Having survived the undersea, overnight, sleeping-across-two-seats portion of my journey (and people complain about coach on airplanes?), I arrived at Minami-Chitose station and search for breakfast.

Another cool train. This is just too neat!

My partner, who flew back from Niigata on ANA, picked me up at Shin-Yubari station and gave me a little driving tour of Yubari on the way to his home/store.

The "international headquarters" of our business. If you Google "Breezy Brigade" (the rough translation of the kanji in our logo), you'll find my website.

Ah, morning on Hokkaido! I could get used to this! Time to go on a walking tour of Yubari.

Our mascot. Awwww....

These hills are ski slopes in the winter.

Unfortunately, this beautiful overlook is a popular jumping point for suicides. Since Yubari went from being a coal-mining town with 100,000 people to a "senior town" with only 10,000 people, it has probably seen more than its fair share of suicides. It's not that the town ran out of coal, either. The area still has veins that would make West Virginia envious. But the central government in Tokyo decided it would be cheaper to buy coal from China and Australia.

Yubari has become something of a ghost town since then. The building below used to be housing for many of the coal workers.

Nice station for the one train that still services the area.

My partner's adorable wife made a nice lunch for me (which I carried in the backpack we sell), and I borrowed one of his motorcycles for a tour of the mountains surrounding Yubari.

Motorcycles? Twisty mountain passes? Japan? Life seriously does not get any better than this!

The views were astonishing.

Going back down into Yubari.

I stumbled upon this abandoned amusement park. It was open until just a few years ago. Another sign of the economic times in Yubari.

Then it was back to the store to get ready for an overnight camping trip.

On the road to Lake Shikotsu. I shipped my riding gear ahead of me, so I wouldn't have to carry it through airports, trains, etc. Not cheap, but worth it.

A volcano-ringed lake with crystal-clear water that's warm even in September? Yes, please!

Great publicity photo for the tent.

Partying and making new friends. The older gentleman saw we had whiskey, and the younger gentleman wanted to practice his English. A good time was had by all.

Morning on Lake Shikotsu. If I try to link to the video, I set off the spam filter. But if you search YouTube for "Ohayo gozaimasu, Hokkaido", you'll probably find my five-minute video of this moment. From there, you should be able to see my other videos.

On the way to the train station, we stopped at a combi for breakfast. Where am I again?!?

Now it's time to head back to Tokyo, stopping in Sendai along the way for the jazz festival.

Back at Shin-Aomori, I discovered that all of the shinkansen are sold out. There were no unreserved cars where my JR Rail Pass could get me a seat. What to do? After I watch one full train leave, I went back to the ticket counter asked the attendants. They told me that I could stand in the area between the cars. A quick ���肪�Ƃ��������܂��� and a bow, and I ran back to the platform and jumped on the next shinkansen headed for Tokyo/Sendai.

I was alone in the space leaving Shin-Aomori, but the area would soon fill with many other people. I think eight at one time. Got a bit smelly, but I think most of that was me.

Beautiful Japan. How cool would it be to live here?

In Sendai, I was reminded of home. In Nashville music is everywhere. Live music. It was the same in Sendai during the jazz festival. Even in the train station, there was some pop group singing/lip-syncing some of their hits.

Ah, the information center...

Now to find the stage where my favorite singer was performing...

The volunteer staff at the table was amazingly helpful. One of them even walked to the bus stop with me and tried to find a bus for me to take. In the end, I decided to just walk it as I had enough time, and wanted to see the city. Besides, it's not like there weren't any taxis available...

These guys were rocking the sidewalk outside the station, 80's style.

Found the stage with time to spare. It was great to see the children playing, especially considering the events of March the previous year.

Crowds were good too. I doubt all of these people were from Sendai, but I was the only gaijin around.

The Smile Tohoku Project folks had displays showing the results of their relief efforts.

Just one of the many stands.

And what's a Japanese festival without food stands? Ah, I think I see my dinner!

Yep!

Beer line. I'll have water, please. Drank plenty while camping the night before.

Time for my favorite singer to take the stage. Can you tell who it is?

WhiteHawk wrote:

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Wanna trade? My Drama List (UPDATED: July, 2013)

This is "bird", aka Kitayama Yuki (�k�R�L�I). I've been a fan of hers since I first heard her MINDTRAVEL CD, way back in 2000. Absolutely love her voice. This was my first time getting to see her live. So in one week, I landed in Tokyo, saw the Tokyo Tower and Rainbow Bridge via the Sumida River, met my business partner in person for the first time, did a trade show, saw the Yasukuni Shrine, rode the shinkansen (twice), saw the Sea of Japan, rode a motorcycle and camped on Hokkaido, and experienced my favorite singer in the world in person.

WHEW!

With the concert over, it was time to head back to the station. I didn't go back the same way; I just followed the crowd. Figured I would make it back eventually. And who knew what I would see along the way? That's all part of the adventure.

The police have minivans? Okay. Let's not have so much adventure we find out why.

The jazz festival is a very big deal in Sendai. The party took over big chunks of downtown.

Pineapple Dandy was on this stage when I walked by. Not exactly my taste, but I can vouch for them (him?) being entertaining.

Cool architecture.

Speaking of adventure, this was a very interesting street to walk down at night. Sorry I didn't take any photos of what I saw. I was too distracted. But if you find yourself in Sendai at night, look for this sign.

In Japan, you often see cute young women outside of restaurants and such, handing out menus and trying to get customers inside. I stopped and asked one for directions to the station. In truth, I knew I was headed the right way. It was just an excuse to talk to a pretty girl. I'm shameless like that. Anyway, back at the station and time to bid a sad ����A�܂��� to Sendai. A beautiful city, and one I will have to spend more time in on a future trip. I found an empty seat on the shinkansen to Tokyo, and managed to nap a little before Ueno, where I took the Yamanote to Nippori, then the Tomeri Liner back home to Adachi-ku. What a day!

The following day, I slept in and then updated my Facebook and Photobucket accounts with the loads of pictures I couldn't post since I left Tokyo. Then it was out for some kaiten sushi... and more adventures along the way.

I stopped to take this photo in our neighborhood, and my friend asked, "Why are you taking picture. It is just a normal street." To which I smiled and replied, "In Japan, everything is interesting." And it's true. For me, being from the West, this scene is fascinating. We don't have such architecture. In our big cities, the streets aren't this clean. And while the overhead lines aren't particularly attractive, they do hold a certain Showa-era charm about them.

Speaking of charm, one of the countless cute little diners in Japan. Love the bunnies on the curtain. We stopped and ate here a couple of weeks later. They didn't seem too keen on having a gaijin in there. Sad, but I guess that part of human nature exists everywhere.

A little further down the road, we stumbled upon a matsuri taking a rest. We waited so I could see them in action.

Whew... It's pretty much like being there.