Today I am going to an aquarium. As I walk to the train station the lampposts are playing the Beatles, ‘You Never Give Me Your Money’. Lampposts in Japan often play random music, usually relaxing classical pieces, but today is Sunday so I suppose that explains it. At the train station I get on a train bound for Oita.

It turns out I am on the wrong train. I don’t realise until it passes the first stop. I check my instructions. Bus. It clearly says to take the bus bound for Oita, not the train. The mistake costs me ¥230 each way. Trains by habit. Bus to habitat. I get off at the second stop, Nishioita Station. Here, there is a solitary ticket gate manned by a solitary person.

I exit the station so it doesn’t look like I got on the wrong train, not that anybody is watching. Outside the station I see a sign for the ferry terminal and think about escaping. I decide to make the most of my error and take a stroll around Nishioita. There isn’t much here. They have a Lawson Stores, that is it. A road sign says that Umitamago Aquarium is 5 kilometres away.

A sign at the ocean says, “Welcom.” I take a stroll to the pier. It is a nice view, maybe Nishioita is not as bleak as I first thought. Two lighthouses guard the pier, one red, one white. There isn’t really much else here though. I sit for a while drinking my Pocari Sweat, enjoying the sounds of birdsong and the shimmer of the ocean, before turning around and heading back to the station.

Back inside the station and taking a seat, I see there is a bin for plastic bottles but there are no vending machines. Maybe people come to Nishioita to dispose of their rubbish. I wait but no train shows up. Behind me the tracks lead to Oita. In front of where I am sitting, the trains head back in the direction of Beppu.

I watch two massive fork lift trucks move crates around. They don’t look to be moving them with any purpose; it seems they are just tidying up the stacks. There is an announcement through the speakers about standing near the tracks. Seconds later a limited express train whizzes by before disappearing in the direction of Oita. They don’t stop here, at the Train Station at the End of the Universe.

The surrounding area is somewhat pretty I suppose. Tranquil. There are many bushes of purple flowers, full bloom. Cicadas drone on in the background. I gaze into the mountains. They gaze back. Another announcement and an express train passes in front of me in the direction of Beppu. Fifteen minutes pass me by. Although I expect time passes differently here. It feels like I’ve been here for days.

An old woman enters the platform and sits down next to me. There are four unoccupied seats to the left of me, yet she chooses to sit beside me. I think to myself that the old woman being here suggests that a train will be here soon too. Nope. I wait a further fifteen minutes as a rapid train whizzes by. The woman sneezes. The fork lift trucks beep as they reverse disturbing the serenity. Perturbing my sanity.

I start to wonder, maybe the old woman isn’t here for the train. Maybe she is here for the flowers and the mountains and the fork lift trucks. The joke is on me. Maybe she knows that the next train isn’t for another two years. A young man with glasses enters the station. He stands facing the tracks that lead away from Beppu. He lights up a cigarette and smokes it in one go. He lights up another.

I get excited when I hear an announcement about a train, but my excitement is short lived. The train to Oita stops and the man gets on. Nobody gets off. The doors to the train linger open for a tempting few seconds longer than they should. I hesitate for too long and the train is gone. I somehow feel I have wasted my morning as the train to Beppu finally arrives. The woman remains seated. I get on the train. As it departs, it squeaks and splutters like an old animal waiting to die.

Back at Beppu Station I change from train to a bus. I take the bus bound for Oita and get off at Umitamago Aquarium. The bus stops right outside. Across the road from the aquarium are two other attractions. There is a Monkey Park and a place called, ‘Forest Therapy Road’. The sign outside the forest claims to, “Help you stay healthy mentally and physically and prevent disease while immersing yourself in the atmosphere of the woods.”

At the aquarium, I pay the steep entry fee, ¥1950. I am handed my ticket and a nice brochure that says, “The friendly aquarium welcomes you!” At least they can spell ‘welcome’. Inside, the aquarium is massive. Animals living here include seals, otters, dolphins, penguins, sharks, sea lions, frogs, sea turtles, walruses, and various fish.

After spending far too long looking at dolphins, it is time to leave and get some food. I consider checking out the forest but the once-every-hour bus literally pulls up as I cross the road and it has just started to rain. I might come back here to check out the Monkey Park and forest when the weather is nicer.

I eat back at the hostel and relax for an hour or so before heading to Nagahama Shrine Summer Festival. This is the very first summer festival held in Oita Prefecture every year. It is famous for rice cakes and merchants selling hand made dolls, pictures, and other unique works.

At Nagahama Shrine Summer Festival, summer is probably the wrong word to have used. The rain is heavy in Oita. There are market stalls selling various foods spread all along the side of the road, however, the road isn’t closed. I walk through the streets avoiding cars and following my ears. I find the main ceremony in full swing; around fifty people dressed in purple clothing carrying portable shrines. People bang drums and play flutes. Spirit levels are quite high, in spite of the weather.

After following the procession for a good twenty minutes, I find that I am soaking wet. I decide that I’ve seen enough and head back to Beppu. I take the limited express train. As it whizzes past Nishioita Station, I peer out of the window half expecting to see the old woman still sitting there. No surprises really, but the station is completely empty.