In July, I went on a vacation to Japan to visit my family there. We all decided we would go on a car trip from Shizuoka to Hiroshima, which is about 400 miles (640km). On the way there, we were all really happy and chatting. We arrived at Hiroshima, and stayed there for a night at a beautiful hotel. We went sightseeing, and it was really fun and nice.
Yes. It was paradise compared to what happened afterwards.
The incident happened in the middle of afternoon when it was sweltering hot. It was approximately 90° F (32°C), and the humidity was crazy high. From the point of view of a person who went to Japan from Seattle, it was like being underwater. Standing outside for even a few seconds was torture. It was like getting boiled in a pot of water or something.
Anyway, my family and I were all in a nice, air-conditioned car feeling nice and cool. We were just about to start heading for Osaka (200 miles from Hiroshima), which would be our next destination. From there, our plan was to go to Kyoto and head head back (another 200 miles). We were laughing and chatting, feeling refreshed in the coolness of the air-conditioning. Then, the following words no one wanted to hear were said.
“I think the air-conditioning isn’t working…?”
Slightly warm air started to blow out of the air-conditioning vents. The inside of the car started to get balmy.
“Ummmm… Let’s head to a gasoline station because it may be that there isn’t enough gas.”
With everyone hoping that it was only a small problem and it would be solved quickly, we pulled over to a gas station and got some gas, and had people there check the inside of our car. They told us that we would have to go to an actual car dealer to have it checked, because one of the car parts were broken.
With terrified/shocked expressions and hope, we drove to a car dealer. On the way there, we were already dying from the scorching heat of sun on metal.
After maybe 30 minutes of restless waiting, the car dealer told us that they couldn’t do anything because they didn’t have the parts. I died a little on the inside. Apparently, the car part was rare and it would take about 2 days to restock the item. The dealer gave us 3 paper fans (which actually helped us a bit) and told us that we would have to go back (400 miles *tears of agony*) without air-conditioning.
Yayyyyyy 400 miles in a metal object under the broiling sun! Add crazy high humidity and that spells T O R T U R E.
After my family and I stood there a while absorbing the shock, we decided we should get going. We got on the car, and started our agonizing trip to Osaka.
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