I woke up
wondering how to make the best of the few hours left for me at Matsumoto. I had
realised last night that taking a trip to kamikochi would mean risking missing
the last train to Osaka. I headed in the direction of the clock museum again,
crossed the bridge over the canal and browsed through the antique and curio
shops looking for clocks and other curios. I struck good deals with a lady
running a shop, in my usual way of bargaining in Japanese. I point out to the
item I am interested in and prompted her to write the price on a piece of
paper, saying “yen” “yen”. And then I
would write my offer price below it. I had mastered this art of bargaining at
curio shops in Nikko.
I packed my
luggage and headed for Matsumoto station again on foot.Took some shots at the station while I waited.
Shinano 12 was prompt
on time and I had the green car all for myself.
The route from Matsumoto to Nagoya
was no different from the rest of my journey.
My camera was working overtime.Little towns passed by, nestled in the hills. Traffic buzzed along the road that meandered in tune with the curve of the hills.
The snowy peaks faded away in the background.
The countryside looked inviting as it prepared for the winter ahead.
As the train hurtled down along the mountainside in tune with the meandering
river in the valley below, my thoughts envied the Japanese for the beautiful
country they were living in, for the countless train journeys it had to offer
and the different senses of passage of time. From rush hour in Tokyo in stark
contrast to Uozu where time stood still, I was seeing a different clock in
japan. Did time have a different measure at different locations? The people of
japan were clocks by their precision in timings, the trains showed time in a
different perspective. To check the time, you just have to check the arrival of
a train. This is one huge clock which I can never possess as a clock collector.
From Nagoya, I boarded the last shinkansen for the trip. I was still clicking away, wondering if I was annoying my fellow passengers. Shinkansens crossed the opposite-direction track at regular intervals.
The mood of Japanese on these lines was always 'busy'. I wondered if the Japanese themselves had the time to enjoy what they have created.
I had time
in Shin-Osaka to record the video of the precision timings of the Shinkansen;
the clock-work of the officials manning the platform and watched the
shinkanzens buzzing away after the buzzer. Found my way to the local-line station at shin-osaka and waited for the airport express.
As dusk faded into darkness, I was on board the train, limited express haruka 31 from shin-osaka to kansai airport.
The sun played its colours through the artistic clouds in the south western horizon. The train rumbled through urban and suburban Osaka giving glimpses of office-returnees on the streets. As the sun downed on my final day in japan, I felt the need for time to explore more of japan, to appreciate the surreal beauty.
I had the evening to explore Rinku town. A light drizzle did not deter me from venturing out. The mall attached to the Rinku town station was had a few food outlets and I decided to sample these.The food on display provided more recipes for my camera.
There were more people on the move than those taking a pause. But I did get this shot of people who had clicked a pause button in their life.
The hotel offered a good vantage point for my camera. Night lighting showed this small Rinku town to be a beautiful sight.
I woke up to an beautiful sight of the sun reflecting off the bridges and buildings.
Took the hotel bus to the airport. Checked in and found one more train... the airport shuttle train.
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