Day 19 (August 3): Shibata （新発田市） to Niigata （新潟市）(by train)

(The following entry is from my paper diary, hence the quotation marks. Comments may follow at the end. These are written after the completion of the trip.)

Day 19: Tuesday, August 3, 2010. In Shibata and Niigata

"I got up rather late, nearly 7, and worked on the blog a little. At 9 I ate the sandwich I had made the night before. Then, I headed for the bike shop. Lucky for me it took the shop owner just a few minutes with a needle-nosed pliers to remove the bungy cord. No charge. He sketched a map on how to get to a shop he was certain had French tubes. Again, I thanked him and asked if I could take his picture. He declined so I crossed the street to at least take a photo of his shop. By chance, he came back out so I did get his photo. Recrossing the street, he handed me a French tube he somehow dug up. Again, 'service'. And again I thanked him.

Now, I just had to go to the bike shop in Niigata City Akemi told me about. It was near Kobari Station west of downtown. Changed at Niigata Station and was lucky with the connection. By this time it was getting quite warm and the shop was 10 minutes from the station. I found 3 tubes there and bought them all.
On the walk back I noticed a bus headed for Niigata University so I popped into the police box near the bus stop (I'd asked them for directions before) and asked about the university. They both came out and showed me the schedule. Many thanks again. I later took a picture not only of the koban, but also the bike shop. A wait of 15 minutes and an equal bus ride got me to the school. I located the shop on campus and picked up yet another souvenir t-shirt!

Stopped at Junkudo bookstore ('Moby Dick' and a small dictionary) and ate at Mosburger in the station. Back to the hotel by 4:30. Rode out to Shibata Castle before dark but was disappointed. Not much left but took a picture of me standing across from the main gate. I checked the bike out after eating sandwiches in the room. I'm getting a bit paranoid about it. I also noticed that my shoes - walking shoes! - are getting worn. I'll have to replace these soon.

Caught up in the diary and now to call Akemi. If I have 15 minutes, I'll try to add one day to the blog, but I'm pretty tired and want to leave tomorrow for Joetsu City at 4 or a little after."