15 Niigata

We arrived to Niigata late lat night, in a huge truck. I always hoped we would get a ride in a big truck while doing all this hitchhiking and i was so excited that we did. Actually, if that guy hadn't picked us up and gave us a 300 km ride on the expressway i have no idea how we could have made it to Niigata the same day. We were riding in the loft, behind and above the drivers head in his sleeping space. It wasn't the most comfy seat, but I enjoyed the view - I have never sat so high on the road. 

He took us all the way into Niigata city, and dropped us off at a convenient convenience store parking. I mean , it was convenient for us, because it was in the center, not so much for him, his truck occupying almost the whole parking lot. I would say it is an art to maneuver a big truck in the narrow streets of the lego-like cities in Japan. 

We didn't even know that one of our funniest couch surfing experience is still awaiting for the night. We were staying in a geek house. And if you don't know what that means, I am not surprised. I didn't know. We arrived to an old Japanese two-story home, and we were welcomed by Haru, our host and seven other guys, who are sharing the same house. They were all sitting in the living room, so you would think they are very sociable. Well, no. They are geeks. And they introduce themselves as geeks, they have this strong geek identity. It means they are always on their computers. They all had MacBooks and we were sitting around in the living room, each one of them with a laptop. When I asked what they do for a living, some said they were IT students, others had IT jobs. It was a totally new culture and layer of society unfolding before my eyes. The lack of physical activity and eye contact was still bearable, but one thing that really made me a strong non-believer of the macBook religion was the lack of hygiene in the house. I guess you can't stay online while you are cleaning the bathroom, and obviously it is too much time staying disconnected, so I would guess they haven't cleaned for the last couple of years. The bad news was that we had to sleep on the floor in the living room. I didn't know if I should laugh or cry, then I decided to laugh for three reasons. 

1. we made it to Niigata and we have a place to stay with funny but friendly people.  

2. we are here for only one night 

3. on our list of all the places we have stayed we agreed it is only the 3rd dirtiest. And if we have survived the other two, this won't be a challenge too big!

Knowing this, we gave special thanks for having sleeping bags and fell asleep happy, but setting the alarm at 7am for Sunday morning, because the guys said their favorite cartoon starts at 7.30 so they will be down in the living room by then. 

geek living room, with Hunor blending in