Winter is almost over.... ouch!!
Well winter is on the way out, you can feel it everywhere you go. We had some rain the other day and it hit 8° - it felt like t-shirt and shorts weather.
It put a huge dent in the amount of snow around, but I'm quickly learning that snow is not the problem, it is the melting that is the bitch. Huge puddles of slush lie everywhere you go, waterproof boots are a must. Everywhere I go takes longer to get there, just walking through this stuff takes longer and then you have to skip, dodge or jump over the slush and puddles.
I had almost made through winter without slipping on this stuff too. Of course I started to brag about my new found ice/snow walking talents. Of course everybody knows that there is a direct correlation between bragging and the come down. The bigger the brag the bigger the crash. Fortunately my brags haven't been to big some my crashes haven't caused any injury. I have gone over three times in the last month. Once in the entry to my building and twice on the road.
Let me just say that for the record, the person who designed the entry foyer is a fool. He put down polished stone tiles, apply water and ice and you have a surface 10x more slippery than any ice rink. I saw a spider lose its footing on this stuff.
The other two times have been on the road, while crossing. It was a lesson learnt long ago when motorbike riding, pedestrian crossings are dangerous when wet or covered in snow and ice that white paint they use is just one big slippery surface. I generally try to avoid stepping on it... but occasionally you have no choice. And down you go. The album cover for Abbey Road would have been much different if it had been shot in Sapporo in winter. The fab four would have been all lying on the ice playing some bizarre version of Twister together.
I'm heading to Yokohama in April and recently I have seen all these posters applying and I'm thinking "oh cool! I can get the Shinkansen to Tokyo (I do enjoy train travel).
Well that unleashed a whole lot of head turning. "Shinkansen to Tokyo. Nope you can't do it!"
I show friend photo
"Oh really! I didn't know! Sorry I know nothing about it!"
Finally I find somebody who knows something. They are currently building it, (bugger there goes that ride - it wont be ready by April).
They also said it wasn't a good way to get to Tokyo and after speaking to a few others they all agreed.
Why do I always find myself in the minority and having to point out to people the errors of their ways.
Tokyo - Sapporo by plane 3 hours 48 minutes with 3 transfers is the best I can find. This shinkansen is saying 10 minutes more 0 transfers. Now that is a winner surely. Cost.. well it will be more expensive than discount airtickets but cheaper than full priced tickets... probably sitting right in the middle of them... oh well it's years away... but it is on my must do list when it's done (assuming I'm still here).
