I am very excited.. today was the first time I can remember recently where I went to sleep while it was dark outside, and woke up and it was already past sunrise! Yes... I slept at normal hours! Even more exciting was I was asleep before 11pm! Watched the Blues Brothers on TV, then rolled over and was fast asleep by 10.30 at the latest.. not to stir until almost 6am. (Ok, I need to work on the sleeping til a reasonable hour thing, but Im getting better).
My excursion for the day was to find the Immigration office and get a re entry permit in my passport. This is not necessarily for re entry to Japan (shudder), but to be an extra bit of proof when talking to the American embassy in 11 days time that I do intend to leave America.
I had a rough idea of where to go (OK, I knew it was on the other side of the station, thats it), so onto the bike and off I tootled. I was rather amazed at the amount of greenery I could see today - spring has sprung, and the cherry blossoms are all gone, replaced by actual leaves on just about every plant. I took some photos which are up in the Scenery album.
It took me about an hour of searching when I finally decided to stop and ask - just knowing which side of the railway station is not sufficient direction finding... at least not this time.
I called in at a little police box and recieved very clear and simple directions: "See that petrol station? Turn left there, its about a hundred metres down the road. Cant miss it."
Wow.
Walked out of the police box, was almost tempted to drive there, because the resident police car (big heavy Toyota Crown) was sitting there, door open, key in the ignition, engine running, and no other humans in sight. I decided to leave it where it was and take my bike, because the flashing red lights on the roof do tend to stand out...
Immigration closes for lunch at 12. It was five past. Oh well... headed back across the tracks to Sendai and lunched in a little curry place waiting for them to open again. I was very impressed by the speed taken to grant me re entry permission... I only had to wait 25 minutes. Mr Lee in the Japanese consulate in Melbourne could learn a lot from these people.
Back in to uni to check my email and update the Wombat - as I sit down at the computer I notice the backs of my hands are slightly pink... yes, I got myself sunburned! Nothing much, just a pinkish tinge to my hands and arms... and nose... and the back of my neck, too.. Oh well... at least it's warming up... its nearly seven in the evening and still 20 degrees.
Mmm
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