along the rail

since most of my friends have already blogged the karuizawa trip/i'm just too lazy/have fallen behind on blogging and need to catch up NOW, i'm just going to skip ahead to my side trips along the train stops on my tobu tojo line home.

first along my side trips was to nakaitabashi, which from the window looked like it had a cute shopping boulevard, so i hopped off.





nakaita ended up being a small little town with lots of back-end retail stores with clothes mainly for the little obaachans walking down the streets. there was one really adorable one selling takoyaki, and i almost almost ALMOST bought some. i regret that decision to listen to my full stomach. she looked like she could make good conversation. and octopus balls, ya know? but yeah. cute tiny town.

next was wakoushi! from the train you can see these awesome graveyards and the surrounding shrines/temples, and since i'm into that stuff, i got off, bought broguen a hippo from cute store, and then i walked. and walked. and walked. and walked some more. bought some coffee from a vending machine. walked some more. no lie, i had about 20,000 steps on my meter when i got home!

i didn't find the big temple that i was searching for, but wakoushi is full of smaller ones, so i at least got to take some pictures, and scare some elementary kids along the way (they thought i was following them, but really, we were just headed the same way hahaha~) :D

also made sure i apologized to the graves before taking their pictures too








SO. my most recent stop along tobu line was a last minute decision to get off (on my way home from a failed attempt at ghibli museum with maddie, which ended in picnics and cat cafes) at shimoakatsuka to see the daibutsu my okaasan had told me about. it was about 7 pm when i got there, which in japan time means it's already pitch black. a little chilly too, but i was able to subsitute coffee and lots of fast walking as a warmer up-er on my walk.

the walk looked a little far (from top to bottom of the map, basically), but i was determined to see daibutsu-sama! after some second-guessing, thanking signs that told the poor gaijin where to go, and asking for directions, i made it there...except the park to see daibutsu-sama was closed. SAD SAUCES GALORE. watched people at batting range for 20 minutes instead, then headed home. i shall try again soon!


here are some treats along the roads though:

oh hai thar pikachu?


JV! YOU CAME BACK FOR ME~~~~ even after i treated you so bad. (for those who don't know, this is my car, JV (jank van) <3)