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May 12

Board ferry to Kagoshima

In the morning it was still raining. I woke around 6am, and packed up, waiting for a break in the rain. Eventually it slowed down, and I rode my little heart out to the ferry terminal. I got there unscathed, even though a little later it began to pour rain, again.

At the terminal, I found an open door. I got some free bathroom use, and the faucet on the side of a wall in the handicap bathroom served as a nice shower. I felt nice and refreshed from my escapades of last night.

A few hours later I had boarded the ferry to Kagoshima. This ferry turned out to be nicer than the last, in terms of facilities. The service was friendlier, and the ofuro tub was really nice.

This ferry trip I got in 2 Class, meaning that I would be in a large room with all the other folks. Instead of beds in a private room, you are all in one huge room with many beds all over the ground. This is convenient if you are in a large group, like a family or friends. It is very conductive for picnicing and hanging out.

However, my luck with passengers was pretty poor. I tried talking to one guy with a camping backpack, but he was pretty straightforward about not wanting to converse. After that, I kept getting woken up by people watching the TVs that are spread out around that area. After getting to the last stop before the 12 hour final stretch to Kagoshima, I moved to a recently vacated corner, covered the TV with a strip of toilet paper so that it looked like it was broken, and went to sleep.