It’s been a couple of days since I last wrote, I’ve been feeling rough and looking worse thanks to a couple of insect bites. We reluctantly left Gunma and headed down the expressway in our little 86 for the last time. There’s something that been bugging me about the car and until Emma mentioned something about it’s appearance, everything fell into place. A lot has been written about it’s lack…
So today marked the start of the rainy season in Japan. Every June it pours, and pours, and pours… We don’t expect to see the sun again on this trip, so we will be mostly shopping. Yay! The most obvious thing to do would have been to find somewhere indoorsy to explore – like a toy and car museum – instead we opted to drive up another of Gunma’s mountains….
We planned to visit the Onsen resort town of Ikaho, at the foot of Mt. Haruna; however, with the rain beginning to fall, we made a last minute decision to head towards something based indoors. As we drove through Shibukawa, I spotted a VIP style Nissan Cima parked in a gravel car park and had to pull in to take some photos. Whilst I was doing this, the most bizarre…
I’ve never been stopped by the police in the UK, but if I do, I know it will never be as stressful, nerve wracking or as fun as being pulled by the Japanese Police. Two short, chunky and extremely nice chaps checked over my paperwork and waited to wave us off on our way… Which was really awkward as the car park we pulled into was actually where we were heading….
I can honestly say today has been my favourite day of the trip. Waking on time and with a spring in my step, Emma and I navigated the busiest station in the world – at rush hour – and took the Chuo line out of the city. Our destination was Kokubunji; a small, sleepy suburb to the far west of the city. I am pretty sure nobody has ever visited…