Saturday, February 25, 2017
The Beginning of A Winter Trip hr587
The mountainous region where I live is in the depth of winter and it
snows day after day. Now that the snow covering the ground has
accumulated over my own height, I was having a sense of claustrophobia.
That’s a cue for my annual three-day trip to the Tokyo metropolitan area
that doesn’t have much snow. I set about arranging this year’s trip
online. I successfully booked the room in a hotel of the Japanese luxury
chain at a greatly economical rate by making the best use of coupons
and their off-season promotion. The stay would come with preferential
treatment at no extra cost as part of the promotion. To get to the Tokyo
metropolitan area, I need to ride the bullet train that is expensive.
But I got a 35% discount for the ticket by reserving early in advance. I
was all set to get out of snow. Although it had snowed every day, it
rained on that particular day when I set off on a trip in the morning.
Rain is more troublesome than snow. I would take a local bus to the
bullet train station. The bus stop is near my apartment but it has
neither a cubicle nor a roof. When it snows, I can pat off the snow that
comes onto my clothes while I’m walking to the bus stop and waiting
there. But in the rain, my one hand is occupied with an umbrella as I
carry all the bags, which would cause awkward walking that inevitably
wets me. I would freeze while I’m waiting for the bus. I bore an
unexpected expense and called a cab. The dispatcher told me it would
take long to come to pick me up due to high demand. Since I had the
bullet train to catch, I gave in to my umbrella and walked toward the
bus stop in the rain. I felt miserable while I was waiting for the bus
with many bags around me drenching. Out of the bus window, I saw snow
plains beneath which were parks, rice paddies and sidewalks. The road
was plowed, but the snow was pushed off to a long, tall snow wall
alongside. The lengthy massive white wall was taller than the bus and it
looked almost like a snow-made tunnel. I started to feel claustrophobia
again. I cheered myself up by thinking I was soon in the snow-free
city. I made a wish for a nice trip upon the closest mountain that had
turned completely white. On the platform for the bullet train at the
station, I found many Chinese families and tourists. That suddenly
reminded me about the Lunar New Year during which Chinese people took
vacation and traveled. The hotel I was staying at might be crowded with
Chinese tourists as well. I couldn’t believe why I was so careless that
I’d forgotten about Chinese New Year. Among the gleeful Chinese
tourists, I stood waiting for the train with a long face. Rain and the
Lunar New Year seems more like a bad omen, and now I became unsure as to
whether or not this trip was the right move…