Gonnermans to Japan
  • Introduction
  • Main Page
  • About Us
  • How to Take Part
  • Contact Us

​Cartography and Forgetfulness

11/3/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
“Wait... Didn’t the map say this was a short road?” While in Japan, we frequently scoped out our destinations and took pictures on our tablet to follow later; our trip to Kyoto was no exception. Each location, including our hotel, was ready for efficient travel with the help of our tablet. When our tablet decided to remain behind, apparently afraid of the night-bus we took, a problem arose.

We realized that our faithful companion stayed in Iwatsuki too late to retrieve it. A major inconvenience? Yes, but thankfully we had looked at the map enough to help us reach the hotel. With luggage in hand, we grabbed some breakfast and then set out for our short trip to the hotel.
​
​In Japan, there are occasionally city maps along the walkways to help with directions. We spotted the general location of the hotel on one and counted four streets to cross before our turn. We strode down the street counting four roads and then turned. Twenty minutes later, we finally reached the block that curved the way we were looking for. “That seemed farther than it looked on the map,” we thought, but shrugged it off. We began looking for the hotel, but it was not there. We spread our search out a bit, but still came up short of either the hotel or a map. We finally broke down and began asking people for directions, yet no one knew of the hotel.
Picture
Kinkakuji temple, which we did eventually see.
About an hour later, we finally found a security guard who was willing to search the internet. We learned that the hotel rested in a neighborhood about two miles south of our present location. We got specific directions, thanked him, and left to walk back. Confused at how far off we were, we finally arrived an hour later, luggage in hand, but exhausted.

Later we walked back to the station (this time only a ten-min walk), and tried to figure out what went wrong. Apparently, it was actually six streets between the hotel and the station, but two streets were too small to be on the city map. The moral of the story? Listen when your friend says, “Be cautious when using city maps.” Meanwhile, back in Iwatsuki, our tablet probably laughed.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Missions in Japan

    Learn about Japanese culture, ministry, and some fascinating experiences along the way!

    Andrew and Janae Gonnerman are church planters serving in Tama, Japan.

    Categories

    All
    Culture
    Holiday
    Humorous
    Memories
    Methods
    Ministry
    Personal
    Pictures
    Prayer Letters

    Donate

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    March 2022
    September 2021
    June 2021
    August 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    December 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015

Introduction

Main

About Us

Taking Part

Contact


​Andrew & Janae Gonnerman - info@TheGonnermans.com
Picture