Hotel Livemax Annex in Fuchu looked like a business hotel with tiny rooms. There was no place to lock and park my bicycle but with a bit of guesswork with the young non-english speaking check in person and a map, I found that to my relief there was paid bicycle parking 2 blocks away under cover and with a 24 hour security guard. After securing my bicycle I thanked my cycle tourist friend for his guidance around the west and said goodbye as he pedaled home with about 30 minutes of daylight left. At the hotel there were no 'non-smoking' rooms available and the room smelled of stale cigarette smoke even with the AC going. The room, and bed sheets were clean though and there was a small private bathroom with a deep tub to soak in. (these are great after a long days ride).
In the morning, I gathered all my gear checking out glad to breath the fresh air outside, turned in my parking stub paying the nominal parking fee and pedaled out of Fuchu towards Saitama.
I recently found out that Japanese Fire Engines are custom ordered. Each station department has specifications and needs towards the city they serve which are ordered and specially assembled for them. So every time you go by a Japanese Fire station you are looking at a customized vehicle. I saw quite a few stations going through Japan and half of the stations I saw were always doing some form of training.
Saitama looked like a nice suburban town and it seemed to bode well for my next AirBnB reservation...
While I was trying to figure out how to get into the place, a few neighbors were out and about tiding up their areas, avoiding eye contact and muttering under their breath '..it's difficult..' I went to the local supermarket to get food and asked AirBnB if this was the right address. When I informed them of the condition, they said they would try to find me another place which I thought very unlikely considering the area and the sun fast setting on the horizon. I was even thinking of wild camping in a local park until I heard rain drops on the some of the corrugated tin outside. It still smelled of a sort of a latex gesso haphazardly painted in places. The wiring was wretchedly old worrying me of a short and possibly a fire. The one saving grace was that the drafty bathroom had hot water, the upstairs main room had a tatami floor and the room closet had futon and pillows seemingly thrown in there by a prior guest wanting to leave quickly.
As I left the next late morning, I folded all the futon and comforters, closed the gate filled with bugs and overgrown weeds and gladly pedaled away and wondered what a stark contrast compared to my AirBnB experience in Oiso..
I'll not name the place on the off chance that it may have 'improved'. I'll be honest, I would have loved to own a place like that and make improvements. Some would say things like it's a 'diamond in the rough'. I would say it's more like the piece of coal...
AirBnB guest beware, there apparently is no one screening these places. As the Willy Nelson song goes "Some days are Diamond, some days are stone.."
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| Route 17 towards Saitama |
Saitama looked like a nice suburban town and it seemed to bode well for my next AirBnB reservation...
Warning: Explicit lyrics..
While I was trying to figure out how to get into the place, a few neighbors were out and about tiding up their areas, avoiding eye contact and muttering under their breath '..it's difficult..' I went to the local supermarket to get food and asked AirBnB if this was the right address. When I informed them of the condition, they said they would try to find me another place which I thought very unlikely considering the area and the sun fast setting on the horizon. I was even thinking of wild camping in a local park until I heard rain drops on the some of the corrugated tin outside. It still smelled of a sort of a latex gesso haphazardly painted in places. The wiring was wretchedly old worrying me of a short and possibly a fire. The one saving grace was that the drafty bathroom had hot water, the upstairs main room had a tatami floor and the room closet had futon and pillows seemingly thrown in there by a prior guest wanting to leave quickly.
As I left the next late morning, I folded all the futon and comforters, closed the gate filled with bugs and overgrown weeds and gladly pedaled away and wondered what a stark contrast compared to my AirBnB experience in Oiso..
I'll not name the place on the off chance that it may have 'improved'. I'll be honest, I would have loved to own a place like that and make improvements. Some would say things like it's a 'diamond in the rough'. I would say it's more like the piece of coal...
AirBnB guest beware, there apparently is no one screening these places. As the Willy Nelson song goes "Some days are Diamond, some days are stone.."
 |
| ..spotted further down the road behind a locked gate but thought this is a good place for this picture.. |
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