Coast to coast: Day 7

I'm home!

And worn out.  (For a good reason, though.)

I was woken up this morning by what I thought was the alarm on my phone, but when I grabbed it to shut it off, I saw instead that it read EARTHQUAKE.  Seconds later the building was swaying.  My room was on the eleventh floor so it rocked quite a bit.

Ever since 3/11 (2011), the phone companies have made a big effort to use phones to provide early earthquake alerts whenever possible.  Usually they come only seconds before the tremors (like this morning). Today's quake registered a magnitude 6.8, and struck in nearly the same place as the big one four years ago.  In Akita, it was more like a 4 or 5, but it was stronger in the places that I'd been only a few days ago.

It happened at about a quarter after 6, but I was able to relax enough to get in one more hour of sleep before I was up for the day.

I checked out of the hotel earlier than I usually do, left my suitcase in a locker at the train station, and took the train to the north part of the city to Koizumigata Park. On the special rapid train I took on Monday, all of the passengers were given a pamphlet that included information on various tourist sites at all the different stops, which is how I found out about this park. I'm so glad I read about it; the park wasn't mentioned in other Akita City tourist information, but it is definitely worth the visit.

 

Much to my (pleasant) surprise, it was much larger than I'd realized.  I'd thought I was just going to see a pond and maybe a small surrounding garden, but the further I walked, the more pathways I found leading further beyond the pond.

And, I got to do one of my favorite things to do at a Japanese garden...

Feed the fish!

Boxes of koi food are sold with the garden's name printed on the front.
The piece of paper taped to it is a fortune.

Information on Koizumigata Park:

Transportation: 17 minutes by train from Akita station, 240 yen one way
Entry: FREE! (or 100 yen if you buy a box of koi food)
Website: http://koizumigatapark.jp/ (Japanese)


Back in the downtown area, I had two hours to kill before getting on the shinkansen (bullet train).  I walked around, did a little last minute souvenir shopping, picked up a sandwich and a green tea donut, grabbed my suitcase from the locker, and then headed for the train platform.

It felt so good to sit down!  I had a four hour journey to rest, have lunch, and of course enjoy the view on my way back to Tokyo.

Home at last.