This weather is godawful. It was raining for 24 straight days, and it has been snowing for the last four. I believe we have an accumulated foot and a half of snow lying about everywhere, and the liquid equivalent of a foot and a half of snow (plus whatever those ridiculous street sprinklers pump out) swamping every street. The rain-snow is sucking my will to live.

Rob, my predecessor, has been a great asset to me in everything Toyama. He sold me a very well outfitted apartment at a very reasonable price, he threw in a car, he has given me solid tips on everything from bars to heating, but there is one aspect of Toyama life that he failed to impress upon me: this goddamn weather. "Bring a raincoat," he said, "it tends to rain here." Tends to rain? To hell with the raincoat! Bring waders! Bring a wetsuit! Bring diving gear! Now in all fairness, and from what I've heard, last year's was a much tamer winter, and the rainy season was just that, a season...not a half year. Nonetheless, what am I going to tell my successor? How can I look that poor kid in the eye and not tell him that whoever colonized this place was completely batshit insane? I just hope whoever my succesor is (and it probably will be a guy, the ALT's at Koho have been male for at least the past five years) finds the blog first, and spares me the sobering task of having to inform him:

New Guy: "Hey! I heard you have a beach near you! That's awesome!"
Me: "Beach?"
New Guy: "Yeah, what's it like?"
Me: "Oh, a beach, right. Well, hell I don't even know if it's there anymore, really. In fact, you should probably forget all about that. Also, bring waders."
New Guy: "What?"

Aside from making everybody wet all the time, the weather has the annoying effect of holing everybody up. It's not exactly a party-starter. However, this past weekend a nice family of Japanese people that knew Rob invited me and Bryan to eat and drink at their place. It was a lot of fun, and an interesting look in to the world of domestic Japan. The family has two kids, each of them two years old. They apologized for the leather couch we were sitting on because one day last week, apparently, the mother left the room and when she returned the kids had taken both a black and a blue pen to the whole thing. It was a complete and total job. Every square inch of the couch had some color of pen running through it. I said not to worry, it looked professional. Bryan said he thought it was the pattern of the decor, and never would have noticed if they hadn't pointed it out. I guess two-year olds are the same worldwide.

We sang karaoke with them for three hours, and they were driving Bryan and I to our respective homes when we asked if they would be so kind as to drop us off at the bars in the red-light district instead, it was saturday night, after all. They were happy to oblige. The snow was falling heavily at this point, so we ran to this Rock bar, only to find the proprietors on their way out. We looked so miserable and sad, however, that they agreed to open up shop again for one drink, which turned in to two before we made ourselves leave out of propriety; they would have, no doubt, stayed open all night just for us. Bless the Japanese service industry. (Plus, Bryan teaches their little girl at Higashi High School)

One thing lead to another and soon enough it was 7am. We had exhausted one of the more popular bars, Penny Black, and were exhausted ourselves. Bryan decided to head on home (and subesquently slept through his stop three consecutive times), but the weather being as terrible as it was, and since I had to go bowling in town again at noon that day, I decided to stay up all night rather than walk home for an hour of sleep before having to turn around again. It is with this experience in mind that I bring to you:

The All-Nighter's Guide to Toyama Station and its Immediate Surroundings!!!

So friend, you've decided to stay out all night? Well, let this guide ease you in to the next day as gently as the smell of Folgers in the morning.

First and foremost, the station itself: Don't look for warmth in the bathrooms, you won't find any. However, the station bathrooms are fairly clean. If you are planning on staying for several nights, you can probably rent out the pay toilet, but that's never a good option since no matter how clean they are, station toilets always smell like tinkle. Rather, I would suggest to you go in to the small waiting room by the Soba Shop. It is a warm place, and the TV is always on. If you can sleep sitting up, feel free to grab an hours worth of intermittent cat naps on one of the many octagonal cushions in the middle of the room. Go ahead, people won't mind. Most of them are bums like you. Especially that real bum that often sleeps, laying down, across all of the cushions. You could ask him to leave, I suppose, but have a heart, the guy has no shoes for crying out loud.

Need some entertainment? Don't try the bowling alley, you silly ass, It's closed until 10am. I found this one out the hard way. I sat staring into its unfathomable darkness at 8am when I ran into one of the employees coming to clean for opening. She smiled that smile you smile at insane people that you half pity, and told me come back at 10. Buck up, though, kiddo. There is still much to do in the twilight hours of the morning! Might I suggest grabbing a hearty meal of mystery meat at Yoshinoyas? Always friendly, always warm, always cheap. Take a load off.

So you've eaten, you catnapped, you've walked about, but you still need to kill some time before you go bowling at 10am? Why not try Mr. Donuts? The family friendly atmosphere, rockin' music, and bottomless coffee make Mr. Donuts a must see for the all-nighter. Every twenty minutes or so one of the nice worker-ladies will walk around with a pot of coffee, filling up anyone who looks tired. Believe me, they will fill you up as long as you sit there. I sat there for over an hour, and they just kept coming! Four steaming cups of coffee later you might still be shaking when you step outside, but it won't be from the cold!

Cap off the remaining half of an hour before Golden Bowl opens with a quick visit to The Circle K across the street. Peruse the 999 yen movie selection while you grab a bottle of champaigne and some OJ. It's time to bowl.

Pop the cork and sip on some mamosas whilst you warm up your bowling arm for your 12pm engagement. When all is said and done, you will have been awake for over thirty hours! Kick back and relax, friend. You deserve it.