911

Its exactly 10pm as I start typing these words on my laptop, all alone, on the 26th floor of Prince Tower Hotel in Sapporo, capital of the northernmost island of Hokkaido in Japan. Just back from an official reception, its warm and cosy inside, but a chilly 9 degrees C outside.

As I log in and check my blog, I see that I’ve had exactly 911 visitors – a significant number, expecially for Americans. Significant for me too – I can hardly believe that I’ve had 911 visitors within the last 6 months since I started this blog. I do the math in my mind (ok ok, a little scribbling on the hotel stationery, mental math  or anything to do with math was never my strong point )- that’s about 150 a month, 5 a day! Insignificant for most of my blogger friends, but for me, a landmark. And I’ve even had a few complimentary comments – thanks guys.

I sit here with a glass of ‘Suntory’ (I’ll probably be trying to delete this when I next access my blog tomorrow evening when I get back home!). Maybe its the Suntory, but my mind flies back to the six months since I started this blog and I find that its been quite an eventful six months. I’ve been to Okinawa, the southernmost part of Japan (in Jan), and now I’m in the northernmost part of Japan!. In between, I had the privilege of visiting Osaka, Nara and Kyoto, the cultural capital of Japan, and even a visit to Sado island last weekend where I caught my first fish in the sea off the coast of Akadomari, a sleepy fishing village where I stayed overnight in the only hotel. A friend of a friend kindly agreed to take me out in his motor board for a one-hour ride (is that the right word?) in the sea. But I must admit that the first fish I caught was definitely not due to any skill, or even luck, on my part. It was all a result of the amazing and scientific way the Japanese go about their daily life. In this instance, it was all due to Sato-san (the friend of a friend)’s amazing GPS system fixed in his small boat which, when switched on, could scan the water beneath and identify the presence of fish below. Once the spot was identified, all I had to do was cast my line and, voila, a bite! I reel in my line and there’s a fish at the end of my line. Not the biggest fish, but definitely a fish. And I even have a photo which I will try and upload next time. 🙂

Today we visited the Rusutsu Resort and The Windsor Hotel – probably the most exclusive and luxurious hotel I’ve ever seen. If I ever win the loterry, that’s where I take my ‘valentine’. The view of Lake Toya from there was out of this world. Unbelieveably beautiful and breathtaking. I’ve seen some breath-takingly beautiful places in Italy and Switzerland, South Africa and Swaziland and, without meaning to be pretentious  or bragging, today’s sight of Toya Lake was out of this world. I have the photos which I will try and upload next time, though I doubt the photos will do justice to the beauty of the place.

Hey, gtg, as we used to say back in the good ole MIRC days. Maybe its the Suntory and thoughts of being home tomorrow, but its almost 11pm already and my comfortable-looking bed calls.