baka gaijin: Road Trip part 1: Nagoya

So, the road trip (or more accurately rail trip) was about to start. Since we had a special pass we planned to make the most of it. The only problem is that the pass only allowed local trains, no shinkansen. So we were steeling ourselves for a very, very tiring trip. But it didnt turn out so bad.
So we (me and Brent) arrived in Nagoya early evening after a surprisingly easy journey and went to the info booth to seek out accommodation. We found a hostel nearby. It was nice, cheap BUT closed the next night, so we had 1 night of accommodation for a 2 night stay, small problem considering it was the only hostel in town and we were on a budget.
We put our stuff in the room and promptly went to find somewhere to drink. We eventually found a pretty cool izakaya. It was open and encouraged interaction, unlike other izakayas which enclose groups in their own space. But there were private rooms too, in one, for some reason, there was a guy wearing only a spiderman mask and spiderman undies. Very amusing, the photo is below.
The next day it was off to Nagoya castle. It was all very impressive to me because it was the first castle I'd seen in Japan, although now I know that Himeji castle makes it look like a country shack. there was a museum in there too; all kinds of swords and armour and calligraphy scrolls and stuff.
Next it was off to the Toyota museum, which is really great if you're into looms and weaving. HUGE room full of every imaginable way of getting raw cotton changed to clothing. Fascinating. The next room was a little better, it was the cars. Lots of cool stuff. But the highlight was watching a robot play the trumpet. Gold.
Then back into town to try and sort out a place to stay. We went back to the info centre, no other hostels, plenty of hotels but out of out budget range. Then me and Brent had a powwow. Should we do it? I don't know. We are in Japan. Its like THE japanese experience. I guess we should do it at least once. Yes lets do it. CAPSULE HOTEL!!!!!
So we found one nearby and booked in. The facilities were top-notch, but the atmosphere was really creepy. It was like walking into a spa resort for the undead. Also there was an enclosed section with a door, inside we could hear womens voices outside we saw a list of times and prices. I'm not 100% sure what was going on in there but I'm pretty sure it involved a happy ending.
Next morning as soon as we were up we got out of there ASAHP. Time to move on, next stop: Osaka.
Peace