Golden Week is what they call spring break in Japan. Why it’s golden is something I can’t quite recall, but it may have something to do with the millions and millions of people on vacation at the same time and highway rest stops overflowing with urine.
Yesterday I went to pick up my girlfriend at Kansai International Airport. Driving from Nara to Osaka usually takes 30 minutes or so, but it took around an hour this time. Halfway there, I got a call from her saying that the flight was cancelled and she would instead fly in the next day (today, in around 21 hours). Since I was already halfway there, I decided to go and have a day out in the city. Specifically, the Namba area. More specifically, the area around the new Namba Parks shopping area and the equally new WINS building where you can bet on horse races. They ran big races today to coincide with the national holidays. Perhaps you can already guess where I am going with this.
It took me an hour and 15 minutes to park my car. I paid 50 bucks for the priviledge of parking there. 50 bucks for seven hours, and this was a cheaper place than most, since it’s located farther away.
But other than that, I had a good day. I’m lucky I didn’t have to drive home, because the Hanshin expressway was backed up with going-home traffic from Ashiya all the way to Tsukimiyama (approx. 28 kilometers) at 2:30 in the afternoon. Anybody that got caught in that mess is most probably still there.
I think about weird stuff late at night, right now my mind is all over the place. I wonder if my brother Adam is sleeping in between horses tonight, or on top of several cubic meters of seafood flavor instant ramen.
I may update again soon, but if not – hey, I’m on vacation. And my girl is coming home. Golden week, indeed.
Raising a family in Thailand // Documenting Issan food, culture, music, and people
I was going to ask you, O CosmicBuddha, why it’s called “Golden Week” and you’ve enlightened me. Golden Showers, huh?
I wonder about Adam, too. Part of me thinks that Japan is a safe place to hitchhike; the other part gnaws at the dark worries about his maternal dna pattern that causes him to chase after and pick up snakes. I wonder if he eats them?
Dude, all is well. I did sleep next to a construction site, an interchange onramp, and some tea shrubbery while I was on the road. Hope you guys are enjoying your Golden Week as much as I am.
I picked up Nam yesterday and it’s raining like hell today. Sleeeep.