9:13am:
Just passed Nishi-Akashi station, I believe the next one is Shin-Kobe. Shin-Kobe and Shin-Osaka are the train stations where the shinkansen (fastest trains) stop for Kobe and Osaka so to catch the other local trains you have to take another train to the main stations. I think I also like the idea of taking the shinkansen as far as I can because it’s very comfortable and to beat a dead horse, I like the smoking car. I don’t always quite understand where its okay to smoke (I haven’t been smoking very much) so it’s a safe place. Two things that are pretty/fun to see: One that Alex pointed out is in the rice fields. The rice fields look like perfect but very long grass fields, a perfect shade of kelly green. If you catch them at the right time of day at the right angle, the water at the base of each rice plant will reflect the sky and whatever else might be around. There is also a line of shops called “Snack Madam.” Okay this is just silly. As an English speaker, I think about punctuation. The polite offering of a snack to a lady would be “Snack, madam?” To my mind current absence of punctuation means you’re going there to visit the snack madam, for a torrid private moment, short or long depending on your budget and the quality of the snack. Which does have its arguments in its favor. Say if you want to smack your lips or eat messily, you can do so in private without being rude. Frosting in your hair? Perfectly okay. In Kobe the other day we bought cantaloupe wedges on a stick (100 yen). They were delicious and very juicy, which also meant that I was dripping cantaloupe juice all over my hands, chin, shirt, bag, pants leg, shoes, and the street. A nice private air conditioned place to do this and then clean/wash up after getting so sticky, I would have paid extra for that.