I was too happy to be an insomniac in Tokyo. The city is is a siren that constantly bids me to do and see just one more thing. My sleep deprivation was catching up to me, so my scheduled escape came just in time. But first, just one more thing…

I found an old volunteer fireman’s jacket in an antique shop. It looked so cool but it wasn’t that comfortable or functional so I just took a photo with it and put it back. I did buy a kind of traditional jacket worn at onsen, though. I asked the proprietors of the shop about good coffee nearby and they sent me to Nook. They did not let me down!

The area around Sensoji temple was poppin'. Compare with its emptiness around midnight a couple nights ago.

I finally found the Ninja bar when I wasn’t looking for it. There’s an underground street near Asakusa station. I think it wasn’t open the other night, that’s why it eluded me. Sadly, it was closed.

When I reemerged to the above ground, it was snowing. Pretty hard, actually. I was glad I had splurged on a katana err, umbrella at the museum the other day. It was approaching whiteout conditions when I reached Ueno station. Fortunately, the white guy got on the train to Nagano before the snowfall could interfere.

I arrived at Nagano and found my way to my accommodations, 1166 Backpackers. The host let me in and invited me to unburden myself of my bags anywhere I liked. She brought me some warm barely tea and a booklet with information about the hostel. She also got a paper map of Nagano and, asking about my trip, circled places on the map that might interest me. After she showed me to my bed, I took a shower and went to bed. It was about 6pm.