I know some of you are interested in Japan so I thought I would share this with you.
My fiance had to go to Japan for a few months to help take care of her sick grandmother.
I usually stay at her parent's house when I'm in Japan, but I thought I would take a solo
road trip up to her grandmother's to see her.
I took some pictures along the way and thought I would share with you what Japan outside
of Tokyo looks like.
Now, I did stop at quite a few game shops but I won't be showing too many pictures of
the inside of these shops in this thread. I plan to make a separate thread for just game shops.
The road trip goes from Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture to a small town called Kanagi in
Aomori Prefecture. The distance is about 240 miles which should take about 4 hours IF
I took the highway. Since highway tolls in Japan are very expensive, I took the surface
roads which doubles the time. I just wanted to take the 'scenic' route anyway.
I took it slowly over the course of 2 days since there were many places I wanted to stop.
The first leg goes from Sendai to Kitakami City, Iwate Prefecture. Day 2 goes from
Kitakami to the final destination, Kanagi Town in Aomori Prefecture.
Most pictures have a short description written on top.
HEre is a half-assed map. The blue line shows the bullet train route.
The red line shows the route I drove.
It begins here, San Francisco International
Land Ho! Japan from the sky.
Taking the bullet train to Sendai.
The view at 150MPH.
Arrival at Sendai 2 hours later.
Quick dinner at my favorite Japanese fast food, Yoshinoya.
Check into the hotel, Back to the Future II is on TV!
The hotel's free Japanese breakfast of champions.
Toyoko Inn is the best chain hotel. Clean, no frills and cheap. If you go to Japan, stay
at a Toyoko Inn. They're a great value.
Took the train a few stations down and waiting for my ride to pick me up.
There is the car I am borrowing for this journey. A 2007 Honda Civic Hybrid.
My friend owns a car shop and he always lets me borrow one of his dozens of cars.
Macchan makes sure everything is in working order since they haven't used this car in months.
Here we go, as you can see on the upper left corner I have 383km to go!
First stop, Seagull Game Shop. I love this chain. Always a great selection of retro and used newer titles at great prices.
And we are off...
NExt stop, Mandai Shoten. These are the retro game (among other things megastores.
Picked up Crisis Force and Caladrius.
The weather is getting bad.
A boost of energy for the road.
These are one of the many yards where cars destroyed by the tsunami are kept.
The backup cam is useless in the rain!
Stopping off at Book Market (used game shop), Doki Doki and Hard Off (Recycle shops).
That is one nasty Famicom.
Engrish lives.
Weather is getting worse.
Time for lunch at Sukiya. This place is another great Japanese fast food chain.
Another Hard Off
...and another Doki Doki.
Bathroom break at Lawson.
Gundam Cup O Noodles and Gourmet Doritos!
Weather is clearing up.
Stop to check the games bargain bin at TRU.
Stop at Mansaido, which is just like Mandai Shoten.
Japan's most wanted poster in the bathroom. Great poop time reading material.
Arrive at the Toyoko Inn in Kitakami, Iwate Prefecture.
Bought a lot of stuff during the first leg of the drive.
7AM, let's go!
Stopping at another recycle shop, in Morioka.
Nothing but ricefields for miles and miles.
Another great recycle shop with a massive selection of retro games. Yorozuya.
I was here at Yorozuya for a bit over an hour. This guy was playing when I arrived,
and he was STILL playing Super Mario World as I was leaving. Screw work, play games.
Japanese taco truck!
Tempted to go to Book Off...
189km to go!
Morioka, Iwate Prefecture's capital city.
Stop off at another Hard Off
Lunch @ Handaya.
Mount Iwate in the background.
Postcard moment.
Stop for gas.
What I love about Japanese gas stations is they almost always supply free
plastic gloves. If you're like me and hate to touch gas pumps, this is such a great idea.
Much more convenient than using the paper towels back in the States.
Entering Akita Prefecture.
I found this recycle shop in the middle of nowhere here in Akita Prefecture.
Not much of a selection of games. $15 bucks for a Saturn.
More of the same scenery. Good thing I have hours of podcasts to ease the boredom.
And finally, Aomori Prefecture.
These roads are fun!
Last shop stop before arriving. Game Souko in Goshogawara.
Something strange is afoot....
Got some lemon tea to beat the heat. I love this stuff.
Small town traffic jam.
We are almost there!
And I finally arrived at Grandma's. They were nice enough to give me the garage.
Inside Grandma's house.
And here is the stuff I have been buying off Yahoo auctions piling up upstairs.
...and finally, end the day with some yakiniku for dinner.
Thanks for joining me!
