House Of Pain.

The view from room '1001' in the Route Inn Hotel, Tokuyama!

With a Shinkansen train pulling into the high level station.

The rear of Tokuyama train station.

A drink Sir?

Tokuyama docks.


Tokuyama harbour mouth.


Lean on the armco at your peril!

Some big ships.

A Kite doing what Kites do in the fluffy clouds!

That could hurt from the rear!


The 10th floor vista.


No one could have believed that in the first half of this morning I initiated such a contradiction, (Juxtaposition if you want to be posh about it!) between the House of pain, Jump Around and Jeff Waynes ‘War of the Worlds’!

I could and it was what wanted I to listen to in that order, after circumnavigating Tokuyama docks, JR railway station, the local shopping Ginza’s and my friend’s wife hair saloon; after being asked to vacate my room so the maids could clean it. I don’t know what they think I get up to in my room but judging by the amount of beer cans that have been cleared out of other rooms this morning, I must be a parody of clean living compared to the other inhabitants of the hotel! I tell you one thing though; they never put the bog seat down after they have cleaned it! They will never get a cleaning job at my house.

The local cat’s were giving it some this morning, while I was walking around the back streets. This one cat, a scruffy looking individual and to be honest quite likable with it’s disk like laser green eyes slit peering at me, dared to bandy looks with me. It obviously noted that I was not a local geezer, so it gave me a wide berth and slinked off into a hole in the wall. At least this particular cat had a tail, (It could possibly tell a tale or two too!) not like many of the others I see on a daily basis.

I ended up going to the docks and watched the Kites dog fighting or spelling out their language of love in the sky. I would not argue with a small Kite, let alone one of these huge sod’s I was watching and to be honest, when they do actually land after having a good old squawk, they are quite statuesque. When they see you are eating, they come un-unnervingly close but I doubt they would come close to me, as I make most people around here look small!

Earlier though, before I left the hotel this morning, the cleaners had left the fire escape door open on the tenth floor. (I am in room 1001. Oh do you remember '1001 Dry Foam'? I hated that advert.) So I took the opportunity to get some ‘high up’ pictures.

Big mistake!

I don’t know what the maid thought I was going to, ‘Harry karri’ or some thing but she was not impressed with me stepping outside of the hotel onto the fire escape. It was only when I got it out, the camera that is, she calmed down and left me to it. I think the maid was the one I asked last year to go onto the fire escape, on the other side of the hotel, so she realised that it was a photography moment. I might ask for room ‘1004’ next time though, definitely better or should I say different views from the room compared to my diminutive pad.

I should have brought the big camera out!!!!