I was planning on meeting a group called CCEA at a train station to go to Handa to see the Spider Lilies and have lunch, but I got confused on the train. Poor planning, getting on the wrong train, and getting on the train going in the wrong direction... if something could have gone wrong on a train, I did it that day! As one of my friends said, "I don't get lost, I go on adventures!"
By the time I got there, they were already done seeing the spider lilies (I was THAT late!) so I went by myself. They had guides in orange vests taking people to the Spider Lilies, so that was nice. The one who spoke to me knew English. Handa also has a fox as their thing. I believe there is a story to go with it, but I don't know it.
First look at the Spider Lilies.
The fox slide at the playground.
One of my favorite pictures of the day. This grandma was walking her bike along the path. Bikes are very common here.
Dare to be different!
Butterfly! I took a couple of short videos of it.
Off to the great unknown...
Rice paddies nearby.
The fox slide and snail in the distance along with this cute couple all in black.
I thought this hollowed out log was neat.
I opted not to do any of the other activities the group had planned, but just go back home. It was a bit of a trick getting back to the correct station. I stupidly went into the same station I came out of. Usually there is a way to get from one station on one side to the other. This was so tiny, though, I didn't see any stairs to go under the tracks (that's usually the way to do it), so I went out using my Manaca (IC/train) card. Or at least tried to. The card was mad because it knew I hadn't gone anywhere. It buzzed at me and closed the exit. I tried again and finally just went out. I walked to the other side and used my card to go into the station and the same thing happened. It buzzed at me and closed the gate. There was something that said I should use the call button, so I did. I asked in Japanese if there was anyone who spoke English. The answer was no. So I tried to explain in broken Japanese that I went to the wrong station "chigai eki" and IC (my Manaca/train card) wasn't working. "IC kado chigaimasu." He asked me where I was or perhaps where I was going. I told him both. At that time a lady who spoke a little English came up behind me and talked to him. She told me she was also going to Nagoya and that he said to just go through. He had turned off the IC card reader/gate. I went in and this lady and I rode to Nagoya station. She and I had conversations in broken English and broken Japanese, including where I was from and showing her pictures I'd taken. It was one of the few times I have had where I truly had to try and speak Japanese, even though I don't have a large vocabulary. It felt good to try, though. I got to Nagoya station and she had a problem leaving the station because she had gone through without using her card since it was turned off, but she quickly took care of it, there was a place right there where she paid. She forgot her card after she paid, so someone came running after her with it. They do that here in Japan, I have seen that more than once.
It was a rough trip, but I got through it and got some photos out of it. I learned a lot about the trains. I am not afraid to ride them by myself, that's for sure! I just need to plan better! The cute station leaving Handa.
