Arriving in the Countryside

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The trip up to Matsue took quite a few hours, but I arrived without getting lost. I went straight to the tourist information where they explained how to wait and take the bus. Luckily, there was a kind Japanese guy who noticed all my maps and notes and told me when to get off and actually walked me to the hostel. He gave me his card and told me to call him if the place turned out to be bad. I think he was a bit suspicious of a hostel out in the country. He spoke just a bit of english, but did manage to recall that Al Capone was from Chicago (or as he pronounced it, CA-PON-EEEE).

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In the Japanese countryside, it soon got completely dark and I got very nervous about being in the middle of nowhere. There was only one other guest in the whole place and I started to feel very alone. The hostel manager's young niece-3 or 4 years old-kept following me around and knocking on my door when I was doing my best to feel bad for myself. Trying to turn the tide of loneliness, I headed to the large dining area for some green tea to plan my route for the following day.

There was only one other guest in the whole place and I started to feel very alone.

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The hostel manager came out of the attached kitchen and I was able to go over where I should go. He offered to drive me to the local railroad station and I felt much better.

That night I treated myself to watching some programs on the IPOD that Dan had uploaded. Watching some videos made me feel not so detached from the world around me.