the tall blond guy goes to japan

The Journey is the Reward

Completely Lost

The SkiDome is one of a very few places in the world where it's possible to ski inside. That alone is enough to make it cool and a definite destination for me. Apparetly, there's an indoor beach somewhere too, but I'm more of a ski person (and it's easier to pantomime "skiing" than it is to pantomime "laying on the beach").

Half an hour out of the city, I find the station they tell me that it's near. "You can't miss it," they say, "big rampy thing". Okay. I look around outside the station. No big rampy thing, but there is a kind of warehouse over there with a slanted roof- that might be it. Nope. Well, there's something else over there... but how do I get around this big big wall?

In steps a nice man with a car, who understands my need to get on the other side of the wall, and gestures me into the car. Okay, sure. He looks like a good person, his wife is waving fromt he window and I saw him kiss his young daughter goodbye at the door. I'll get in the car.

He knows no english, but brightens when he understand that I'm looking for the SkiDome. "Ahh!" he says, "You ski!".

"Yes," I said, "I ski."

He then gestures wildly in a completely different direction. "Far!"

Oh.

Looks like it's time to get out of the car. He's stopped the car and has explained the way to the skidome to his satisfaction. I thank him profusely (for at the time I thought he was a great help), give him a Team Canada hockey pin, and climb out of the car.

The Team Canada pins are thanks to Paul at work, who seems preoccupied with them. Team Canada, that is, not the pins. They're proving to be good little thankyou gifts for people who help me attain my goals of getting interestingly lost. Thanks Paul!

I walk and walk and walk. Nothing even resembling a "big rampy thing". There are some signs with arrows that I notice every so often, so lacking something better to follow, I begin to follow them. Twenty minutes later, I arrive at a tire store.

This really cute penguin is around the corner from the tire store, and I took a picture of him because it might be the only thing that I manage to get out of this long walk. I refuse to get lost and not get something out of it.

Katsushika Cold Storage Company, a company with fine tastes in mascots.

But there is a freeway here, and I recall them saying something about the SkiDome being near a freeway. Okay, since I'm on this side of the street, I'll go this way along the road next to the freeway.

Thirty minutes later, I see something tall and ramplike in the distance. Can it be? Can it be?