I’ve been here so long I’m now acknowledged as a local, and therefore it was only natural for me to join a bunch of other locals for a 9 am screening of the new Mission Impossible film.
The girl that sold me the ticket was insistent about trying out her (frankly poor) English on me. I’ve seen lots of Asian tourists here (Chinese and Korean) but no westerners, and speaking English to an old western dude seems to have the novelty here that it once did in Tokyo. Yesterday in a Saizeriya restaurant the waitress even came and chatted with me (in broken english), which was so unexpected I can still barely believe it occurred!
The ticket was cheap (about $6.50) the drink was cheap (about $2) and the much-better-than-expected cinnamon churro was very cheap (about $1.40). Plus they even gave me a free sticker sheet promoting another film entirely:
Mission Impossible was… well it was trash, but I still enjoyed the experience. The seat was comfy, the screen very sharp and the sound system incredible. It was also notable that not a single person spoke in the cinema, including in the pre show when all they played were adverts. It was so quiet in there I was surprised when I glanced around and saw a majority of the seats were occupied.
Afterwards I had a soak in the onsen (thirteen times over the last five days if you’re keeping track), had a delicious sliced candy apple, and headed for a ferry museum docked not far from the station.
I’m the sort of guy who usually reads all the text on the displays in a museum, but this one had no English! My phone reception is poor here and the translator didn’t work, so I only got a portion of the boats full story.
It was a ferry that used to transport trains from the north of Honshu to Hakodate. It ran for about 30 years until the undersea tunnel was opened on 1985 at which point the ferry was retired and became a museum. I’d never heard of a ferry that transported entire trains, and there were detailed illustrations and photos showing how the ferry coupled with tracks on land to allow the trains on board. Fascinating stuff!
Afterwards I headed to the ‘Red Brick Warehouse’ which is a tourist shopping district in old converted warehouses once used for storage. There were a few very interesting stores inside, but my luggage is waiting for me in Tokyo so I tried not to be distracted into buying anything. I made an exception for more stamps though, if only since the post-office was so tiny (about as big as a toilet).
It rained in the afternoon and I was tired so I had a well-needed soak and a rest. I’m packing up now for an early train to Tokyo tomorrow, and trying to summon energy for 3 days of shopping before it’s time to go home. I’m looking forward to a few crazy days 🙂