I'm back in Atsugi, and normality is flowing back into my life, despite my best efforts to resist it. Talking to friends and making plans to meet up have basically bound me to this place for at least a week, and I am slowly coming to terms with that. My instinct is telling me to get the hell out of here and go camping in the mountains, but then I realize that I really should take a short break, give my leg some rest and take care of all the loose ends that I have left here. The next time I leave Atsugi, I won't come back.
I went shopping today. During the journey some of my clothes got very dirty and I threw them away, so I needed some replacements. I also went to Yodobashi camera, expecting to enjoy myself in the presence of so much cool technology, but I found that there was nothing there that I really needed, so I quickly left again.
Later that day I contemplated camping under a bridge, but decided to take it easy for a couple of days. I found an even cheaper hotel and went there to check in. It's usually the policy in Japan (and in the rest of the world I guess) to make a reservation before you arrive at a hotel, but I've rarely been rejected without a reservation. There were some cases where the hotel was fully booked, but that only happens on festival days and weekends. This time was no different, and there were rooms available. When I asked about the rates, the receptionist presented me with a price that was about 2000 yen higher than was advertised on the website!
The receptionist explain to me that the cheaper price is only for online bookings, and that I had to pay more because I came to the reception in person. I told her that I had a laptop in my backpack and could take it out and book it online right there at the spot, hoping that she would see the insanity, but no. She told me to please book it online, so I took out my laptop, stood at the reception, and made a reservation online. She then proceeded to check her computer, printed out my reservation, and let me pay for the room. How retarded is that?
Anyway, from here on out I'm turning things down a notch. To prevent myself from becoming utterly bored (and fat) I'm going to do day trips with my bicycle, so I'll keep on blogging about that. There might be another surprise this month, but you'll find out about that later. ;)