Going to Toyama

 The views out the window were spectacular. Little villages nestled in the valleys and everything covered with snow.

 There were even rice paddies.

 After leaving the ski resort, there were very few other passengers. At each station one or two people would get on and the same number would get off, so the people on board were constantly changing.

 The walls along the track side were apparently placed there to keep the snow from piling up on the tracks.

 The roads that I could see were well kept. I could not tell how much was due to the water sprays or to plowing, but in any case the roads were clear.

 The rivers and canals were also clear, which must mean that the water is flowing in them.

 A factory, hidden behind the center, flat-roofed building, was apparently on fire.

 As we got nearer the coast, the rivers were wide but very shallow, which is typical of Japanese rivers.

I had to change trains again at the end of the line. From the line that came through, and under, the mountains, I would now board this train which would take me down the coast into Toyama Prefecture.