![\"IMG](\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_0341.png\" "\\"IMG_0341.png\\"")
<\/p>\nNot many pictures today. Slept OK, I\u2019d probably give it a B-. In any case, I got up, ate some breakfast at Tully\u2019s again, and realized I was very early for my train ticket that I bought yesterday.<\/p>\n
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I went to try adjusting it to an hour earlier and they pointed at this sign:<\/p>\n
![\"IMG](\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_0342.png\" "\\"IMG_0342.png\\"")
<\/p>\n
I did not read it but they said the Marine Liner is stopped. That\u2019s the one that goes across the Seto Ohashi to Okayama, and it\u2019s stopped due to heavy winds. I think it also says the Uzushio from Tokushima to Matsuyama is stopped as well. I asked if they had any other trains and they said not at the moment. I asked if my fare went poof and they said no, they\u2019d refund the whole thing. That was about 9AM. OK, so time to figure out what else to do.<\/p>\n
I went to the bus terminal and asked about buses to Okayama and they sent me to the local bus terminal. I guess there\u2019s two buses each day, one around 8AM and one around 5PM. No other options. So back to the highway bus terminal with me to find another way off of Shikoku. I found two companies side-by-side. The first one told me the 10AM bus was full and the next one was 11AM. I saw there was a 10:30AM on the other side and they were nice and told me to try that first. Open seats were available but only sitting in the middle (a weird seat that blocks the aisle). Nope, back to the first counter and now I have a couple of hours to kill.<\/p>\n
There are some good parts to taking a bus. I wondered what going across the bridges to Awaji Island were like and almost drove across the southern bridge yesterday. It\u2019s better to ride the bus since it let me look out to see if there were any whirlpools (there were not). And the northern bridge was just a bridge. Nothing really special.<\/p>\n
Since I didn\u2019t trust my online sources (one said the Shinkansen was delayed as well), I stood in line at the Shin-Kobe ticket to ask at the ticket counter. And I figured I could buy my Okayama to Tokyo ticket at the same time. Met a guy in line who owns a packaging company up in Seattle and he was a hoot to talk to. He\u2019s married to a Japanese woman from Kobe. Then I got my short ticket to Okayama (30 minutes) and my long ticket from Okayama to Tokyo (more like 4 hours). I also bought an ekiben because I was hungry. I hoped I\u2019d have space to eat it and the train wouldn\u2019t be packed.<\/p>\n
![\"IMG](\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_0343.png\" "\\"IMG_0343.png\\"")
<\/p>\n
It was pretty good. Probably not \u201ckobe beef\u201d good but meh. I\u2019ve been suckered by tourist stuff this whole trip. I didn\u2019t need to worry, I got an aisle seat and the window seat was not taken.<\/p>\n
I got to Okayama just after 2pm, about two hours late. It was freezing. I checked in since this hotel starts checkin at 2pm and sat in the room for a bit. I did walk around the neighborhood and took my expensive Momotaro jeans in for repair again, just like last year. And the Mister Donut is back! Not sure why they closed but it seems to be in the same spot. I bought a silly donut and it wasn\u2019t great (wasn\u2019t expecting it to be) but it also wasn\u2019t awful.<\/p>\n
![\"IMG](\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_0344.png\" "\\"IMG_0344.png\\"")
<\/p>\n
And the I wandered around the station underground and the coin flip app told me to get the same ramen I had last year.<\/p>\n
![\"IMG](\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_0345.png\" "\\"IMG_0345.png\\"")
<\/p>\n
The broth I tried this year has a flying fish base, I think, and it was a little on the light side. I like it a bit more salty. The fatty pork char siu was great and I even got a rice bowl with seasoned char siu on the side. Next time I\u2019m probably back to the one soy sauce flavored broth that is flavored with fish, pork, and chicken.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s about it. I\u2019m meeting our friend Yumi tomorrow and we\u2019re going to hit some onsen. I\u2019m having dinner with her brother and his family too. Should be fun!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Not many pictures today. Slept OK, I\u2019d probably give it a B-. In any case, I got up, ate some breakfast at Tully\u2019s again, and realized I was very early for my train ticket that I bought yesterday. I went to try adjusting it to an hour earlier and they pointed at this sign: I did not read it but they said the Marine Liner is stopped. That\u2019s the one that goes across the Seto Ohashi to Okayama, and it\u2019s stopped due to heavy winds. I think it also says the Uzushio from Tokushima to Matsuyama is stopped as well. I asked if they had any other trains and they … Continue reading Japan 2023: Day 17<\/span>