Okayama and waking up at 5am

For me, who likes to travel and doesn't like to spend money, sleeping in internet cafes is the way to go. It cost me about 15 bucks to sleep for 6 hours in a private booth with a bed. That was enough rest for me once it was combined with some coffee from McDonald's. I would like to thank McDonald's by the way for opening at 6am in Okayama, exactly when I needed them to. I would also like to thank their staff for keeping the bathroom meticulously clean so that I could brush my teeth and wash my face and make a giant mess in the process without feeling too much like a homeless person.

I left Miyajima island (close to Hiroshima) around 5pm on the 31st, with the intention of going as far as possible before the trains stopped running. I paid 180 yen just to get on the train and as, thankfully, no one asked to see my ticket, I didn't spend a ton of money like I would have if I was a more honest person. I got as far as Okayama before 9pm and decided I didn't want to get stranded in Himeji or somewhere where I might have difficulty in finding a hotel or an internet cafe. I kept an eye on the stations we passed through so that I could lie convincingly at Okayama about where I had got on. As long as the station looked closed down or I couldn't see a ticket agent, then I had a good reason why I was getting off the train without a ticket to prove where I came from. It cost me 1110 yen to get off the train over 3 hours after I got on. Its dishonest but it rocks.

I got some curry from CoCoIchibanya (think the McDonald's of curry), and then wandered up and down the center of the city looking for inspiration. I started just asking random people where an internet cafe was and got three cute middle-aged women to tell me where I could find one. I crashed (after updating this blog briefly) and then woke up the next day at 5am. I was a minute or two late in checking out of the cafe so they charged me an extra 84 yen. Bastards.

I walked down to the castle and the city's impressive garden, Korakuen, but both were closed until 8am. I walked back towards the cafe hoping to find somewhere warm and quiet where I could read and kill some time. I got all the way back to the train station just as McDonald's was opening. I got coffee and their pancake breakfast thing. I know everyone has had it once but probably not for years, right? I've had a jones for it before but I never seem to make it on time. Anyway, I ate and had some coffee and read the book I brought. I left just before 8 and watched everyone waking up and heading off to work. That sucks. I was all smelly and unshaven and homeless looking, but that's so much better than getting up at that hour and heading off to work. I got to the garden and was one of the only people there when it opened. I took a ton of pictures but don't have my camera on me right now. I'll upload them when I get around to it, alright? I passed on the castle as its one of the ferro-concrete ones and probably incredibly boring inside. I mean, all the castles I've seen so far are pretty boring but at least I can pretend to be really interested in the architecture and history if the castle is an original. I got some curry at Matsuya (a Japanese chain restaurant that is found on every corner in every city in Japan) and then hopped on the train again.

I had much worse luck on the train ride home but it was because I made the rookie mistake of traveling in the afternoon after rush hour ended. I got asked not once, but twice for my ticket. Son of a bitch! I was able to lie convincingly both times so the damage wasn't as bad as it should have been, but I still had to cough up 30 bucks to the train conductors.

I got home yesterday at 5 or 6, and just spent the rest of the day eating junk food and reading. Today was more of the same and I'm gonna meet Yuka tonight for dinner and maybe a movie.

La la la...