So. I had a dream. I dreamt that I would spend every night on the shores of Toyama Bay until I saw the hotaruika no mirage - the firefly squid on the beach. I booked a room at the Sky Hotel Namerikawa back in October or November to be sure that I was close enough to walk to the beach every night. I was sure it was going to happen, because the new moon was on the first day of vacation, May 4, but I made plans to stay for several days, just in case.
And if you’re paying attention, you may be noticing right now that I’ve been on vacation for several days already, and yet May 4 was not one of those days. And if you have deduced from that fact that I fucked up and booked the wrong dates, you are correct. What you may not have realized is that I didn’t figure this out until the Monday before the holiday. And the holiday was an unprecedented 10 day vacation in Japan, thanks to the ascension of the new emperor. Which meant that, basically, I was screwed. I found two options that weren’t fully booked - one in Uozu, close to the shore, but looking sketchy as hell. The other was by Toyama station (ie, inland), and was going to set me back $500. Have I complained to you about my salary? So, yes, things were looking quite bleak for me. And then I wondered what my options would be if I tried Couchsurfing.
Now, for those of you who aren’t savvy, Couchsurfing is the predecessor of AirBnB. The idea is that travelers host one another freely, paying it forward to the next couchsurfer who comes to their town. It’s a good model if you like people and adventures. Since I only like one of those things, I’d never tried it, but desperate times called for desperate measures. And that is how I came to be staying with a young college student and her family here in Toyama.
Back to the squid: so my idea was that I was going to go out all night watching for them. That was my plan until I got to my hostess with the mostest’s home Saturday night. After a full day of wandering Kanazawa, following an overnight bus from Shinjuku, following a day of teaching, and THAT following two nights short on sleep. Basically I decided I couldn’t do it. Not that night. But even the next day was cold. Also, I’m not staying anywhere close to the shore. Google maps estimates that it’d take me an hour to walk there, and Google seems to think I’m a faster walker than I am.
Well, I decided I could find a solution for that. If I had a bike, it would be manageable. I found out that Toyama has a bike sharing system, CycloCity. I signed up for a weeklong account, and went to the station to get started. It was super easy. Problem solved! Or so I thought. Turns out that the system works only if the bikes keep circulating. In order to avoid tourists who use the same bike for hours at a time, potentially leaving it unattended to get stolen, the first half-hour is free, the next half-hour is 100 yen, and each hour after that is 500 yen. So riding around all night wasn’t going to work, either, as there were no bike racks near the beach.
It worked okay for getting me to the Inari shrine I needed to finish my photography project, at least. Although even that I didn’t accomplish in the free half hour. I mean, it takes time for the photos I was shooting.
I’ve been trying to convince myself since then, convince myself that it’ll be worth it to spend at least two hours on my feet, but honestly there’s no guarantee that even if I do that the damn things will make their appearance. If it was as easy as “go to the beach, see squid,” I think I could muster up the enthusiasm. I think if I had a travel buddy with me to keep me going (or that I’d at least be too ashamed to wuss out on), I’d be able to suck it up. But. Well. That is not the case. So I haven’t gone to shore. I haven’t seen the firefly squid.
Instead, I’ve seen Avengers: Endgame. It was awesome. It didn’t involve me standing on my feet for several hours (although I was holding my pee for at least one). Afterwards I got a nice wagyu burger from Shogun Burger. See, maybe I don’t get to see the squid this year, but that’s okay because I really do like Toyama. It’s a nice chill town with good food and places nearby to explore. And I’m going to go explore some of them now. So I’ll catch you on the flip side.
 |
| Beautiful Toyama, on a not-too-beautiful day. |
Now, for those of you who aren’t savvy, Couchsurfing is the predecessor of AirBnB. The idea is that travelers host one another freely, paying it forward to the next couchsurfer who comes to their town. It’s a good model if you like people and adventures. Since I only like one of those things, I’d never tried it, but desperate times called for desperate measures. And that is how I came to be staying with a young college student and her family here in Toyama.
Back to the squid: so my idea was that I was going to go out all night watching for them. That was my plan until I got to my hostess with the mostest’s home Saturday night. After a full day of wandering Kanazawa, following an overnight bus from Shinjuku, following a day of teaching, and THAT following two nights short on sleep. Basically I decided I couldn’t do it. Not that night. But even the next day was cold. Also, I’m not staying anywhere close to the shore. Google maps estimates that it’d take me an hour to walk there, and Google seems to think I’m a faster walker than I am.
Well, I decided I could find a solution for that. If I had a bike, it would be manageable. I found out that Toyama has a bike sharing system, CycloCity. I signed up for a weeklong account, and went to the station to get started. It was super easy. Problem solved! Or so I thought. Turns out that the system works only if the bikes keep circulating. In order to avoid tourists who use the same bike for hours at a time, potentially leaving it unattended to get stolen, the first half-hour is free, the next half-hour is 100 yen, and each hour after that is 500 yen. So riding around all night wasn’t going to work, either, as there were no bike racks near the beach.
It worked okay for getting me to the Inari shrine I needed to finish my photography project, at least. Although even that I didn’t accomplish in the free half hour. I mean, it takes time for the photos I was shooting.
I’ve been trying to convince myself since then, convince myself that it’ll be worth it to spend at least two hours on my feet, but honestly there’s no guarantee that even if I do that the damn things will make their appearance. If it was as easy as “go to the beach, see squid,” I think I could muster up the enthusiasm. I think if I had a travel buddy with me to keep me going (or that I’d at least be too ashamed to wuss out on), I’d be able to suck it up. But. Well. That is not the case. So I haven’t gone to shore. I haven’t seen the firefly squid.
Instead, I’ve seen Avengers: Endgame. It was awesome. It didn’t involve me standing on my feet for several hours (although I was holding my pee for at least one). Afterwards I got a nice wagyu burger from Shogun Burger. See, maybe I don’t get to see the squid this year, but that’s okay because I really do like Toyama. It’s a nice chill town with good food and places nearby to explore. And I’m going to go explore some of them now. So I’ll catch you on the flip side.
No comments:
Post a Comment