well, yet another day that shows how nothing EVER goes according to plan.  kind of funny since i'd read part of a book about Murphy's Law at the hostel the other day...  I *did* buy a new suitcase, it's a nice one with 4 wheels so when i'm on a flat surface it can roll upright instead of having to tilt (which, as heavy as it is, wears out my hand pretty fast).  i repacked all the heavy stuff into it, and now my backpack is pretty light.  it was also pretty cheap, in fact i don't think i would have found a similar one in the US for a cheaper price, or at least not much.

anywho, so i get to the train station this morning and go to buy the seishun 18 pass which i was gonna use to ride to hakodate and then later to kyoto (i made a reservation last nite at a place in hakodate).  in the middle of doing that, i find out that there has been a train wreck between here and hakodate so there are NO trains running there today (and apparently several other places have no service either).  fortunately, the people at the help station speak pretty good english so i was able to work out a plan where i can still get to kyoto on time.  of course, i won't be able to stop at hakodate but hey whatever can go wrong...  the good news is that this new thing will have me arrive a day earlier in kyoto, so at least i get a day made up for the day i lost.

after i got sorted at the train station, i found out where a go parlor was and went there for about 4 hours.  yes, i know i could have gone sightseeing or something around sapporo, but i really didn't want to wander the city all day with all my luggage.  yes, the backpack is now reasonably light (or reasonably heavy, depending on who's measuring the glass), but the suitcase still IS heavy and dragging it through the snow on the sidewalks is still tiring.  plus my body is killing me from yesterday and the days before.

which reminds me -- yesterday!  the weather was so bad that they cancelled plane flights, trains, buses, etc.  it wasn't terribly cold (about 25F?) but the wind speed was 25mph with gusts up to 40.  and it gusted a lot.  so i went to the mall to try and find the camera and gps for my psp and also a suitcase.  ironically, on the way to buy a gps unit so i WON'T get lost, i DID get lost and ended up wandering around in the snow for 2 hours.  by the time i reached the mall, by beard was LITERALLY covered in ice.  now, i know that sounds cliche, and i wish i had a camera so i could have taken a picture (again, the irony), but after people were staring at me more than usual i checked a mirror... and i actually did have ice covering my beard.  i had to go to the bathroom and defrost/pull out the ice.  of course, it turns out the mall didn't have either the psp accessories or the suitcase i needed.  i did, however, resist the urge to buy earmuffs and/or a scarf.  the cap i have is great for keeping you warm, but it's not terribly solid so wind goes more or less right through it.

on the plus side, i had my first real japanese ramen that night, and it was good.  surprisingly enough, ramen is actually one of the more expensive foods over here (730Y).  the sushi i had was cheaper.  however, you get a metric stomachful of the stuff.  most people could probably just eat the bowl of ramen and maybe a snack for a whole day's food.  i had miso ramen, which is a hokkaido regional variety.  i keep eating big meals so i really only eat 2 meals a day.  i've been averaging about 10-15$/day for food, with the skew towards the lower half, which isn't bad for eating out.  well, actually i have breakfast/lunch with food from the convini (convinience store), as noplace is open before noon here and i'm still waking up about 7am.  once i get used to it it'll be great for me -- even department stores are open 10am-10pm, so japan is very much a night country just like i'm a night person.  i was also surprised that milk is fairly cheap -- a carton (something between a half gallon and a quarter gallon) is only ~130Y or so, which is a good (relatively) cheap source of protein.

anyways, after the go parlor i tried the internet cafe i went to the other day but it's closed on saturdays so i came to a big chain one.  it's a bit more expensive, but it does include all kinds of free drinks (the other one only had coffee/tea) and considering that drinks here are expensive (in fact, beer and sake are cheaper than coke or juice -- a 6-pack of coke is over 1$ per coke), its a pretty good deal assuming i suck as many calories out of it as possible.

well, it snowed about 2 feet overnight and it's still snowing now.  it's kind of weird that they don't clear the snow off the roads at all, they just drive on it.  that probably explains why hokkaido has the highest accident rate in japan during winter...

the hostel i'm staying at is probably the nicest hostel i've ever seen.  very spacious, clean, and the owners speak great english.  it's a mother and father, and they and their kids (7 and 10) live in the other half of the building.  the oba-san (grandmother) is also here, and i'm not sure if the oji-san is here too.  japanese hostels are more expensive than hostels elsewhere, but they have western-style showers, which is nice, and even washing machines and a full kitchen, free internet, etc.

i had my first real japanese sushi yesterday, at a sushi bar (where the sushi goes around on a conveyor belt and you pick what you want.  the plates are colored to indicate the price.  for breakfast today i'll probably eat at a ramen stand.  i also need to go down to the mall and find a store that i can buy the camera and gps unit for my psp.  i'll also either find a rolling luggage bag or ship home some stuff.  i brought a bunch of hard drives with me, but they're just too heavy (they weren't included in the weight of the main bag as they are in the small backpack).  my shoulders are bruised from all the weight... if i had to guess, i'd say the second bag weighs about 20-30 lb which, added to the ~42 lb main bag is just too much (and the second bag doesn't benefit from the nice padded shoulder straps and waist straps that the main packpack has).

the hostel owner suggested a place to stay in hakodate, but he said that the owners don't speak much english so hopefully my pidgin japanese will suffice.  it's kind of funny, the way i learned most of the japanese that i know means that my pronounciation is great, and i've gotten several comments about how good my japanese is, but i just don't know that many words.  

it's christmas back in the states so i'll be making calls once the other people in the room wake up and i can dig out my gloves as it's freezing cold outside.  i was supposed to call around 11pm here, but my alarm didn't work so it'll be around 6-8pm when i call everyone.  i've been pretty impressed with how well skype has been working, so that's good.

well, let me say that for a while i was worried.  i mean, i'm fine hopping on an 8-hr bus to cairo in a country where i don't speak a WORD of the language (well, okay, ONE word), and NOBODY speaks english... but this was far worse.  at least at first.  it's at least partly my fault -- i decided to fly into hokkaido, which is pretty much the most remote area of japan (saving random tiny islands, etc), and once i got here i realized that no english people ever come here.  i was the only non-chinese/japanese person on the flight from taipei to chitose, and the whole time i've been here i've only seen 2 non-orientals, a couple in the train station, and i don't think they were english either.  none of the bus drivers, train conductors, etc speak english -- and even most of the school-aged kids don't.  at least hotel and tourist information employees do (to some degree at least).

so, anyhow, i get held up in customs for a while and when i get out, i spend a while walking around trying to find someone to tell me how to get to the hostel i looked up online while waiting in LAX.  i finally run across the JR information office, where they sort me out.  they tell me to go outside, turn left, and wait for the bus at stop 3.  fortunately, my destination was the last stop on the line so i didn't need to worry about that.  UNfortunately, they forgot to mention that 3 different bus lines stop at bus stop 3... so of course, i get on the first one.  i ask the driver if it's going to my destination, and he says yes, but i forgot to specify the second name of the stop, and apparently just about everywhere in the area has the same first name.  yes, of course, it was the wrong bus.  it took me a while to figure it out, and here i learned another important traveler's tip for japan.  at least in hokkaido, people will more or less studiously ignore you in public.  trying to talk to them (or get help from them) will result in them nervously dismissing you.  however, in *private* they have no problem being helpful.  so, when the last passenger (other than me) got off the bus, the driver came back and we (eventually) figured out what was going on.  he dropped me at a stop and told me to take the next bus to come by, in about 10 minutes.  he was even kind enough to refuse payment for the ride.

which brings me to another problem.  the bus systems (again, at least here in hokkaido) -- as well as most signs, don't have any english.  to make things worse, the announcements are made so quietly that even if you are carefully listening you can BARELY make them out about half of the time.  add that to the fact that you don't really understand what they're saying, you're just listening for keywords, and it's a nightmare.  rest assured, after waiting a while, the next bus arrived and when i got on i confirmed that it was going to my destination (correctly this time).  which brings me to the next little mishap in my adventure.  it turns out that, despite being listed as "chitose-shi", the hostel i had found was NOT in chitose.  in fact, it was a good half hour to an hour (time tends to be slippery when tired on long bus rides) away.  furthermore, it turns out that it was closed (the website didn't mention this, or have an online reservation system so i could book in advance).

while at this point things had been going almost universally badly, my luck turned around.  there was a hotel right next to the hostel, and while it was a luxury hotel (much too expensive for me), they were nice enough to not only tell me that there was a cheaper hotel in town, but call the hotel, book the room, and DRIVE ME to it.  i'm still unsure about the whole tipping thing in japan.  most of my exposure to japanese culture has, of course, come from pop culture, and thus either left out tipping, or it is taboo.  i AM familiar with korean tipping, and tried to spot any similar signs, but there weren't any.  by the time i left Shikotsu, i was fairly sure that i wasn't supposed to tip them.  the room was about 10$ more than the hostel would have been, but it included a VERY NICE breakfast (albeit the hostel included breakfast too, i doubt it would have been as nice) and the hotel itself was great.  in comparing it to an american hotel, i would say it would have been about a 4 or 4.5 star rating.  i hadn't eaten since the flight from taipei and i couldn't finish the breakfast, which included salmon sushi fresh from the lake, what i can only assume was caviar (it was wrapped in fish so i didnt see the stuff inside but i think it was), and of course the usual stuff -- mushrooms, miso soup, tofu, rice, and a few other miscellanies.  another advantage was that i picked the traditional japanese room, which let me start to get used to it (i don't mind the futons; heck ive slept on more than my share of floors, couches, and hotel bathtubs), and, more importantly, public baths.  there was one person in the bath when i entered, and he left a few minutes later, then a second person showed up just as i was getting ready to leave -- which allowed me to observe pretty much the entire bathing ritual.  putting that together with what i've already seen in anime/manga/liveaction, and having done it once without anyone scrutinizing me, i'm pretty comfortable with it.

anyone traveling to at least this part of japan (again, i'm not yet sure how representative hokkaido is) is bound to be shocked by just how insanely polite the workers are.  i mean, yes, i know japanese are polite, and employees even more so, but every time i walked down to the main foyer of the hotel, everyone on duty would run out and greet me profusely.  after breakfast i had a couple hours before the bus left, so i walked down to the lake and around the bird sanctuary (though of course most of the birds were long gone).  it was one of the most beautiful places i've been, and i certainly don't regret the mixup... it was just disorienting.

next, i had to figure out how to get to sapporo, where i DO have a reservation at a hostel (for 2 days too so i can have a day without travel), so i hopped on the (only) bus out of Shikotsu (which was full of old people as apparently it's a very small tourist/fishing town that hasn't had much population growth) and and got off at the Chitose main rail station, found an information place where a woman (these things seem to be exclusively stocked with women) was nice enough to lead me to where i needed to buy the ticket.  unfortunately, i didnt realize that the english sign in the ticket room wouldn't be repeated after i went thru the ticket stall, so i had to go through the agonizing process of finding someone sufficiently alone to ask for help (which consisted of my pidgin japanese, Sapporo desu ka, which literally means more or less "is it Sapporo" while pointing to a track).  fortunately, the JR trains use the same system throughout the country, so there was enough english for me to figure out what i had to do, and i was wise to the fact that shin in Japanese means "new" and thus "Shin Sapporo" is NOT the same as Sapporo.  after exiting the train, i found another of those obscenely useful help desks and asked for directions to an internet cafe (one of the many words/phrases the japanese have appropriated from english... though it is usually pronounced more like in-tah-neto cah-fey).  after spending a few minutes finding where it was (she marked it on the map but didn't mention it was on the second floor of a bank building), i found it, and that is where i am as i write this (i needed to look up directions to the hostel).

Well, i'm half way thru my LAX layover and about to go check in, don't know if i'll have net inside the terminal so thought i'd say hi from LA.  See you in Taiwan ;-P

Gear list for Japan:

Pack:

REI Ventura 40L Pack http://www.rei.com/product/762501

REI Duck's Back Rain Cover 40L http://www.rei.com/product/738949

Hygeine:

OHSO Pocket Toothbrush [URL=http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/camping-outdoors/9270/]http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/camping-outdoors/9270/[/URL] (18.97$ @ ThinkGeek)
-- OHSO convenient!

Philips Norelco T980 Turbo Vacuum Trimmer [URL=http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Norelco-T980-Vacuum-Trimm...id=1224543214&sr=8-1]http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Norelco-T980-Vacuum-Trimm...id=1224543214&sr=8-1[/URL] (53.13$ @ Walmart)
-- used for shaving head as well as face; I already have one, but this one sucks up the hair -- less messy, and possible to do on the go

Generic Spray Deoderant (with locking mechanism to avoid accidental spray) (already have, price for calculations: 5$)
-- easier to deal with than sticks

Generic Travel-Size Stick Deoderant (already have, price for calculations: 3$)
-- in case spray can gets punctured

Shampoo (sealed in small water bottles) (already have, price for calculations: 20$)
-- i have bad dandruff if i dont use head and shoulders intensive care or something similar; bottle cuz i hate it when they explode...

Colgate Toothpaste (already have, price for calculations: 3$)
-- fits the OHSO toothbrush reservoir without the adaptor

Plastic Bags (already have, price for calculations: 3$)
-- for bagging things... in plastic...

Total Hygeine Cost: 72.10 (106.10)

Clothing:

4x shirts:

2x dress shirts

2x street shirts

4x ties

4x pants

4x socks

4x underwear

1x suit (pants + jacket)

Joe Rocket Ballistic 5.0 Jacket w/insert (already have)
-- you probably dont know this, but i ride my motorcycle year-round. i dont have a car. so i've worn this thing practically every day for the past 3 years... it's like a second skin, and i wouldn't leave it behind for the world.

Salomon Men's XA Pro 3D XCR Trail Running Shoes [URL=http://www.amazon.com/Salomon-Mens-Trail-Running-Black/...d=1224545392&sr=1-17]http://www.amazon.com/Salomon-Mens-Trail-Running-Black/...d=1224545392&sr=1-17[/URL] (114.45$ @ REI)
-- i need new shoes; given that i ride my bike in the rain, waterproof ones would be nice; and of course, it's best for the trip

Rainbow Sandals Men's Hemp Double Stack [URL=http://www.amazon.com/Rainbow-Sandals-Double-Stack-Natu...d=1224544520&sr=1-21]http://www.amazon.com/Rainbow-Sandals-Double-Stack-Natu...d=1224544520&sr=1-21[/URL] (51.95$ @ islandsurf.com)
i dont own any sandals or flip-flops; these were only 10$ more than single stack, and i dont want foot fungi from hostels. i'll probably wear them around town occasionally too so i'll splurge rather than going with cheap 1$ plastic crap.   (This won't come in till monday and so will be shipped to me in Japan)

Total Clothing Cost: 166.40 (plus clothes)

Tech:

Hammacher Schlemmer 150-Country Auto-Detecting Travel Adapter [URL=http://www.hammacher.com/publish/73996.asp]http://www.hammacher.com/publish/73996.asp[/URL] (40.85$ @ Hammacher.com)
-- another thing i went for the high-quality rather than cheap crap. my last adapter left much to be desired. no need for a converter, as the only non-usb things i have are 110/240V; also, they no longer make/sell the converter.

All-in-one Atomic Time Watch [URL=http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/watches/8765/]http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/watches/8765/[/URL] (30.97$ @ thinkgeek)
-- because i dont have a watch. it's cheap, and accurate. to make sure i dont miss planes/buses/trains/etc without whipping out the psp.

BodyGard Self-Powered Emergency Tool [URL=http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/camping-outdoors/9d6f/]http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/camping-outdoors/9d6f/[/URL] (20.97$ @ thinkgeek)
-- a handful of emergency uses, AND it's a crank charger for my psp? epic w1n!

Gadget Shoulder Holster [URL=http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/bags/918a/]http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/bags/918a/[/URL] (50.97$ @ thinkgeek)
-- admit it, i'll look sexy with this. should fit my psp and a few other valuables. i dont normally travel with crap like this, but i figured it's worth a shot.

Micro-Max 19-in-1 Multi-tool [URL=http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/tools/a71c/]http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/tools/a71c/[/URL] (13.97$ @ thinkgeek)
-- because everyone needs to screw things occasionally...

MicroJet Lighter Torch [URL=http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/tools/8868/]http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/tools/8868/[/URL] (20.97$ @ thinkgeek)
-- lighter + blowtorch in case of emergency.

X-mini Capsule Speaker MAX Stereo [URL=http://www.thinkgeek.com/electronics/portable-audio-video/9e68/]http://www.thinkgeek.com/electronics/portable-audio-video/9e68/[/URL] (50.97$ @ thinkgeek)
-- let's face it, alarms must be loud sometimes; also, some loud music is occasionally welcomed.

PSP-2000 (already have, 160$ for reference, plus 50$ for camera, 50$ for gps, and 30$ for memory stick, so ~300$ total)
-- this is my everything. books, music, movies, games, internet, skype, camera, gps unit, ad nauseum. smaller, cheaper, and lower profile than a laptop.

HiCapacity PSP Battery (not purchased yet)
-- easier than dealing with a bunch of other things.

Total Tech Cost: 229.67 (529.67)

Food:

Large Light My Fire Spork [URL=http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/camping-outdoors/ac2b/]http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/camping-outdoors/ac2b/[/URL] (5.97$ @ thinkgeek)
-- stylish AND utilitarian? i'm impressed.

Light My Fire Outdoor Meal Kit [URL=http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/camping-outdoors/ac24/]http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/camping-outdoors/ac24/[/URL] (15.97$ @ thinkgeek)
-- everything i need to eat, in a tiny package.

Squishy Bowl Set [URL=http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/camping-outdoors/a8ab/]http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/camping-outdoors/a8ab/[/URL] (17.97$ @ thinkgeek)
-- useful. small. can't pass this up.

Squishy Shot Glass Set [URL=http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/camping-outdoors/aec9/]http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/camping-outdoors/aec9/[/URL] (9.97 @ thinkgeek)
-- how often have you dropped a shot glass and it broke?

2x Camelbak (different sizes - already have, iirc ~80$ total)
-- best way to hydrate ever. if you dont have one, get one now. stop reading and go to the store.

Collapsible Chopsticks [URL=http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/tools/8ccd/]http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/tools/8ccd/[/URL] (25.97$ @ thinkgeek)
-- yeah, yeah... sue me.

Titanium Spork [URL=http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/camping-outdoors/8ace/]http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/camping-outdoors/8ace/[/URL] (9.97$)
-- nobody messes with a guy holding a titanium spork. nobody. it's indestructible 1337 in your hand.

Total Food Cost: 86.92 (166.92)

Misc:

Notebook (already have, 3$ for calculations
-- same ole cheap notebook i used back in school. or rather, didn't use...

Inka Travel Pen [URL=http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/camping-outdoors/98ce/]http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/camping-outdoors/98ce/[/URL] (13.97$ @ thinkgeek)
-- better than the space pen because it's compact and disguised.

Stainless Steel Wallet [URL=http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/gear/9964/]http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/gear/9964/[/URL] (80.97$ @ thinkgeek)
-- needed a new wallet; this one has toughness, coolness, prettiness, and securityness all in one... even works as a faraday cage...

RFID Blocking Passport Holder [URL=http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/security/910f/]http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/security/910f/[/URL] (18.97$ @ thinkgeek)
-- i dont want no mans up in my stuffs scanning my RFID's. seriously though, you should look into rfid... a lot of crap can be done with it, much of it not good.

Medical Kit:

REI Backpacker First Aid Kit - Large http://www.rei.com/product/736308

All kinds of over-the counter pills (aspirin, acetominophen, ibuprofin, sodium naproxen, etc)

Snakebite Kit

Extra band-aids

One-A-Day vitamin and Calcium supplement for every day

Cold/Flu Strips

Rescue Blanket

Total Misc Cost: 113.91 (116.91)

Grand Total: 669.00 (1086.00) -- yes, by some odd coincidence it actually came out to an even dollar amount... creepy...

Note: does not include cost of clothes (but does include shoes).

Total weight: 41LB (minus laptop and hdd's)

Pics exclude most of the clothes (you can see the rolled up suit next to the sandals, and the pile of clothes in the background of the zoomed out pic), the laptop, and the hdd's, as well as my jacket.

41 hours till J-Day

so i've got 41 hours left before i leave.  most of my gear came in fri and sat, and i picked up my new pack and medikit yesterday.  of course, I leave early mon morn and don't arrive in Japan till wed afternoon, but at least i'll be able to catch up on sleep on the road.  or air, as it may be.  don't really have much else to say, just thought i'd make the first post.  gear list should follow shortly.