Where The Hell Have I Been?

I have been making very good use of my JR Rail Pass. I am currently back in Yokohama, but I recently took a sleeper train up to Sopporo on the North Island of Hokaido. To paraphrase David Sedaris (sp?) "That was a supposedly fun thing that I will never do again." I thought it would kind of cool and fun hanging out with people in the bar car, and having dinner in the diner car, and... I must have been high or something, because it was a long, boring, and sleep deprived ride. Getting to sleep was not a problem, but staying asleep and getting a nice deep sleep was not happening.

The clickitty-clack of the train will put you to sleep, it is very rythmic and I rather liked that. But when you do get to sleep, the train makes a few, something like 4 or 5, stops during the night. When it stops I did not notice it. But when it goes again... eyes open, huh, wha? Oh, train... yaaaaawwwwn stopped. Moving, now... drift... drift... fucking train. Minutes go by... decide to bust out the i-Pod. Drifting... sleeping... eyes open, huh, wha? Oh, train... yaaaaawwwwn stopped. Moving, now... drift... drift... fucking train. Minutes go by... decide to bust out the i-Pod. Drifting... sleeping... Repeat

But I did get to meet the push cart girl. Her name is Fuko. She lives in Sopporo and is a physical education teacher. We had a good time looking for a place to eat, when we found the outdoor eating and drinking spot in the streets of Sopporo. It goes on every night of the week during the summer time. They close 2 blocks of downtown from 3 to 10. Live music, beer, whiskey, and tastey food.

Fuko and I infront of the Sopporo Tower. This is also the site where the annual snow festival is held where they do some amazing things with snow sculpture.

BBQ Squid. This was so delicious I ate way too much of it. I think squid is the beef of Japan. It is everywhere.

Speaking of eatting. There have been a few instances in Japan where I do not know exactly what I am eatting or how to eat it. The other day I ate fried cow's stomach. It looked like a bunch of chunks of meat, it kinda looked like pork. It was very chewy and I asked Fuko what we were eatting and she said "Um, how do I say... stomach from cow." Reaaaally? This is good stuff. "Do you like it?!" Oh, yeah, let's get some more of this.

Thom and Fuko drinking beer on the street of Sopporo.

It tasted like chewy beef seasoned with a little salt and pepper, and shaved bits of fresh onion. I want some right now. It was that good.

Then the other night I went out searching for dinner in Sopporo and I came upon a tiny spot that specializes in Gozo, I think that's right. It is like a dumpling only fried on a skillet, with minced pork and vegetables in the mixture, they were wonderful. I want some right now. It was that good. The thing is the Gozo came with a soup, rice, and a small plastic container full of chopped cabbage, shared with the table. What would you do with the cabbage? I put some in my soup bowl. I saw some patrons give me strange looks but I went on. A little later another patron came in, orded, and put the cabage on his plate and some soy sauce on top of it and ate it like a salad. Oops. So I put more in my bowl. It was good that way.

On a different note. I plan on keeping Reality Check going even after I come back home. I enjoy posting things going on in my life and as long as you enjoy reading it, I will keep posting. I think that coming back home will be very interesting for me as I see my home country again through eyes newly opened.

Be well my friends,

Thom