Memories of Gunma

Last summer, I stayed at Yubiso Onsen and took Tanigawa Ropeway to Tenjindaira for trekking. Unfortunately, Mt. Tanigawa was hidden behind by clouds. I heard that Mt. Tanigawa would be crowded with people enjoying the autumn leaves, so I was thinking of revisiting during the late-lying snow season.

Taking the ropeway to see Mt. Tanigawa up close is not bad, but trekking to Ichinokurasawa allows to see the majestic rock walls of Mt. Tanigawa, which is said to be a breathtaking view. The road to Ichinokurasawa-deai, the entrance to Ichinokurasawa, is closed during the winter. It would be re-opened from late May. That should be in the time of May sunshine season before the rainy season in June.

After returning from trip to Mexico, I read an online article that Japanese National Railways’ EF58 locomotive on display at a railway preservation facility in Yokokawa had undergone repainting. Since she was displayed outdoors, I wanted to take photos while the paint was still beautiful. Both Yokokawa and Mt. Tanigawa were in Gunma Prefecture, it seemed a good one-day trip plan.

I kept checking the weather forecast of Gunma Prefecture almost every day. Perhaps because the rainy season front moved northward earlier in this year, the weather was consistently unfavorable. I finally found one day in mid-May that looked promising, but even that day did not seem to be entirely sunny. Considering the possibility that the weather might not be improved even if I waited until the end of May, I decided to visit Yokokawa first.

The day looked promising was Tuesday. If I cleaned-up all of my work on Monday, it would not be too busy at the office on that day. Considering wake-up time, taking the Shinkansen to Takasaki is ideal, but as an old man with claustrophobia who cannot stand crowded trains, I can only take commuter trains early in the morning on weekdays. I took the first regular train on the Tokaido Line from Yokohama and rode all the way to Takasaki, stopping at all stations.

I transferred to the Shinetsu Line at Takasaki and arrived Yokokawa. I then found that the railway preservation facility was closed. I was aware that Yokokawa’s famous kama-meshi (rice cooked in a pot) restaurant, Ogino-ya’s main shop was closed on Tuesdays. I had wondered why another branch along the national road in Yokokawa was also closed on Tuesdays, but I thought I finally understood the reason. I realized that the world did not revolve around me, but it was already too late. To prevent further damage, I returned to Tokyo using Shinkansen and worked from home in the afternoon.

The weather remained unfavorable for several days, but in the following week, forecast predicted good weather on Wednesday and Friday. However, the clear skies were expected only until mid-morning on both days, so I still had to split my plan into two occasions. Since the trekking road to Ichinokurasawa-deai was scheduled to reopen on that Friday, I decided to revisit Yokokawa on Wednesday.

From there on, it was basically as same as the previous week. Yet, I was able to take some satisfying photos and ate kama-meshi at the Ogino-ya’s main shop as originally planned.

Even though I am who I am, I can supposedly learn something. While waiting for a train on the way back, I called the tourist information office of Minakami Town. I was told that due to possibilities of avalanche, the trekking road would remain closed for some more time.

Indeed, I learned that the world did not revolve around me.

COLO’s Traveler Guide: Yokokawa

Listed schedule is based on timetable at the time of visit.

Yokohama 0525 (JR) > Takasaki 0750
Takasaki 0804 (JR) > Yokokawa 0837

– Usui Pass Railway Culture Village
– Kama-meshi Ogino-ya

Yokokawa 1110 (JR) > Takasaki 1141
Takasaki 1152 (JR) > Yokohama 1413

COLO’s Traveler Guide: Guanajuato

The times listed are based on the schedule at the time of visit.

Day 1

Tokyo Haneda 1055 (Japan Airlines JL12) > Dallas-Fort Worth 0830
Dallas-Fort Worth 1335 (American Airlines AA3028) > León-Guanajuato 1500

Accommodation: Hotel Balcon del Cielo

Day 1 Tips
• I made transfer from an international flight to another international flight at Dallas. Unlike other US airports, baggage was automatically transferred to the connecting flight, but I still had to go through US immigration. Hence, I needed to obtain ESTA in advance. The immigration inspection was relatively lenient for US entry as they seem to be aware of the connecting flight information.
• There was a pre-paid taxi counter at Guanajuato Airport. It seems that Uber is not available at this airport.

Days 2–4

• Walk around Guanajuato
• Visit to Valenciana Templo de San Cayetano
• Tequila distillery visit

Restaurants:
• Tacos “El Paisa II”
• Carnitas Patlán
• Casa Valadez Anfitrión & Gourmet

Tips for Days 2-4
• I loved a local tacos place named El Paisa II, especially an English-speaking lady who had a good hospitality. I wished they served a beer though.
• Near Hidalgo Market (Mercado Hidalgo), there was a bakery called Panadería El Centro with an eat-in space serving drinks. I enjoyed sweet pastries and sweet coffee for breakfast many times.
• There is a beautiful cathedral in a nearby town of Valenciana. I tried to take the local bus, waited at the bus stop in front of Hidalgo Market. After waiting for a while, I asked around and found out that the bus departed from a different place, in front of Explanada de la Alhondiga. Seemed there was no bus stop sign but there were people waited the bus under a tree. I ended up passing it by and got lost. Thanks to the help of two Mexicans, I was able to avoid taking a taxi.

Day 5

León-Guanajuato 1045 (AA877) > Dallas-Fort Worth 1415
Dallas-Fort Worth 2140 (JL11) > Tokyo Haneda 0110 ++

Day 5 Tips
• I used Uber to return to the airport. The driver called his wife or girlfriend who spoke English, then she asked me if I had cash. The driver stopped Uber app where was equivalent to the tip, and I paid the Uber-displayed amount in cash. Total amount was reasonable to me, still lower than pre-paid taxi at the airport. I have used many of these apps including in Mexico, yet this was first time doing this.
• There was a flood warning issued in Dallas, JL11 was operated on an irregular schedule. It was my first 3-day flight.

Memories of Guanajuato

When I lived in Los Angeles, I was often mistaken for a Mexican by Mexicans. I have considered Mexico as my second home country since then. In this Japan’s Golden Week holidays, I planned to return the home for the first time after the COVID-19.

This blog always consists of my frustration for the weather at travel destinations, but it is not the case this time. It was the dry season in a country where cacti thrive, there was nothing to worry about. After all, it was sunny every day.

Even though I call Mexico as my second home country, it is only because there are similarities in appearance. I do not have an understanding of Mexican culture. I gave up on learning Spanish within a short period of time, so there is the language barrier as well. Besides, I cannot avoid safety issues in Mexico. Indeed, they are what I should worry about rather than weather. Since it had been a while since my last visit to Mexico, I decided to choose a safe tourist destination. It was an old city called Guanajuato, where I have visited before.

I used to fly to Mexico using All Nippon Airways’ red-eye flights on its Tokyo-Los Angeles service, but I was not able to find good connecting flights at Los Angeles in this year. I had no choice but to pick flights that depart and arrive Tokyo during the daytime. Japan Airlines (JAL) has launched its latest A350-1000 to Dallas, so I decided to transfer American Airlines flights at Dallas. Airfare was high due to the Golden Week holidays, but I was able to adjust schedule to avoid peak dates.

Guanajuato was still a beautiful city. The old town was as if it were studded with jewels. As long as I took reasonable precautions, there were few safety concerns. I was able to enjoy leisurely stroll through the back alleys.

I was enjoying safe stay in the beautiful city, but challenges arose on the third day.

Tequila is often thought to be a product of Jalisco State, but there is a distillery in Guanajuato State which officially call its product as tequila. I wished to visit the tequila distillery, I asked the hotel if they could arrange a taxi for me. It was a little more expensive than Uber, but since it was not a place where I could easily find a return car, I requested to arrange the taxi for a round-trip. However, upon arriving at the distillery, it turned out there was a waiting fee incurred. The waiting time alone was equivalent to the one-way trip, so it ended up a significant expense.

I pulled myself together and went out for dinner. My hotel was located on a hill overlooking the old town of Guanajuato. The cable car that going up the hill had already suspended its operation after the dinner. I had heard it ran until 9:30 pm, but apparently it closed early on Sundays. I had to return to the city center and call an Uber back to the hotel. It was a day filled with unexpected transportation issues.

However, it was not over yet.

While I was dozing off, thinking about taking a shower, I received an email from JAL. Due to severe weather in Dallas area, my flight back to Japan would be delayed by 10.5 hours, arriving at Tokyo Haneda Airport around 1 am. It was already late at night, and there was little I could do at that hour. I lost the energy to take a shower and went to sleep.

Sleeping would not solve anything. In the next morning, I called JAL in US while I was still half asleep. Originally, I had booked a flight departing Guanajuato-León Airport around 5 am. The layover at Dallas would exceed 12 hours, which was simply too harsh. There was an American Airlines’ Dallas flight departing Guanajuato-León at 3:50 pm, which would connect to the JAL flight in about 2.5 hours, so I requested a change.

It was obvious if I thought of it calmly, but later, I received an email from American Airlines stating that free flight change was accepted due to possible delay to/from Dallas. I had finally made research what would be happening in Dallas, I found that there were severe thunderstorm and flood warnings issued in the area.

American Airlines allows to track status of previous flight of the aircraft to be used. Aircraft of the 3:50 pm flight would make a round trip of US domestic flights from Dallas before she would fly to Mexico. Three takeoffs and landings at Dallas Airport in bad weather would have high risks of delay. One flight before the 3:50 pm flight was scheduled to depart Guanajuato Airport at 10:45 am. While this flight would make connection time of about 7.5 hours on schedule, the plane would fly a one-way flight from Washington D.C. to Dallas before heading to Mexico. Therefore, the risk of delay could be lower and there would be ample time for the connection in case of delay.

After considering them for a while, I contacted JAL in Tokyo late at night. It took time, but being able to communicate them via a messaging app was helpful in terms of phone costs. I managed to secure the last seat on the 10:45 am flight and everything was finally settled at 2:00 am.

I took a short sleep and went out to see the last sunrise in Guanajuato. If I had taken the original 5:00 am flight, I would not have been able to see this view. Luckily, I was able to enjoy the most beautiful sunrise during my stay.

I took an Uber to Guanajuato-León Airport and checked-in for American Airlines. In the end, I arrived at Dallas Airport about 2 hours late. The 3:50 pm flight was also significantly delayed. Since I needed to go through US immigration at Dallas even for an international connection, I would have missed JAL flight if I kept the 3:50 pm flight.

Yet, it still meant 5.5 hours of wait in Dallas. Since I was able to clear the immigration fairly smoothly, I thought I might have time to go to Dallas or nearby Fort Worth. I would go to Fort Worth if sunny, but considering the thunderstorm with a flood warning, which was severe enough to delay many flights, I decided to stay inside the airport. Since it had been some 30 years since I last visited Texas, I thought about going to a Texan barbecue restaurant. It was unfortunate that the airport prices, inflation, and the weak Japanese Yen were a triple-whammy, I gave up the idea. To enjoy an American taste slightly, I made bourbon whiskey highball at the American Airlines lounge and killed time reading my company’s email while watching the planes.

The JAL flight was delayed as planned, arrived at Haneda Airport around 1 am, which was, in a way, on time. I took a taxi from Haneda Airport back to Yokohama. JAL made compensation up to JPY10,000, and the remaining amount I had to pay was not much different from the cost of returning home normally. Additionally, I received JPY24,000 as a “consolation payment” from my travel insurance. I had already handled work emails during the waiting time at Dallas Airport, and I had set to work from home on the day I returned, so there was no loss in any way. I even got to see the sunrise that I was supposedly not to see, so I should consider as pennies (or consolation payment) from heaven.

I tend to think “a glass of half empty of water” but I felt like “a glass of half full of water” at the end of this trip. So much so, Mexico is truly my second home country.