As beautiful and serene as the Nasu Highlands were, we realized during our last trip to Japan that we wanted to see more of the country than we would during the tournament. So we decided to spend a few more days this time around, establishing a base in Tokyo and making day trips by rail. The gracious staff from Hero Disc provided a shuttle bus to the NasuShiobara train station where we boarded the shinkansen (bullet train) to Tokyo. The thrill of riding the bullet train alone would’ve been adventure enough for one day. I’ve would’ve never imagined something moving that fast could be so quiet and smooth. It really made us ponder why in the world we don’t have trains like that in the states. We arrived in just a few hours and began to navigate the colorful spaghetti that is the Tokyo Metro rail map.

We made our way to Asakusa, a subsection of Tokyo and began the search for our hotel. As we exited the subway station we asked a businessman, who thankfully spoke English, if he could point us in the right direction. After politely thanking him for his help we started down the crowded, rainy sidewalk with our disc golf bags on our backs, dragging two huge suitcases behind us. We trudged along for about 15 minutes or so and just as a heavy downpour began, we realized we were lost again. As we looked around for anything we might be able to use as a landmark, we heard a voice shouting from behind us in the crowd. We turned in amazement to find the same businessman that had given us directions at the subway entrance. He had hunted us down to let us know he had sent us the wrong way. He gave us the correct directions, apologized and hurried off before we could say anything. We stood there for a moment simply dumbfounded. Every personal interaction we’ve had so far has been the epitome of courtesy and respect, but that was just mindboggling.

We located our hotel a short time later. It was a little of the beaten path with a main entrance down a back alley way near a market. We had decided to stay in a ryokan (traditional style hotel) with straw mat floors and rice paper doors. We were happily greeted by the hotel staff who showed us to our room and made hot green tea for us while they explained the amenities. We went exploring for a while, enjoying some fresh sushi before coming back and enjoying the room. We’re going to brave the rail system again tomorrow as we make our way to Showa Kinen Park, the site of the original Japan Open.

stay tuned for tomorrow’s adventure! until then… Oyasuminasai (good night)!