A couple of weeks ago I got a facebook message from my Jeremy, my USC freshman year roommate, saying that he was going to be in Japan for a bit and that we should meet up. Since I hadn't talked to or seen the kid in at least a year or two, I decided I'd do whatever was in my power to get down to where he was on any particular weeknight.
Turns out he was in Kyoto on a Tuesday, so I made plans to leave right after school. Including the drive, it's a good 2 hour trip down to Kyoto, and the special express trains that run from out here don't show up very often. If I get the 5:25, I can get to Kyoto around 7 and catch last express back at 9:30, perfect for dinner, a beer or two, and some conversation. I had about an hour to get from my apartment to Fukuchiyama after work, a drive that takes about 35-40 minutes when I'm driving at my normal rate (80 kmh, usually in a 50kmh zone). The road has a few signals, but is mostly just open road...the problem lies in the fact that it is almost entirely one lane, with no passing areas.
I got out on the road by 4:35 to make my 5:25 train, thinking 50 minutes would be plenty. Wouldn't you know it, I got stuck behind a kei-truck going about 3 km under the speed limit the WHOLE WAY. This is a kei truck
They satisfy the kei class of cars in Japan, which means they have an engine no larger than 660 CCs. They're also often loaded with fertilizer/cement/plants/animals and driven by men over the age of 70. As one can safely assume, being stuck behind one of these on a one lane, no-passing road can lead to extreme ageism and road rage.
Anyway, I'm stuck behind this guy and contemplating passing him across a double yellow, on roads that curve with the mountain we're driving next to. I could do what I've seen young folks do here, and go into the right turn lane (remember, the lanes are opposite here, so this is like a left turn lane back in the States) and just gun it when the light turns green again, but I'm thinking maybe I can still make it. So I follow grandpa all the way into Fukuchiyama and get to the city abuot 8 minutes before my train actually leaves.
He turns off the road, and I gun it. Wouldn't you know it, someone with no business entering the road comes in out of a convenience store parking lot. There's no one behind me for at least 200 meters, but this jackass decides he HAS to go now. Again, very common in Japan. I brake fairly hard and basically sidle up right behind this veeeerrrrryyyy sloooooowwwwwllllllyyy accelerating hatchback. He's only on the road for a block or two (which agains forces me to ask why he felt he had to cut me off) and then I'm approaching the station. I search for a parking lot and find one, throw my jacket and camera bag over my shoulder, and sprint into the station. The clock reads 5:26, and I gasp at the gate attendant "did the 5:25 leave already?" He looks very slightly sympathetic and says "yes, just now." By missing the train, I now have the choice of waiting for the next one, which comes in an hour (putting me in Kyoto at 8 with a 9:30 return) or driving further towards Kyoto in the hopes of finding a station that has more regular trains, and hopefully a later last train.
I take a glance at the map, and notice that a Sonobe station is where the local express into Kyoto starts. I punch that into my phone's navigation system and I'm off. It's a good 40 kms to Sonobe, and it takes me about 45 minutes with traffic. I get there, park, and wander into the station. I call my friend and let him know it's going to be an hour later, but this way I can stay out til after 10. I'm looking at the platforms and train schedule trying to figure out what to do, then get on, throw my headphones on and go to sleep.
About 20 minutes later I'm woken up by a conductor telling me I have to get off. It's the last stop, he says, and I glance outside to see a tiny station with no people in it. This is clearly not Kyoto, and when I ask how to get to Kyoto from there, I'm informed that I went the wrong way on the line. I've now got to wait 20 minutes for the next train, go back the way I came PLUS the 35 minutes to Kyoto. Dinner is now moved back from 8 to 9-ish.
Eventually I get into Kyoto and everything's fine and dandy. We have some good food, a beer, and talk about old times and new. I get on the 11:30 local back to Sonobe, get in my car and drive the 90 minutes back to Asago, getting home at about 2. I suppose it's all a lesson in not rushing when you don't have to (like I did at Sonobe) and leaving earlier than you think you should, especially when you have to deal with septugenarian farmers driving oversized power wheels on one lane roads.
