahoma. Three o'clock finally showed itself and I checked in.

The best I can tell, a guesthouse and a (youth) hostel might be the same creature. It's cheaper than a hotel and the sink, bathrooms, and baths (if they have them) are communal. Many times you share a room with strangers. We had reserved a private room for two. The Gojo House being my first experience with one, I didn't know what to expect. It was a decent little room and reminded me of the kind of room I had seen many times in samurai movies. All it lacked was a bottomless sake bottle and a "geisha." I knew Troy would like it. As soon as I checked in, I pulled the futon out of the closet, cranked up the heat, and passed out.

Three hours later, the batphone rang. Troy was in Osaka and would be in Kyoto in less than two hours. I assured him that I'd be at the station and we said our goodbyes. Once outside, I spotted

Kyoto Tower, which is directly in front of Kyoto Station. I walked (my limp was gone for the time being) the twenty minutes to the station and tried to figure out where his bus would land. His ETA came. His ETA left. I lingered around the end of the station where I could see the sign "Airport Limousine Buses." I even saw an empty bus with "Airport Bus" written on the side. Still, there was no sign of Troy. I walked back down one side of the station. I walked back up the same side. This searching (wandering around) went on for about 90 minutes. I made about ten circuits of the stationhouse.My limp had returned and I had no idea where Troy was. He finally got through to me on my cellphone:

"Jory-san!"

"Hey Troy! Where are you?"

"I'm where the bus left me."

"Are you in the station? Can you see McDonalds? Go there!"

"No! The bus left me on some street. I can't see McDonalds. I got cold so I went inside this hotel to have a Coke and warm up."

"Hotel? You can't see the station? It's a really big building that says KYOTO STATION."

We finally found each other. The bus dropped him off on the side of the street away from the station. Of course, he had no idea what he should be looking for. There were large buildings all around him. He did the first thing anybody is supposed to do when they realize they are lost. Stay put!

Since I knew where the hotel- err guesthouse was, there was no need to get a taxi. We promptly set out on foot and I lead this stranger in a strange land to his first night in Japan.

Gojo Guest House: http://www.gojo-guest-house.com/gojo-guest-house/gojo-e.html