Day 33: (65 km) Tateshina - Ueda - Saku
(08/31/06)

Looks like I lost the camp stoves. Felt like a bit of a fool for sure. A random black bag with beat up camping burners doesn't seem like the kind of thing one would steal after all. Mary and I went back to Ueda in a failed attempt to recover them--they were nowhere to be found.

The three hour evening ride from Ueda to Saku with Mary was fun though. She's a great riding partner--interesting person, fun, doesn't complain, keeps a good pace, and is happy to make silly stops. The silly stop of the evening was at an AEON shopping center--a real, indoor mall, rare in Japan--for some print club action (what happens when photo booths are taken to the next level and marketed towards teenage J-girls). Wacky photos in hand, we hopped back on the bikes and made our way to meet Chay and Ayako at Daigaku Ramen.

We had no idea what a treat we were in store for. Our host for the night was Kazuko, Chay's sixty something J-mom and owner of Daigaku Ramen. By the time we arrived, she was drunk and had been berating Chay in a coarse but frustratingly loving way for the past two hours. Our arrival only intensified things.

"Chay! Your friends are late! Why are they so late?"
"Because they ha--"
"They shouldn't be so late you know."
Then turning to us, "do you like the miso?"
"Yes, it's very g--"
"Chay! Miso!" handing him the empty dish.

The fun went on for a good hour and Mary and I loved every minute of it.