Day 323: Glitters Like Gold

Tokyo – Niigata – Urushiyama – Niigata – Tokyo, Japan

It’s 6pm and I stood in a bus stop shelter on my own in the middle of nowhere in a prefecture called Urushiyama. There were only rice fields and residential houses around and some factories. My watch hit 6:07 and the bi-hourly bus that’s supposed to pass by hadn’t showed up. Five minutes later, I was getting worried if it’s going to come at all. The 6:07 bus was the last one of the day. Having nobody in sight to ask, I decided to give the hitchhiking trick a go. However, my waving thumb up only managed to get weird looks from passing cars  Thank God, the bus did in finally appear in the distance. I waved frantically just so there’s no chance for the driver to miss me.

How on earth was I there in the first place? It’s all for this: Aqua Design Amano (ADA) gallery. What the hell is Aqua Design? Mmm, some sort of aquascaping in aquarium with crazy setup.

I went to the gallery on behalf of my brother, Tonny. He’s big into aquascaping and it’s his dream to visit this gallery.

I honestly couldn’t care less. But upon knowing that my Japan Rail pass covered the Shinkansen ride to and fro Tokyo-Niigata, which otherwise, would have cost me $220, I couldn’t resist not going. Furthermore, I would be having bragging rights in front of my brother for years to come until he himself made it to the gallery.

However, getting there was not an easy feat. After reaching Niigata station, I had to talk to four different information centers before  somebody can confidently tell me how to get to Urushiyama. That lady crossed her fingers wishing me luck on finding the spot and coming back to the Niigata station with no problem.

So I made it! Reached the gallery, took some pictures, asked for some info, and gotten myself some swags and souvenirs for my brother. Mission accomplished.

And the most incredible moment of the entire day was this: strolling down a narrow pathway by a river while the wind blew through the tall grass. The sun was setting and  everything looked as though I had applied the “Magic Hour” colour filter in Photoshop. I did capture the atmosphere on this video for you folks back home: