Kaoru was up with the sparrows, and in the bath as soon as it opened – 6.00am. If this was a real Japanese place, there would have been lots of people going in at that time. So she actually preferred that there were all the gaijin here! I enjoyed a little bit more of a sleep in, getting up at 7.30, and having a shower. We went down for our breakfast time, at 8.00.

Breakfast was just amazing. More food than we needed (what’s new). They first came out with just a few dishes…and then they came out with a few more…

…and then after the final trip from the kitchen…

Wow. Even the natto was nice and not the usual smelly. The rice was up there with the best I have ever experienced. It took us an hour to get through everything, and we were quite full upon completion.

We returned to the room and Kaoru did a final pack, and weighed the bags. Seems we have room for more, but no baggage allowance for it! Then it was time for a last onsen, so I went down about 9.50 (Kaoru had already headed off), and did the full ritual. I saw another pair of shoes there, but no person. It had been raining earlier, but wasn’t at the moment. Pity, as the outdoor (but undercover) bath would have been beautiful with a waterfall coming off the roof. I grabbed a cookies and cream icy pole (it was the better of the two) and returned to the room. Surprisingly Kaoru was already back! We took our time pottering around the room, before checking out to start our last day.

It was going to be raining all day, so Kaoru planned an “underground” day – going to places which are connected by the subway. We went to Ginza and wandered around, in to a few shops to get some souveniers. For lunch we found a sushi restaurant which was similar (in concept – not quality) to the one in Tochigi – where we order from a tablet and it is made fresh and “sent” to you on a conveyor belt.

We went to Shinjuku station and wandered around there for a while, as it’s on the way back to the hotel. We stopped at Starbucks for a last macha latte frappe, and relaxed for a while. And after some more wandering, I bought a mango sandwich, just because. Mango slices, whipped cream, and the whitest of white breads. This is too much sugar – we’re going to be dieting when we get home! There were breaks in the rain and we went into “the world”, which was actually nice and cool. The subway was actually quite stuffy. We also had to go to the post office to get some stamps for a letter Kaoru needed to post.

Eventually we returned to the hotel to get our bags. Luckily the rain had subsided by now, and we started our trip home. We went back to Shinjuku, and up to the 4th floor of the bus terminal about 5.15. The 5.30 bus was full so we booked seats on the 5.50 bus. The trip to the airport was quite interesting – most of it was actually underground. Then as we came to the surface we passed the shinkansen siding – although I don’t think siding really covers it. There were kilometres of trains! Unfortunately with the speed we were going, it was very hard to get a decent photo.

Then at the airport we had an awesome view of where the planes cross the expressway to get to the runway. I was too slow with the camera to get a perfect shot of it.

Checkin was open, even though it was over 3 hours to departure. It was “self check-in and bag drop”, and was extremely efficient. I’ve spent long periods of time in the line to check-in in the past, so this was smooth. I did notice afterwards that silver status can do “personalised” check-in at the business desk. Oh well.

I used one of the “desks” in the airport to do a short bit of work for a customer, as I had received a message from one during the day. Then it was time for dinner. At Haneda, there is much more variety of food in the hall, rather than going through immigration. So we wandered around trying to decide what to have. We settled on okonomiyaki – well, hiroshimayaki actually, since we can easily make okonomiyaki at home, but the hiroshimayaki is a bit harder. I also ordered a sake to go with it.

We went through immigration which was smooth, and wandered around the departure hall. I bought a bottle of sake to bring home, and we also bought our usual Royce chocolate. The time went quite quickly, and before we knew it, we had to board the plane, after one last use of the toilet. I so enjoy using the toilets which clean you afterwards!

We pushed back about 5 minutes early – 9.55pm. I watched a movie and had the dinner, and spent the rest of the night trying to sleep. I think I managed a couple of hours. We both got up and used the toilet before breakfast came, which made it easier. One of the toilets was broken, so there was a bit of a wait. Eventually we landed in Sydney about 8.00am. Immigration was easy – I did my card within the Qantas app, so no need for a pen and paper on the plane. Much more convenient. When asked what food we had, Kaoru rolled it all off, and we were sent to the green line which had no people in it. Everybody else seemed to be going to the “inspection” line, so we must have picked the right officer, and looked convincing.

We transferred to domestic – it was handy that we could check our bags in first, so we didn’t have to carry them with us. We went in to the Qantas lounge – I had a couple of passes that expire in July so we thought it a good time to use them. We got a little bit of breakfast, and I had a macha latte (Kaoru had a coffee), and the hour went quite quickly. Finally we were on the plane back to Melbourne. We both slept for 15 minutes or so on the flight. Paul picked us up from the airport and took us home – we walked in the door about 1.30, so about 26 hours after leaving Haneda.

Another great holiday. Lots of great food, and great times with family.

Kaoru came in to wake me at 6.45. I was already awake but just laying in bed. So I got up, and was able to say goodbye to Minami before she left for school. I had a look at her school bag – it had soooo many books in it! Apparently she needs them all at home and also at school each day, so needs to carry them. I’m sure she could plan and leave some at school – she gets home so late there’s no way she could open them all in the evening. But there you go. So we said goodbye, and then I went back to bed for a bit.

I got up and Kozue made me breakfast – pizza toast, a banana, yoghurt with honey (from Beechworth) and a hard boiled egg. It got me charged for the day. Kaoru re-packed our bags, while I did my morning email tidy up. We said our goodbyes, and headed for the train station about 11.00, with 3 suitcases, my camelback, and Kaoru’s bag. It was sunny and hot, so we just took it easy. At the station we caught the elevator down, and got on the train for Setagaya-Daita (about 3 stops away).

We got off the train – there was some beautiful greenery in the station! We had a look at the view from one end of the station, which faces Mount Fuji. Unfortunately whilst it was blue skies, it was too hazy to see anything. So we went to the other side of the (small) station, and walked to our hotel. Kozue and Kenichi had paid for us for a night out, for Kaoru’s birthday. Kozue knew of this hotel because she works in this town. We dropped our bags at reception, and were able to do most of the check-in process, before going to explore the town, carrying just my camelback. Only problem – all we saw going to the hotel were gaijins!

We wandered down a beautiful path that made us feel like we were no where near Tokyo. At a little shop we did the touristy thing (as were lots of other non-Japanese people) and purchased shoe pastry from a little shop, which is famous for Totoro shaped figures.

Ultimately it was pretty average tasting. Kaoru had a custard filling, and I had the macha filling. We found a spot in the shade to eat them, and enjoy the little rest (not that we had done much since our last stop!).

We then continued down the path, before finding the “town” of Shimokita. This was a place Michael and Leila stayed at a few years ago, after we had finished our “festival crawl”. It was a “hip” town, gaijin EVERYWHERE…not really the sort of place I liked. It’s certainly better getting out of the city to see Japan. Because it was so touristy, everything was quite expensive.

The town was full of seconds clothes shops. We went in to one, only because it was what you were supposed to do. We stopped for some lunch at a curry restaurant. I had thought it was going to be Japanese curry (why would you want anything else in Japan, right?). It was disappointed to find that was not the case, and all of them were quite spicy. We ordered one each and had a slow lunch to help pass the time and stay out of the heat. Not really my ideal food, but it was done.

We continued exploring the town to pass some more time, before going to the 7-11 near our hotel, to withdraw some money – the exchange rate is still good, and we want to put some money in to Kaoru’s bank over here while we can. We then returned to our hotel – just after 3.00. The Yuen Bettei Daita.

After a briefing of the bath times (4.00 – damn, we were hoping to be able to use it straight away), we were taken up to our room, which already had our bags in it. WOW. This was an amazingly beautiful, Japanese style room.

It was absolutely massive, had a wet room with a shower (no bath), a separate toilet room….it everything was of the finest quality. What a present! We had some time to kill before 4.00, so we had a cup of tea, and I started to prepare our lounge invitations for the trip home. I have 2 that expire in July so it makes sense to use it on the Sydney->Melbourne journey. Unfortunately they are domestic only, as we would much rather use them at Haneda.

We went downstairs for our bath. It was a beautiful area. The water is sourced from Hakone! It was about 4.10, and there were a couple of guys washing, who then LEFT. So I don’t know how that worked. There was another Japanese person who was getting changed to go in as I entered the area. But the bath was generally empty. In the girls, there was somebody there in a bikini, apparently. She was sitting outside the bath, but Kaoru was hoping she wasn’t thinking of wearing it in there. There were signs up about proper washing etiquette, no tattoos, no clothing, etc.

After my bath, in the “waiting area” (between the ladies and mens bath areas), there were complimentary icy poles. So I grabbed a cookies and creme one, before returning to the room. I wasn’t expecting to see Kaoru for a while, but she came back about 10 minutes later, still eating her icy pole. We then organised our clothes for tomorrow, and Kaoru re-packed everything. This gave us an idea of how much space we had, which was actually more than we were expecting. There may be some shopping in our future…..

We headed out about 6.15 to find somewhere for dinner. We weren’t overly optimistic of a “special” last dinner in Japan, based on what we had seen earlier. But at least it was cooler so we could look at places and take our time. We ended up at a gyoza / ramen restaurant, so had 8 gyoza to share, and a ramen each. After dinner we went to a convenience store to buy some sake and dessert. But it didn’t have cold sake! So we went to another one – same thing! We ended up at a supermarket close to our hotel, and that didn’t have it either, so I just got room temperature sake, an ice cream, some chocolate to bring home, and Kaoru got a pudding.

We returned to our room to enjoy our dessert, and were then quite full, so had to let food settle for 20 minutes or so before going for another bath. This time both the ladies and the mens were empty. I had an icy pole on my way out and returned to the room. Kaoru took a while longer before coming back. We then ordered complimentary ochazuke. I ordered it in Japanese, but when they asked me a question I had to ask them to repeat it in English. They then went back to Japanese as they could tell I was trying to communicate in Japanese. They were very patient and helpful, which was appreciated. I also had the sake I purchased.

We watched a bit of TV and went to bed, sad about our last night in Japan, but in a beautiful place.

I got up at 7.30 this morning. Not long after, Kenichi and Yukari came down, so we were all up, except for Minami who had left before 7.00. I had breakfast and did my usual email tidy-up. Kaoru left about 9.00, so it was just Kenichi and I for the day. I spent morning doing various activities on the computer, and generally staying cool since it has been so hot outside.

Kenichi made us Udon for lunch. It is one of the regular meals he makes when working from home. So we enjoyed that together and talked for a bit. Once I had eaten, it was time to start my day. So I left the house at 1.00 and headed for the station. From there I caught the train in to Shinjuku station. The train came in Tokyo Metro, and not JR, so I was in an unfamiliar part of the station. Not that you can ever be familiar with Shinjuku! It’s so busy! But I eventually managed to find my way out, and to a familiar area. After going outside I was surprised to see a cannabis dispensary – I didn’t know they had those in Japan!

I wandered around Shinjuku for a while, and went to a Starbucks for an iced macha latte. I send Kaoru a message as we had planned to meet at Don Quijote. I had one in my mind (the one on the start of “Midnight Diner”, but while walking I found 2 others, both of which we have been past previously, so wanted to make sure we were talking of the same one. She was actually already in Shinjuku, after her lunch with Akemi (a friend she made in Australia, who moved back to Japan), so I made my way to where she was.

Next we went to the main area of Shinjuku, to go past the Godzilla – just because we could, and it was too early to go to dinner. We also stopped to see the 3D cat, but that was a waste of time. Whilst it’s cute, there’s lots of ads that play, before a very short clip of the cat. Then we went back to the station, and caught the train to Tokyo station. I wanted to buy a couple of Japanese craft beers for Kenichi to try, as he hasn’t experienced any here. We also went to Zoff to see if our glasses were ready, and luckily they were! So we tried them on (perfect fits all round) and were happy to tick that off the list. We also went to Daiso and bought a “single cup rice cooker” – it’s basically a mug that can go in the microwave for rice. We thought it might be useful for me when I want rice. We also went in to “Loft” (as well as a couple of other places) to get a glasses case for me. Zoff gave us a case, but it’s a pretty crappy one, and too big so the glasses shake around when I walk if it’s in my pocket.

Then we continued our walk to Ginza, and found the Kushiage restaurant Mikiko had booked for us. Tonight we were catching up with Mikiko and Yoshi, and also Mikiko invited Ochi-san along! We haven’t seen Ochi for over 10 years. He is now married, and has a 3 year old son. Interestingly Yoshi hasn’t met Ochi before. We had a great time, and had a range of deep fried foods. We were on a “we will keep bringing you food until you ask us to stop” deal, at which point they will work out a cost.

It was great talking to Ochi again. We found out about his wife and son. And we talked about some of the old days of catching up – including the time that he ended up in hospital after a night out drinking with me.

After dinner, we walked to the station. Mikiko and Yoshi took Ochi to the train, and Kaoru and I went to IBrew. We had walked past it on the way, I thought it worth checking out on our way home. 47 taps! I found a beer which looked interesting and ordered it, and Kaoru ordered a “craft moscow mule”. Unfortunately the beer I wanted had ran out, so they brought me something else. But it wasn’t a Japanese beer, so I sent it back and ordered another one. It wasn’t as good as what I was hoping to order.

After a beer, we walked back to Ginza station, and started the journey home. It took a few trains, and a walk from the station, but we got back about 10.30. It had cooled down beautifully. Kozue was in bed, and everybody else was still out. So we had a bath and called it a day.

I had a good nights sleep, and got up a bit before 7 – just in time to say goodbye to Minami as she left for school. I had some breakfast, and eventually Kenichi and then Yukari came down. Yukari left for work, then Kozue, and finally Kenichi about 8.45, and Kaoru had the day to ourselves.

Kaoru attempted packing everything to see how we’re looking, while I checked work emails and tidied a few things. We left the house around 9.30 after applying some suncream, and filling my camelback with water and ice, and walked to the station. First thing there was have a look at the sushi shop – we asked Kenichi and Kozue if we could take the out for dinner tonight, and Kozue said she can cook, so we agreed on us buying take-away sushi from this place. Next was a walk through the supermarket to see what they had in the way of salads. But then it was time to get on the train.

It was about a 20 minute trip to Harajuku, and we went to Sarutahiko Coffee. It’s a place we have been the last couple of trips, and whilst it’s still an average coffee by Melbourne standards, it’s the one Kaoru likes the most. The place was actually only half full this time – in the past we have had trouble getting a seat, but it was very easy today.

Next was our customary walk through Meiji Jingu to pray. How things have changed from the first time Kaoru took me there. LOTS more tourists, and the number of japanese people seemed lower. I don’t think we saw anybody walking around in a kimono, whereas normally there are at least a few girls doing it. Granted it was a school day – maybe yesterday would have been different. At the entrance to the shrine the area to cleanse had water pipes several metres away from the usual washing trough. The original trough was still there, so we used that, although no spoon – the documented process has changed, to move things on. At the actual shrine there was a queue about 4 people deep to pray. Not that most people were actually praying – just having a look and moving on. Eventually we got to the front, did our thing, and moved on.

Out of Meiji Jingu we headed towards Takeshita street, walking through a department store (to get some shade). We actually hit it at the Daiso rather than the entrance, so in to the Daiso we went for a wander.

From there it was up Takeshita street, turning left at the crepe truck, and in to Togo shrine (where we got married). Still no ladle’s for washing, but there were no people in the way at least. While doing it, we saw a google-camera walk past! So we need to check Google Maps to see if we the next update! https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!4v1779278010774!6m8!1m7!1sl7lN2lI5p0IPTuF2qBO33w!2m2!1d35.67125484366155!2d139.7057851092741!3f342.48386274312674!4f-2.418228146926836!5f0.7820865974627469

There were some people in the shrine area, but nobody at the actual shrine. So we prayed, and then did a walk around the grounds.

We were getting hungry so we found an Udon noodle shop for some lunch. Again, it was full of gaijin. You could tell there were no japanese people because nobody was slurping their soup! So we ate, and then resumed our exploring. We decided to walk to Shibuya rather than catch a train. Once there we went to Bic Camera to look at a few things. I bought a couple of bottles of whisky for bringing home. Then it was off to Don Quiote for a bit more shopping, and on to a train to the “Carrot Tower”.

Watch this space – this is another free view of Tokyo, but only 180 degrees (you can see the Fuji side though). We went to the 26th floor of the Carrot Tower, where they were have a live radio show going! We enjoyed the views for a while, but unfortunately it was too hazy to see Mount Fuji.

We were feeling like a rest, but the cafe there was too expensive. Once back down on the ground floor we found a Freshness Burger, which had a seasonal drink – frozen mango lemonade. So we got one of those, and also a frozen lime lemonade, and sat down for a bit of a rest. Then a short walk to the train station, where we caught a small, 2 carriage train. It was quite unique – a single row of seats on each side, so only about 40 people could sit down. We went 7 or 8 stops, and then walked to the Gotokuji Temple. It was quite interesting – we were looking at the maps and somebody asked (in broken English) “Are you looking for Gotokuji Temple?” We said yes, and he said to follow him, as he was going there. He was Vietnamese but working in Japan at the moment. He took us a slightly different way to how we would have gone, but it was good as he took us up the “Pine Approach” which was beautiful. Once we had arrived we were again surrounded by gaijin. I don’t think there were any Japanese around. This temple was famous for its cats. And lots of them!

After some photos, we walked to a different station, which ended up being a longer way than an alternative, but once there we got the train back to our starting point, bought some sushi, and walked back home. We got back around 5.00, so it had been a long day. It was great to get my shoes off!

I tried something new today – tracking our walking on my garmin watch. Unfortunately it wasn’t charged, so the extra drain ran the battery flat during the day – but some of it was captured:

Kenichi got home from work about 7.30, and the four of us enjoyed sushi and sake for dinner. Kenichi had a beautiful sake from Akita prefecture which paired well with the sushi. We sat around chatting for a while, and then I had a bath, followed by Kaoru. Kozue and I were talking about kanji for a while – she showed me the writing of the names of everybody in her family. I already knew some kanji’s, but not all.

Minami got home from cram school about 10.00. So she enjoyed sushi for dinner and I spoke to her for a while. Interesting that both Minami and Yukari told me that they don’t have anybody to practice english with usually. I guess it’s different if the person you are talking to is native or not. But her english is really improving every time I see her.

We went to bed about 11ish – feet weary from a long day of walking.

We had a bit of a sleep in, which was nice. I went in the shower about 8.00, and then we went for a walk to a restaurant for breakfast, which Kaoru had found and wanted to try. Again, we were in very gaijin area – all westerners. I had a benedict, which had American cheese in the middle!

After breakfast we had a wander around Koishikawa Korakuen – a lovely park nearby. It cost 300 yen to get in, but there were some beautiful gardens for us to see.

We then went back to hotel – it was already warming up! Luckily we had a 12.00 checkout, so we packed my new suitcase (the old one fit in it, which was a bonus!), filled my camelback, and checked out, leaving our bags at reception.

Kaoru had found an onigiri restaurant she wanted to go to for lunch, so we headed there. Unfortunately we were greeted with a line outside of 4 or 5 people, and inside had seats for about 5 or 6 (all full), so we would have been waiting a while. Instead we went back to the hotel, and on the 3rd floor there was a restaurant which Kaoru used to go to 20+ years ago. It was a cheap, family restaurant, so very loud, with a 70 minute limit. We ordered a hamburg steak and seafood pasta, but there was another dish I wanted to try. Kaoru said the serving sizes were small so we would get it to share. Plus 2 “all you can drink” packages, for < AU$16! As it turned out, it was too much food for us, so we were full by the time we left.

We returned to the hotel to get our bags, and then made our way to the train station. It took us a while to find an entrance with an elevator, since my suitcase was quite a bit heavier now. But eventually we found one, caught the train a couple of stops, changed lines (again, an extra 250m walk to get to an elevator, meaning we missed our connecting train and had to wait another 20 minutes for the next one), and finally arrived at Seijogakuen-mae station, and walked to Kozue and Kenichi’s house.

After saying hello, Kaoru wanted to go shopping, so we walked up to the local supermarket (which had a Bic Camera upstairs, of course), and wandered around. I saw the smallest dishwasher I have ever seen!

We returned to the house and I had a nap while Kaoru and Kozue chatted. At about 5.40 we all headed back to the station and met Yukari and Minami, and Youichi was there too. Arisa arrived shortly after, and then we all headed to the Yakiniku restaurant nearby, where Mio was already there waiting for us. The next 2 hours was eating dish after dish of food – too much, as always. But oh how good it was! I talked with Yukari to help her practice english – she is off to France for 9 months of study in a few months, so is quite excited about that. I also spoke a bit with Minami and Arisa (again, all in English) for some practice.

After dinner we all went back to the Nakao’s house, and Kenichi opened some of the beers I brought over for him. He and Youichi enjoyed the idea of drinking 9 and 10% beers! Youichi, Mio and Arisa caught a taxi home, and the rest of us stayed up talking for a while. By the time we had all had baths, it was about midnight that we finally went to bed. It was great that everybody could make the time to see us, and we can enjoy a great night out together.

We woke up early (surprise, surprise) and I said Tanjoubi Omedetou to Kaoru. I then went for the morning walk with Ottosan and Okaasan, this time it was *me* ringing the bell to scare away the bears. I tried another conversation with Ottosan – telling him about David’s new 4wd and that we would be taking it camping when I get back. The air was fresh, the sky was blue – couldn’t ask for a better start to the day!

Back at the house, Okaasan made breakfast – pizza toast. The another piece of toast with honey on it (which Kaoru had given them, from Beechworth). It was already half empty! Then it was time to get our bags packed (we took it slowly), and we left the house (after taking our usual photo) about 8.30.

There was already a bit of traffic on the road – since it was such a lovely weekend lots of people were coming up from Tokyo. That’s part of why we were leaving so early – so Okaasan and Ottosan can get back hopefully before the traffic gets *too* bad. We said goodbye at Kuoriso station and boarded our train, which was already at the platform (it gets there early as it’s the start of the line). We left on time (of course) at 9.15 to Nasushiobara, where we were able to leave the station and do a bit of shopping, before going back in and getting on the Shinkansen. Again, we didn’t have reserved seats, but we were able to get a row of 3, so our suitcase fit there. After a stop or two the train got quite full, but luckily we didn’t have to move our bags.

Once at Tokyo station we did a bit of shopping at Uniqlo, and then went to Suidobashi station, and went to our hotel (Richmond Hotel). It was about 12.00, so we weren’t able to check in, but we left our bags at the desk and then went next door (conveniently) to Don Quoite, where I wanted to buy a new suitcase. It’s so hard picking one the right size, that isn’t too large for domestic flying. And I also wanted one that my fins will fit in, for scuba diving. Ultimately I had to get one that wouldn’t hold the fins, but it seemed like a good case, and a decent price.

That actually took longer than expected (we looked around the shop at other things, too), so it was now a few minutes before 2.00. So we checked in to our room, grabbed a few things, and then wandered across the road to Tokyo Dome, for our first baseball game! We were there to see the Tokyo Giants vs the Yokohama DeNA Bay Stars. We signed up to be “Giants” members, and got a free orange towel as a momento. Once inside we grabbed some food (it was quite a late lunch) – some takoyaki and a tuna don bouri – and found our seats. I called one of the “beer girls” over – they were everywhere – and ordered a beer. We then ate our lunch and enjoyed the game. It was already bottom of the 3rd, and a 3-3 draw. There was some interesting entertainment between some of the innings, include a rice race

Leaving after the game felt like it was going to be near impossible. We all had to go through a one-person-at-a-time revolving door. They only had 4 of them operating. Somehow it actually flowed quite well, and eventually we were outside the ground.

We returned to our hotel, and I went to the front desk to ask if they could call “our restaurant” in Fujisawa. Since it was closed last time we were there, we didn’t want to go all the way and not be able to eat there. The receptionist called them, and they answered, but unfortunately were full. I’m sure they would have made room for us once we walked in, but given they were full, it meant there would probably be smokers there, so we gave it a miss. Instead we wandered around the area looking for somewhere local. There were lots of Chinese restaurants, but eventually we managed to find an Izakaya. There weren’t any japanese working there though. In fact the whole area seems to be a gaijin area. But we enjoyed Kaoru’s birthday dinner, even though it wasn’t as good as we had wanted.

We wandered around, since we over-ate again, and found a supermarket where we did some tax free shopping. I had left my passport behind, and they didn’t seem to know how to do it for people on Japanese passports, even though Kaoru gave them the piece of paper she had to pay to get from her local council area. Eventually they got it sorted, and we returned to the room for a bath and bed.

I woke up before 7 this morning, and was actually feeling a bit refreshed, which was a nice feeling! As I got out of bed, Okaasan and Ottosan were about to go for their morning walk, so I slipped on some shoes and joined them. Okaasan had a bell that she rang as she walked. The purpose of this was to scare away any bears in the area. This country living is dangerous! It was just up the road about 50 metres and back, twice. On the second trip we bumped in to Shitou-san at the corner, so had a chat to him (well, let’s be honest – I just nodded and smiled). We walked to the next corner which was the edge of a new block of land he had bought, and he showed us the trees he’s pulling out.

Back at the house it was time to get started on breakfast, which was egg, lettuce, tomato, meat and rice. Fantastic start to the day. Then it was time to get a bit of work done.

We left about 10.00 for our destination for the day. It was about a 45 minute drive, through an area I hadn’t been to before, so it was quite lovely to drive through. There, we put our name on the list at the sushi restaurant, where we wanted to celebrate Kaoru’s birthday. We were the 10th people to arrive, which meant we had the last seats, in the first sitting. People who arrived after us had to take a number and wait for others to leave, but we just had to wait for 11.00 for the place to open.

Once inside, you could tell it was going to be good sushi. So we looked at our tablets (we each had one) and started ordering. Okaasan and Ottosan have obviously been here before, because they had 4 or 5 plates before the first of ours arrived! But the food started coming to us too. It was kind of like a sushi train, except it was a dedicated track which just delivered your order to you – everything was made on demand. It was pretty amazing sushi!

We ate for about 45 minutes or so (longer than anybody else in the first sitting, but who cares?) and then started the long drive back. On the way we went to a store which I hadn’t been to before. Just in the door were hanabi (fireworks). What fun we could have! They also had a 4 litre Jim Beam. At today’s exchange rate, that’s about AU$52.

Our next stop, just because we always have to go there, was the dairy farm to get some ice cream. We took that home and enjoyed it as an early afternoon tea (it’s about 1.30ish by now). Then it was a matter of killing the afternoon by clearing emails, relaxing for a bit, a little siesta, wander around the back yard, before watching the sumo and cracking a beer or two.

Dinner was the usual feast – chicken karage, spring rolls, and salad. A perfect way to end a relaxing day. Then it was bath time, a bit of ice cream, and then a bit of reading before bed.

Supplemental

Just after going to bed and closing our eyes, there was a strange sound. Kaoru said it was an earthquake. There was no shaking of the house though. We put clothes on and sat in the lounge, having a look to see what we can find about it on the TV. After a while we gave up on it, and went back to bed. No further events for the night.

Another “sleep in” – we got up about 7.30, showered, and were down for breakfast about 8.00. After breakfast we went for a little wander, and then returned to our room to do a final pack. We left the hotel, and caught a 9.40 train from Tochigi to Ooyama, and then the usual shinkansen from Ooyama to Nasushiobara, and the usual local train to Kuriso, arriving about 10.30. We went to the bakery to buy some treats, and then to another shop for some more treats, before going to the usual chinese restaurant to meet Okaasan and Ottosan for lunch about 11.30.

After lunch I drove us back to the house. We had a bit to unload, with our stuff, plus they had been shopping before meeting us. I had a bit of a walk around the garden and enjoyed the fresh, mountain air, just as there was a light rain starting.

Ottosan needed a rest, so we all had a sleep for half an hour or so. Then I got up and started doing some work. I stopped so we could all enjoy the treats we had bought earlier, and then was back at it for the rest of the afternoon (other than watching some Sumo, of course).

Dinner was sukiyaki – Mio had sent some high quality meat in advance for us. So we all enjoyed that and were quite full afterwards. Then I had a bath, some dessert, and we relaxed before calling it a day.

It was a much better sleep in this hotel. I woke up about 6.00, and next thing I knew it was 7.30. So I was feeling quite refreshed. I had a shower and we went downstairs for breakfast, which was included in the room charge.

Breakfast wasn’t anything fantastic, but there was a range of food, including salad, scrambled egg (but really not appetising), bacon (in lots of fat), mini sausages, some noodles…. of course, rice and miso soup. And I also had some bread (Kaoru had nutto).

After breakfast we returned to our room and had about 30 minutes to kill, before heading to the station, and catching the train to Ashikaga. Our plan originally was to go to the Ashikaga Flower Park, and see the evening illumination of the wisteria. The advertising photos looked amazing! But unfortunately they bloomed early this year, and had already finished. So we gave that a miss. Instead from Ashikaga station we walked to the Ashikaga Gakko – Japan’s oldest standing academic building.

It was quite a warm day, especially in the sun. But we had a good walk around and enjoyed the experience. There were some amazing models of the place too.

We had a walk around Ashikaga, and eventually ended up at the shrine. There were 250 stairs to get to the top, but it was a beautiful view once we got there!

They were filming something at the top, so we were worried that we couldn’t get up the last 30 steps. Luckily after a 5 minute wait they were on a hold and we were able to go up.

There were also varied colour tori gates, with different “good luck” meanings, so going back down we took the scenic path to go through them all. I had only ever seen tori gates in red before now.

We started walking back to the station, but decided to stop for lunch at a small restaurant. I had prawn croquettes and Kaoru had some fish. We both had a set meal, so it came with rice and miso soup.

We only had a couple of minutes to wait for the train, so timed it well – especially as the train only runs every hour! But eventually we got back to Tochigi station. Then we walked to our next destination – the new ginger museum! Kaoru had found photos of this place, and whilst it looked quite wrong, we still had to go to see it with our own eyes…

We had 3sies there, which included a ginger croquette, and an apple pie, plus ginger beer. It was a nice place to visit, but very pink!

It had started to spit when we got there, and also was cooling down. It wasn’t really raining as we left, but we saw a bus stop across the road, and the bus (which runs hourly) was coming in 1 minute, so we took that as a sign, and paid the 200 yen each to return to the station in comfort rather than walk. On our way to our room we stopped at a shop next to the hotel to have a look inside. A lady came in and asked me where I was from. She had seen us on the train from Ashikaga (who would have thought Kaoru and I would stand out :)). So we had a little chat to her. She had lived in Canada some years ago, but most of her talking was with Kaoru in Japanese.

We returned to our room for a lie down, which was refreshing. I dealt with some work things for a bit, and then we wandered out for dinner. I had found a restaurant that did fried food on skewers, that was quite close. We walked in, and unfortunately there was a smoker inside, so it was quite smelly. He didn’t smoke for a while which was good (especially as there were 2 kids aged ~4yo in their group) but he did start another one as we had finished and were wondering whether to order more or not. So we paid the bill and left for 7-11, to get an ice cream sandwich, some noodles, sake….the usual! We took it back to our room and watched some TV before going to bed.

I didn’t sleep too well. 7ish, we got up and showered. Breakfast was included downstairs – an assortment of bread. And the coffee machine did match au lait! We then went to the post office to send things Kaoru has bought yesterday to Kozue, so we didn’t need to carry them for the next few days.

We locked our bags at the hotel and left to buy train tickets, and get glasses. My eyes have deteriorated 2 levels, apparently. So I picked some new frames, and got tint glasses for taking outside, ready for another rotation.

We went to Starbucks for fruit yoghurt frappe – a special seasonal drink which Kaoru had tasted a couple of days ago. We got our bags from the hotel and returned to Tokyo station, where we bought Ekiben (train bento), and queued up for the train. We only went a couple of stops, to Oyama, and then rushed to our connecting train to Tochigi.

We have come to Tochigi region regularly, as that’s where Kaoru’s parents live. However this was to Tochigi town, as we had a few plans for here. We went to our hotel which was just across from the train station (Kaoru’s planning), but they don’t open for checkin until 3.00 – it was currently about 1.15. So we left our bags and just took the minimum to start our exploring.

After getting our bearings we walked up the road, and along the river, to do a river boat ride. It ran every hour, and it was about 1.40, so we had timed it quite well. We watched the carp swimming up to the boat, and had a nice ride up and down a short section of the river. The sun had really come out, and it was quite hot. Under the bridges there was shade which was really nice.

We wandered around town for a while, looking at various stores, and stopped for some ice cream in one shop, and finally returned to our hotel about 4.00. Once we had checked in, we were both quite tired, so had a sleep for an hour or so, which was really needed. After a bit of work we decided to go out for dinner.

We went to the other side of the station and wandered around. It seemed to be the “residential” side of town – not that there was much on the other side either. But we found a shabyu shabyu Izakaya and managed to get a table in there. And what a perfect pick it was! Tofu salad, sashimi, gyoza and some fantastic wagyu beef and some some pork. At one point we thought we may have ordered too much, but it was actually the perfect amount. A beer and a sake to wash it all down made for a perfect evening.

We walked back and withdrew some money from the 7-11, and bought an ice cream sandwich for dessert, which we had back in the room. A bath and some work, and it was time for bed.

5.10 is just too early. But I got up, had a shower, read a disappointing message that I haven’t been upgraded…bit of breakfast, and in the DiDi a bit after 6. It was NOT a white Corolla. It was NOT an Indian driver. The guy is a local in Altona and I was his first customer so he was very quick to arrive. A bit of traffic at the Kororoit Creek overpass, so we went Fitzgerald Road and had a smooth run to the airport. I checked in, went through security and immigration (which were both empty – no lining up), and was at the gate 90 minutes before the flight – and that was after some window shopping!

I watched some movies on the flight and ate some food. I tried a bit of sleep but the person next to me decided he deserved to sit spread-eagle with his legs and arms in my area, making it a big difficult. Finally we landed at Narita.

I power-walked through the terminal, taking stairs, and overtook a number of people before getting to immigration. There was still quite a line, but it was moving. Eventually I completed immigration, got my bag, and went through customs. I bought a bus ticket for Tokyo – the bus leaves in 3 min! So a quick message to Kaoru to let her know I was on it, and out I went. It was about 45 minutes after landing, so quite good.

The bus trip was about 1 hour. I had internet on the bus so I could keep in touch with Kaoru on the way. She met me at the bus stop and we went to our hotel (Toyoku Inn, Tokyo). I think this was now the smallest room I have stayed in. In fact, there was a shelf in the room that overhung the bed so the bed wasn’t even full width!

We went to an Izakaya for some food – I wasn’t really hungry, but I wanted some Japanese food! So some sashimi, meat, and sake, and then it was a trip to 7/11 for dessert, and ready to call it a night.

After a first attempt at re-packing, Kaoru and I went to breakfast at Excelsior cafe, across the station. We hadn’t been there before, and whilst it was a bit of a walk, it was perfect weather, and good to get some fresh air. The number of people going through the station though! It was about 8.00, so a really busy time.

After breakfast we came back to the hotel, and of course we were going against the flow of people. Luckily at the station they have a section on the sides for people going that way, so it was actually easier for the most part – until we got to the ticket area, where we had to be on the other side of the stream of people. That was quite a challenge, and I was glad we didn’t have to do it with bags.

Back in the room we re-packed and relaxed for a while, before checking out of the hotel. Our first mission for the day was to go back to Don Quijote because Lyn wanted another bobbing head character, and that was the only place she found the one she wanted. So we caught a bus to Roppongi, which was the closest “Donkey” store, and let us tick another area off the list. Even leaving the hotel at 10.30ish, the bus was very late, due to traffic. But eventually we got there and had a browse. Unfortunately they didn’t have the one she wanted. So we made our way to Shinjuku, as that’s where we *know* they have the right one.

Once at Shinjuku we went to a different “Donkey”, which was closer to the station. But again, no luck. So we went down a couple of doors, and had a recharge…

A beer and some lunch hit the spot. Whilst the place was empty, it took a long time to bring food – it was like they were making each order “for the table” with how far apart they were. So we weren’t impressed, although it was nice. And Paul found a beer there which he really liked – his favourite for the trip! A nice hazy.

After lunch we made our way to the store to buy Lyn’s bobbing head. But on the way we passed this shop, which I had to take a photo of. I didn’t know you could still buy film!

I grabbed a bit more food at a convenience store (yakitori) next to the Don Quijote. Lyn bought the last 3 of the “bobbing heads”. When we were there on the weekend there were heaps, so they must be popular. That was our first job ticked off, so it was now time to kill. I wanted to wander down the street a bit, because the start of a TV show Kaoru and I watch – Midnight Diner – shows this street (I know because of the Godzilla). So I took a few photos. We also happened to come across a 7-11, which is (apparently) the only place to buy the beer that Paul enjoyed…but it’s only at some 7-11’s. By coincidence, it was here! So he bought 3, and I bought 2, which was all the stock that they had.

It was still early, but we headed back to Shinagawa, and looked at the pop up shop, as it was different to yesterday. Then we bought our Narita Express tickets for the trip to the airport. Paul and Lyn went back to the hotel to relax, and Kaoru and I went to the Starbucks in the station. I had never noticed it before. Kaoru told me that it was in the Shinkansen section, and as we were walking back from breakfast she pointed it out – we noticed its entrance is from the main part. So I got to have a last iced macha latte. We then went back to the hotel, grabbed out bags from storage, and did some final shuffling of bags / ate some remaining food.

About 3.30 we started the journey to the station. Too hard to get a photo unfortunately. I had my big suitcase (at 30kg) and small suitcase (at about 20kg). Kaoru had her big suitcase (as she was off to Mio’s after seeing us off), and Paul and Lyn each had a suitcase and a duffle bag. We just took it easy as we knew we had plenty of time. Paul grabbed a cold beer for the train journey – I intended to drink my hazy I had bought earlier.

We said goodbye to Kaoru, and caught the Narita Express to the airport. We were way early, but luckily checkin had opened for business class (and I had received my upgrade). I brought Paul and Lyn through with me, so their bags also got priority stickers on them. This will save us time at Melbourne airport (hopefully). I then bought my usual packs of Royce chocolate, and we made our way to the lounge. The lady driving the “courtesy car” asked if we wanted a ride, so we took advantage of that! In reality is was probably slower than walking, but more relaxing.

We got to the Aspire Lounge, which is the Qantas-affiliated one. Unfortunately even though I’m flying business class, I’m not allowed to bring a guest in for free. I was allowed to bring them both in, if they pay, but it was 5,900 yen each (AU$60). So they decided it wasn’t worth it. I went in for some food / beer / sake, and they passed time in the terminal.

I’m going to be very busy when I get home, fixing the problem that came up while I was away. But I’m sure there’s nothing more to write. As always, a fantastic holiday. This was very “car” oriented for Paul, and also craft beer themed (again). Not as much time in Nasu which was sad, and not much family time. Kaoru didn’t get to see friends either. We were hoping to see Mikiko and Yoshi but they were busy on our free nights. And of course Mai was too far away to justify her making the journey to see us. We had Kaoru’s birthday, and of course Paul’s as well. AMAZING weather. There were only a couple of hot days at the start, but the rest were perfect – almost chilly. One night with a little bit of rain – we were expecting a lot more.

Kaoru slept in a bit this morning, so we didn’t start breakfast until just before 9.00. The 4 of us went to Royal Host – Lyn suggested pancakes. Of course they were only American style, and not Japanese style. Kaoru had the same, and I went with the Japanese Style. Paul had eggs and bacon with bread. Breakfast included “drinks bar”, and we could even use the coffee machine to make a decent coffee / hot chocolate. Paul and I joked because the menu had beer on it. Then we saw two women drinking beer!

We returned to the room to clean teeth and prepare for the day, and then off we went for our last “full day in Tokyo”. First was the train to Ginza, where we showed them the kabuki theatre, and then Nissan Crossing (which Kaoru and I did last trip). There were different cars inside this time, and Paul was happy once again.

It wasn’t much of a walk to our next destination – Ginza Lion Building, which is the oldest Beer Hall in Japan. So we enjoyed a drink there.

We wandered around a bit more, in and out of shops, and then caught a train to Tokyo station. We went out of the building to have a proper look back at the station:

Then it was a walk around the station to show it to Paul and Lyn. Kaoru, once again, managed to find a nice establishment for us to visit….

We wandered around the station a bit more, down “Character Street” – an area with lots of toy shops. Nothing that really interested me, but Paul and Lyn enjoyed the Tomika shop, and also the Pokemon shop (for the grandkids, of course…)

We caught a train back to Shinagawa, and went to a couple of the pop up shops around there, before returning to our room. We were back about 5.00, and had half an hour or so of relaxing, before heading out for the evenings adventure.

About 5.45 we met up, and walked down to the river. There we boarded our evening river cruise. Kaoru had organised this for Michael, Leila and the two of us some years ago, but we were sitting on the floor. This one had tables, and was much more civilised!

It was an “all you can drink” cruise, with japanese style entree, sushimi, then 7 different types of tempura, and some dessert. We enjoyed beer, cold sake, hot sake and wine. Then they did some announcements, including Paul’s birthday. Everybody on the ship sang happy birthday to him, and people looked over our partition saying “Tanjoubi Omedetou” (Happy Birthday). He was then given a thermos with the cruise lines logo on it as a present.

Halfway through the cruise it stopped for us to go on the deck upstairs and have a good look around at the views of Tokyo at night. And, of course, take some photos. On the way back we had another stop, and while Kaoru and I enjoyed taking photos up the top, Paul couldn’t get up the stairs because a group of salarymen on the cruise all wanted to congratulate Paul and shake his hand. They even gave him a sash – not sure why they had it, but it translated to “man of the day”. So of course he had to wear that to keep them happy.

We walked back to the hotel, and went to Paul and Lyn’s room for a drink and dessert. It was certainly a perfect night to end the vacation on.

We had a bit of a sleep in this morning. Paul and Lyn didn’t feel like an early breakfast so Kaoru and I went by ourselves. We entered the station and went to the meat restaurant but they had sold out. We ended up going to the stand up sushi restaurant. What better way to start the day?

We returned to our room, and I did a bit of work. Then the 4 of us left a bit before 11, making our way to Asakusa. I had organised an experience for Paul and I for the day, while Kaoru and Lyn went exploring the area.

And after a guided tour of the museum, we did an Ieido lesson and learnt a routine, using a steel (blunt) katana sword.

They then gave us foam swords and 10 seconds of trying to cut each others legs off, which was a laugh (and actually quite tiring). Our whole session took about 2 hours.

We met up with Kaoru and Lyn, and it was off to an Okonomiyaki restaurant. Kaoru and I had been to this one before with Michael and Leila – it is very old-looking, to add to the experience. I’m sure the same old lady was running the show. However this time there was a westerner working there as well, who was speaking fluent Japanese but also English. We had an enjoyable lunch, although being on the floor was tricky!

We went next door after lunch, as it was a “craft beer” place. However they didn’t have any hazy’s, or wine, so we didn’t have a drink, and instead wandered around for a while. Paul bought a pocket knife. After some aimless wandering, we hopped on a bus for one stop, and ended up at the “Golden Poo” – the Asahi brewery. We wanted to go to the 22nd floor for a drink, but there was a 30 minute wait, so we gave that a miss. Instead we hopped in a taxi for Akihabara, and wandered around there. Kaoru took us to a few interesting shops, which I hadn’t been to before.

It was approaching dinner time. We tried going to a Shabu Shabu restaurant but it was full, with a 50 minute wait (at 6pm!) So instead we went to a yakiniku restaurant, and got the “All you can eat”, for 6300 yen each. Paul and I got swayed to upgrade and include “all you can drink” for an extra 1000 yen each. And our 100 minutes began. We ate and drank and ate and drank….it was fantastic! We even got to finish with some ice cream! Of course by the end of it we had to roll out of our seats and in to the elevator.

We caught the train back from Akihabara, and went to the 7-11 at the hotel for dessert (another ice cream sandwich) and a bottle of sake. Back to Paul and Lyn’s room for a quick one, and then we were ready for bed.

Paul’s birthday today.

The day started with me finding out there are work issues I have to deal with, so that wasn’t very nice. We went for breakfast at Dean & Deluca in the station overpass. It was OK, but nothing fantastic. I went back to the hotel to try to work out what’s going on, while Kaoru took Paul and Lyn to the supermarket near Toyoko-Inn, that we normally shop at. I got things partly sorted, and then we needed to head out – it would be raining later in the day so we wanted to do what we could before that happened.

We left the hotel about 12.30 and went to Shinjuku. Naturally we had to go and see the Godzilla Hotel. We then went to lunch at the ramen restaurant Kenichi took us to on our last trip – Takahashi. Because it was quite late, we were able to get a table. Then it was back on the streets to Don Qiote, and then a train ride to the Shinjuku government building. We went up to the 45th floor observation deck, which luckily wasn’t very busy at all. We were able to have a really good look out all of the windows from the free deck, rather than paying to go to Tokyo Tower or Skytree. Unfortunately because it was cloudy we could see Mount Fuji, but we could definitely see how large Tokyo is.

We caught the train back to our hotel. I came back to try to deal more with issues, and Kaoru took Paul and Lyn in to the station for some more looking at food, and maybe a drink.

Kaoru came back to the room, and then at 7.15 we met to go for dinner. There was a little bit of rain, which made things annoying, but we had been expecting it for a while, so in reality we were really lucky it hadn’t come earlier. We went across the train tracks into Shinagawa and tried to go to a Yukiniku restaurant, but the one Kaoru was looking for could not be found. We ended up at an Izakaya, but unfortunately there were smokers inside – a loud table of Korean’s chain smoking, and somebody near the door with a giant cigar. So it wasn’t the best experience.

I bought some more food at the convenience store, and an ice cream (and, of course, a bottle of sake) and we went back to Paul and Lyn’s room for a bit. Then we returned and went to bed.

When I woke up, I dealt with some work issues, and then Kaoru and I went to Tully’s for breakfast. Then the two of us went to Uniqlo to do some shopping – they had a sale that starts today, and also if you spend ~AU$100 you get a free thermos. And of course it’s duty free shopping. So I stocked up on clothes, as did Kaoru.

On our way back to the room we bumped in to Paul and Lyn at the Apple Pie shop, where they had enjoyed breakfast. I was having food envy! But we then returned to our room to get things packed and ready for the day. We met down in the lobby about 11.15 to check out (we had late checkout – 12.00! As Kaoru joined their membership program) with all our bags, and the 4 of us made our way to the train station. There we saw “The Royal Express” train. Apparently this train costs about AU$4K for a 3 day journey. Yeah, nah….

We caught a train from Yokohama to Shinagawa, which was absolutely packed. With our bags we were standing in the corner of the train, which was a bit of a trick, particularly for Lyn. At Shinagawa we made our way to the Prince Hotel, Annex Tower – a walk we knew all too well. They had done a lot of renovations in the lobby – however the structure was still the same, and it reminded me of the first day I met Kaoru.

Our intention was to drop our bags, but because Kaoru was a member, we were allowed to check in immediately – both rooms! So that was great, as it was only 12.15. We went up to our rooms to drop our bags off – we had adjacent rooms, but nothing as extravagant as what we had been in the last few nights. And it was more expensive, but that’s the price of Tokyo. We then went back to the station, and found somewhere for lunch – beer and a burger will do just fine today, thank you very much.

We wandered around the shops in the train station, which Lyn thoroughly enjoyed. It took us quite a while to get to the platform, and board the train to Harajuku. From there we made the journey through Takeshita street, which was as crowded as ever. We stopped at the Daiso for some shopping, and looked in a few other souvenier shops. Then it was off to Togo shrine (our wedding place) for the customary walk around and pray.

We went back to Takashita street, and bought crepes – the reminder of Kaoru’s childhood.

Then we made our way back to Harajuku station, and to the cafe above the station which we had found when we were here late last year. After a macha latte for me, a coffee for Paul and Lyn, and an iced tea for Kaoru, we decided against doing Meiji Jingu shrine, as Paul and Lyn had already done that, and we made our way to Yoyogi park where there was a night market / festival on. We made our way through that – I bought a “David Hazy IPA” but they served me a porter! I queried it and they insisted it was the the Hazy – obviously people who had no idea.

At the other end, we were in Shibuya, so we went to the Shibuya scramble, and up to the Starbucks to get a photo / video of the crossing – because no trip to Japan is complete without seeing it!

After a bit more of a wander through Shibuya, we made our way to dinner at Shibuya Yokocho, where we enjoyed a beer and some food, as well as a good sit down after all our walking! Next we did the scramble and went to the station, for another food court where Lyn bought some food. Then a short trip to Hotanda, to give the “Far East Brewing Company” a try.

They only had 12 beers on tap – not 22. And no decent hazy. The beers actually came out flat. There was a “wine by the glass” which Lyn had, but we only stayed for one drink. Then it was back to the train station, and we returned to Shinagawa. But instead of going to the hotel, we went to the Queens Iseten food court and bought some food and drink. Because it was end of the day, a number of things were on sale, but it wasn’t as good as other times we have shopped there.

Finally we made our way back to the hotel, and called it a night.

Today started with breakfast in the hotel. Kaoru had seen the restaurant within the hotel and heard good things about it, so wanted to do that at least once. We got to pick a main, and then it was “serve yourself” for a range of smaller dishes. I was able to have a raw egg, amongst several other small nibbles.

After cleaning teeth and freshening up, we met at 9.40 to start the days adventures. And faced with writing up the day, I’m thinking “how can I possibly give today justice”. Breakfast was amazing, but not even the tip of the iceberg…so here goes….

We started with a little bit of a walk. Kaoru and I knew where we were going, but we were playing dumb for as long as possible. We got to the Nissan Headquarters before they opened at 10.00am. There, they have a showroom, where you can organise test drives of a number of their cars. We couldn’t arrange that (unfortunately – as I had an international license so would have been fine to drive). But Paul pulled out photos to the lady who showed us the first car, of his 1977 260Z Datsun. She grabbed her manager and he absolutely loved it. And from then on, we were given the “extra special treatment”, which meant we were allowed to sit in the cars that other people could only look at. I’m not the car enthusiast that Paul (or other people) are, but I certainly enjoyed the experience. Especially when we were given a couple of books in a bag which don’t go to normal visitors either – we assumed they were only given to potential buyers. Originally only one copy was given – they assumed we were a family. But when Kaoru told them we are friends showing them around, I was given a set too! They also opened the bonnet of the cars for us, which most people didn’t get to see – we basically had our own guide for most of our experience.

I also bought a couple of T-shirts, and Paul got some trinkets. The bags were getting a little heavy, so I took them back to our hotel, while Kaoru stayed with Paul and Lyn looking around a bit longer. That was the first surprise of what we call “Nissan day”. If only it was the 23rd and not the 22nd (2=Ni, 3=San – that would have been the icing on the cake!) We met back near Yokohama station, and then caught a train for a while to a remote town station. Paul and Lyn knew where we were headed, but we had some time for lunch, and Kaoru had found a perfect place which was only 3 bus stops away…

This place also had an amazing craft beer selection…

For lunch they had Taco Rice, so I couldn’t pass the opportunity. In reality, Kaoru’s is much better, but a great meal to go with the day, and a fantastic beer to go with it. We ended up being a bit rushed, especially as there was only one girl working at the place, who had to make our meals, pour our drinks, etc…and not knowing that at the start, we dawdled a bit. In the end we were a little rushed, but they called a taxi for us which was fantastic, as our original plan was to catch a bus back to the station.

Then it was on to what we all knew was happening – the Nissan Heritage Collection. Kaoru had gone through hell organising this, as tickets open the month before, you don’t know (until the day) what days will be available (not even the day of the week!), and it’s “first in, first served”, so she got the tickets over a month ago at 5.00 in the morning. We met Kenichi and Youichi there – since Kaoru was organising it anyway, we invited them to come along, and they were both wrapped at the opportunity.

Uncle Owen, I was thinking of you while walking through here! I think it was 300 cars in this garage.

We organised a taxi to get us back to the train station, and then after stopping in a cafe for an iced macha latte, we caught a train to Fujisawa. We looked around the Uniqlo as a “recon mission” – there is a sale on tomorrow and we want to buy some things, so thought we should get an idea of sizes. We then walked to “our restaurant” in Fujisawa as I wanted to go there. Unfortunately they were closed for the day. So we wandered around and eventually found a tap room which also served food, had a couple of pints and some food.

We walked back to the station and straight on to a train going to Yokohama – perfect timing! On our way back to the hotel we walked through the food court and bought some dessert / breakfast. Then it was back to the Yokohama Bay Brewery (in the hotel building) for the DDH DIPA I had seen when we were there a few days ago and wanted to try. We had a look through Lyn’s photos of their trip, which were great. Some beautiful countryside!

We dropped things in our room, and joined Paul and Lyn in theirs for dessert / sake, and then went back to our room. I filled the bath to the top and then hopped in, letting the water overflow in the wet room. Such luxury! Ottosan would be proud of me, as he had told me how royal it feels to do that. After a long day, it was time for bed.

A bit of a sleep in this morning. Lyn was up early doing a load of washing, so we met about 8.45 and went to breakfast on the 42nd floor of a building which is part of where we were staying (but not the same elevator). It was a cloudy day in Yokohama, but we could still see out over the bay.

After a relaxing breakfast we went back to our rooms to do teeth and then started the day. We made our way through the shopping center to the bus stop, and bought tickets to “Hammerhead” – we didn’t make the bus which actually goes to the island, but we caught one that got us near, and just had a little walk.

We went to the red brick buildings and walked through, looking at the shops. Kaoru bought a new shoulder bag, as she noticed at the start of the holiday that her current one (of 20 years) has a hole in it. We then walked through the food court area and could see through the window how they make “omelette rice”. Kaoru has made it for me plenty of times before, but watching how the “expert chef” mixes the omelette, folds it, and then “flips” it out of the pan onto a layer of rice was awesome. I had to order one! So it became lunch time (it was about 12.15).

We had a long lunch, and then wandered around for a while, before making our way to the cup noodle museum. Kaoru had researched a bit yesterday and found that without booking we would only be able to walk through the museum. However when we turned up there was availability for the chicken ramen making in about 15 minutes. So we signed up to that. And what an awesome experience it was….

I remembered when we were here many years ago, David made “cup noodles” – he got to illustrate the cup, it got filled with noodles, he could add his flavours, and the container was sealed. What we did was actually *made* the noodles. So it started with mixing the flour and some liquid, making and kneading the dough, letting it rest (while we wrote our name on our packaging, and started to illustrate it). Then we had to put the dough through the “flattening” machine several times (which needed hand rolling). The machine was adjusted to cut the noodles into long strings, which needed trimming to the right size. They then got divided and weighed, and taken out the back to be fried. We finally put them in our bags, to take home, along with a “here’s one we prepared earlier” box! All of this for about AU$10!

We then wandered to the port. Along the way we saw a BBQ area, which blew our minds. We could see the weber BBQ’s and chairs. I took the lid off one to have a look inside…

OK, so in Australia we have electric BBQ’s on the beach. Here at the waterfront they had *heaps* of pot belly BBQ’s, each with gloves, charcoal and firelighters! It was awesome.

We then headed to the 7-11. Kenichi had told me about this place so it made our “to do” list. The owner had a craft beer collection, so they sold lots of craft beer. Now I’ve seen beer at a 7-11, but not like this…

After a beer, we caught the ferry back to Yokohama (discounted ticket as we had bought a beer in the terminal!). It was a nice ride, and the weather was cooling down making everything more comfortable. On the walk back to the hotel Kaoru took us to the department store, starting with kitchen stuff, and then going down to the basement (food court). We enjoyed looking at all the food, with discounts as they were closing soon (it was about 6.30). We decided to buy some roast beef sushi to take back to the room for entree, and then go out to dinner.

By the time we were back in the room it was getting towards 7.30 – we stopped by a cake shop and bought some cake in preparation for dessert. The sushi was a great start, but we should have bought more! Paul and Lyn showed us some of the things they had bought, including the kitchen knife Lyn had purchased. We then went looking for some food, and found a perfect little yakitori bar. We had a couple of drinks and Kaoru ordered a range of salad and skewers for us – even chicken liver! We only were allowed to stay for 90 minutes though, so we finished up, and then went wandering to find a convenience store. We went to a different one, but it still didn’t have any chilled sake, so I had to have a warm one.

We wandered back to the hotel and had a drink and cake to finish the day, and then went straight to bed.

I started the day with a shower, and then went to have the included breakfast. This was a set meal at a cafe a couple of doors down, so I got a toasted sandwich and a drink. I went back to my “room” to do my teeth and then checked out and made my way to Kaoru’s hotel. She had already checked out and was waiting for me in the lobby. I put my sponge bag into my suitcase to keep my backpack light – Kaoru had filled my camelback with ice and water, so that went in my backpack. And we made our way to the hotel we will be spending the next couple of nights in, to leave our bags. It was still early so we decided to sample the cakes and drinks at the cafe to kill some time.

We went to the train station and caught the train to Shin-Yokohama. I bought some paracetamol in case my leg started playing up again. I had taken more tablets during the night for it, so I wanted to be prepared. We then met Paul and Lyn in the lobby of their hotel, and after a quick chat we made our way back to Yokohama, and to our hotel, to drop Paul and Lyn’s bags off. It was already starting to warm up, and we could tell the day was going to be warm. So it was now their initiation to “Traveling with Daz and Kaoru” – OK, more Kaoru when it comes to organising where to go!

So, back to the train station, and after a few stops we got off, and caught a bus to Sankeien, which was a beautiful garden. We paid the 900 yen to get in and see more of it. Paul and I had cold soba for lunch, and Lyn and Kaoru had cold Udon. On a day like this, it was perfect! We spent more time walking around the grounds, including seeing a “pop up” bonsai display.

We went out the main exit, and caught a taxi. It took us up a narrow, windy street, and we had no idea where Kaoru was taking us. It was actually a tin toy museum! The toys in here were amazing – such old school!

After half an hour or so of looking around, we headed out and walked to the rose garden. It was a bit late in the season for them, so things were starting to die, but it was still very pretty. And because we were up so high, we had a great view of Yokohama. It was really getting warm though.

We made our way down to the road, and then to the train station, and back to our hotel…with a small detour….

We checked in and went to our room. OH MY GOD! I think this would be one of the best rooms we’ve been in. The hotel only opened about 8 months ago, so everything was new. Looking at the floor map, we were in the biggest room on the floor (a corner one). Paul and Lyn had the same room on the other corner. A large entrance, which then opened up to a massive room, big couch, ample bathroom area, and even a proper wet room!

Kaoru had really done an awesome job with this booking! We had a hot drink to unwind, and then joined Paul and Lyn in their room briefly, before going to dinner. We ended up in a restaurant in the food area of the shopping centre – it was a tonkatsu restaurant, so had a pretty nice tonkatsu meal.

We the introduced Paul and Lyn to our evening ritual, of going to the convenience store for sake / beer and dessert. We went to their room and chatted for a while, before going back to our room for a wash and bed.

I woke up a bit before 8. Everybody else was already up and going. Kozue had taken the day off work, and Kenichi was working from home, so we got to spend some time talking in the morning. Minami had already gone to school, and Yukari was getting ready for work, so we got to say goodbye to her again this morning. After breakfast I turned the laptop on to catch up on a few things, and Kaoru did some more research for things to do for the rest of our trip.

Lunch was leftover Hiroshimayaki, and noodles, which Kozue cooked. After lunch we packed up, said goodbye to Kenichi, and Kozue drove us to the train station. It took us a couple of trains, and we arrived in Yokohama. We found Kaoru’s hotel and left our suitcases at reception. We then made our way to tomorrow’s hotel, to try to work out where it was. It looked very modern, so we’re looking forward to it.

I had been experiencing pain in my legs. At first my concern was DVT, but after consulting Dr Google, it sounded more like a strain. My conclusion was that it was because of my shoes (I don’t normally wear these ones at home) so I wanted to get some new ones. Kenichi is a shareholder of Asics, meaning we can get 30% off. Plus the 10% off Tax Free, and a starting price cheaper than in Melbourne, meant it made sense. So we found an Asics shop in Yokohama. After getting measured I tried a couple of shoes on, but they were only walking ones, and didn’t feel right. We were told that we would have to go to Tokyo to go to the sports store to get more range. Bummer.

We went to Starbucks and tried their Yuzu Lemon drink, and a macha latte, and decided to just go to Tokyo and get the shoes over and done with. It was about 3.30, so after relaxing for a while, we caught a train back to Tokyo station. It was only about a 35 minute trip. But there we could go to the Asics store and get much more range. Unfortunately as they were “end of season”, there wasn’t much choice in colour, but I bought one pair, and decided I might buy another online and have delivered, which does give more colour options.

I had received an email about my glasses being ready (which was great – we weren’t expecting them for a few more days), so since we were at Tokyo station, we went and picked them up. Kaoru’s were supposed to be another week or so, but they had just arrived earlier that day! So they told us to come back in 30 minutes and they would also be ready for pickup. We couldn’t pass up that opportunity as it means we don’t have to come back to Tokyo station if we don’t want to.

We caught the train to Shin-Yokohama, via Yokohama, and found the Prince hotel, where we met up with Paul and Lyn. They had just finished a 15 day tour of Japan. Our original plan was to pick them up tomorrow, but since they hadn’t had any real good Japanese food while they were here, we decided we would meet them early and start their experience of Kaoru being a tour guide. They were thrilled at the idea. So we found an Izakaya near their hotel. Nothing too fancy, but we had some good food and a few drinks and heard about their adventures.

After dinner we walked them back to their hotel, and then Kaoru and I caught the train back to Yokohama. At the station we said goodnight, and I went to my hotel, while Kaoru went to hers. I had never experienced a capsule hotel, so that was my plan for tonight! I had already booked and paid for it (when the exchange rate was better!) I found the building and checked in. I was given a key on a wristband, and the brief – ground floor was the eating / bath floor. Women were on the 2nd floor, and men were on the 3rd floor. So up I went, found my locker, put my bag in, and then went in to the sleeping area to check it out. Wow – it was quite interesting!

I went and had a bath, which was a scary experience – the other two people in there had tattoo’s! That means they were probably yakuza. I washed, had a quick bath, and then decided to call it a night. At my locker a Japanese person spoke to me in English. I replied to him in Japanese and we had a bit of a chat, which was good practice for me.

I took a couple of photos in the capsule to try to give an idea of size. It was larger than my swag, in both width and height. It had a tv, headphones, a clock and a power point in it. Unfortunately it didn’t really have any cooling, so with the door closed (and I use the term loosely – it was basically a roller-blind) it got quite warm in the room. Great experience.

OK, now for one of our busy days…we were up a bit after 6, to make a start on the day. After a leisurely breakfast and relaxing chat, we started packing things, and I had a walk around the gardens. The rain had stopped and it was a bit warmer.

I drove us to the farmers market, and we said goodbye. Kaoru and I caught a bus to Nasushiobara station, so we could catch the Shinkansen back to Tokyo. We had a bit of time to kill, and saw some gaijin (westerners) so I went up and spoke to them, to ask what they were doing here. We don’t often see westerners in Nasu. They were Americans (Texan’s I think, from the way they said “Y’all” 🙂 ) and were here to do some hiking. Perfect weather and a lovely place for it! I also found a take-out cafe near the station.

The Shinkansen took us to Tokyo station, and we walked around to look for a place to have some lunch. Definitely not going here, if this is how the beers look….

We went to a fish restaurant and had some sushi, and relaxed for a while. We then caught the train back to Kozue and Kenichi’s house. Everybody was home, which meant a big welcome. Then Kenichi took me for a drive in his Mazda Roadster. Luckily the weather was perfect – not raining, but overcast, so not too hot. He took the roof off, which certainly made it easier for me to get down to it! Damn I’m getting old. We went to his local alcohol shop, which I had a good look around. I want to buy one of the big sake bottles but they are more than 2 litres, so I’ll have to do it when Kaoru and I are returning together. We stopped for a beer in the craft brewery next door, which Kenichi had never been in, and I enjoyed a Hakuba Hazy, which was delicious!

We went back to the house, and after a while Mio, Youichi and Arisa came round for a party. So we were celebrating Kaoru’s birthday and also Arisa’s graduation from high school. It was great having all of us together again – I think last time was probably June 2019 when I was jetlagged and a complete zombie after our Europe trip, and I had 24 hours in Tokyo as a layover.

I had brought some beers from Australia to enjoy with Kenichi and Youichi – even Mio joined us for a tasting! They weren’t used to the strong craft beers (we started with a 7% and then had a 9%) but enjoyed them.

We had Hiroshima-yaki for dinner – the Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki. Because Kenichi is from Kansai area, it is what he learnt to make. So he did the first one, and then Arisa made one, and then it was my turn. It’s a lot more involved than the Okonomiyaki we make at home, but enjoyable to do together.

Kenichi and I had a few more drinks while Kaoru had a bath. Then I went in, and after a bit more chatting we called it a night.

We woke up early this morning – well, Kaoru was super early, as expected. I got up about 7, and we all had breakfast. It was raining, and going to be all day, so our plan to paint the deck wasn’t going to happen. After breakfast we sat and talked in the kitchen for some time.

We then went for about a half hour drive to Ottosan’s garden-sensei’s house. They were picking up some vegetables, so we went inside and chatted with him for a while. Then we started the journey home, going via the supermarket for some shopping, and to the soba restaurant which I hadn’t been to for a few years – but I always remember it as the place where the children came once and caught fish, which we then cooked and ate. We have been there several times. I had a curry soba which was nice, but too big! Kaoru had to help me with it.

Back at the house, we had green tea, and started the fire. It was surprising how cold it was today, since yesterday had been so hot! We then all had a sleep for a bit. After waking up we had a snack, and then watched some sumo for a while. I had a bath and then we had a wonderful dinner of meat, sashima, vegetables, prawn, etc. After a bit of chatting around the table, we went in to the lounge and watched the news, and called it a night. Fairly uneventful.

I was up before 6.00 local time. It was Kaoru’s birthday and I wanted to wish her Happy Birthday before she went downstairs. She was still fast asleep though, but not for long. She went downstairs, and I came down about 15 minutes later.

Kozue made us some breakfast – a beautiful Japanese breakfast to start my first day. We talked for a while, and then it was time to start the day. We left the house about 8.40, and went to the Toho studio, which was about a 5 minute walk away, to catch up with an old mate…

We hadn’t seen this statue before so that was pretty cool. We then walked back to the station and caught the train to Tokyo and got to Zoff about 2 minutes before it opened. I had an eye test, and it was good to hear my eyes hadn’t changed much in the last 6 months. I then picked another pair of glasses to be made up, as I’m currently using my old ones when I leave the house (if I remember them), and they’re a weaker prescription. So after picking a frame, we were told they would be ready in a week. Kaoru had gone there yesterday and had her eyes tested and bought a couple of pairs herself.

We left there about 10.35 and were off to the Shinkansen station. We stopped to get a bento box on the way (yakitori, sushi (of course) and beef), and then went to the platform, with an “only in Tokyo” experience on the way…

There we met Mio and her friend Tomoko (who I have met on previous trips), and we caught the train to Nasu, enjoying our lunch on the way. Tomoko hired a car from Nasu and the 4 of us drove to Okaasan / Ottosan’s house. The garden was beautiful as always, but especially now in Spring, and they were happy to have us all there.

I had a bit of a snooze, and we chatted for a while, and then went to dinner just before 5. We went to an Italian restaurant which saved anybody cooking / cleaning. I drove Kaoru, Okaasan and Ottosan, and Mio and Tomoko went in the hire car. I enjoyed a alcohol free beer with dinner.

After eating we said goodbye to Mio and Tomoko – they were staying at a hotel in Nasu for the night, and then going home tomorrow, and I drove us back to the house.

Okaasan gave me a present – some sake! 2 local bottles, in a beautiful bag. I had the first bath, and then was allowed to enjoy a beer (I’m not allowed to drink before my bath – Okaasan’s rule), before calling it a night.

5.45 alarm. The things we do. Checked my phone, and I was unsuccessful getting a business class upgrade. So not the best start to the day. I had a shower, some breakfast, and caught an Uber to the airport.

Kaoru had flown to Japan last Friday (9th) and has been with her parents. I’ve been busy with work for the last week. Yesterday was supposed to be an unwind day but lots of problems left me quite stressed – I didn’t even get my suitcase out of the cupboard until after 6.00 last night. But now it was time to focus on some holidaying.

I bumped in to Brett and Naomi at the airport. By coincidence they were off to Vietnam with some friends of theirs on the same day. They were flying a bit later but Brylie drove them to the airport on her way to work so they just got in early and had breakfast there. Since I didn’t have lounge access (flying cattle class and all) I joined them, and had a brekky beer, while waiting for boarding the plane.

We took off a little late – it was probably about 10.00am by the time wheels lifted off. I had managed to sweet talk my way to an exit row so at least I had some extra legroom. I watched a movie, and a few TV shows, had a couple of meals, and tried to sleep as much as I could, and we finally landed about 7.00pm local time (8.00pm Melbourne time). I power-walked off the plane to immigration, passing several people on the way. Once in that line, within a few minutes it had grown exponentially, so I was certainly glad I made the effort. After immigration I collected my suitcase (which had been taken off the carousel already) and waited in the customs line. Then some more power walking, and I made the 7.53 Narita Express train with 3 minutes to spare. If I had missed that I would have had to catch the bus, which is slower, and the next Narita Express isn’t for another hour.

I met Kaoru at Tokyo station, where we walked to the other end (quite a long way – about 15 minutes). It was then about a 40 minute train trip to Seijogakuen-mae. We got off the train and started working out where the lift was, when Yukuri came up to us! She was actually on the same train as us, coming home from work. So we headed up out of the station, where Kenichi was waiting in the car. We then waited another 10 minutes or so, for Minami to get back from school, and the 5 of us drove home. This was now about 10.00pm local time.

Once at the house we met Kozue and went inside. I had never been to this house before, and it was beautiful. We had some food and beer and chatted for a bit, and then I had a bath and called it a night. Kozue and Kenichi gave us their room, which had 2 massive single beds in it, so larger than king size! It had been a long day so I wasn’t up for long.

I woke up before Kaoru (for a change), and had to wake her at 5.45. We put on our yukata’s and raced upstairs to the bath to watch the sunrise. Unfortunately once we got there, it was cloudy, and even a little bit of rain. We were lucky though – there was a gap in the clouds and we got to watch the sun rise through that.

We were both pretty tired, so after our bath, we went back to sleep, and then got up around 7.30 for breakfast. Once again, an all-you-can-eat smorgasbord, with “tamago gohan” (raw egg rice) to cap it off. We were quite full after that, so returned to our room and went for showers. There aren’t showers in the room – we had to go to the public bath, and use the “pre-bath” showers.

We packed what little we had at the hotel (most of our stuff was back at Okaasan and Ottosan’s house), checked out, and made our way to the house, around 9.00. There we had some tea and chatted for a while, leaving the house around 11.15 to go for lunch. Ottosan was happy for me to be driving us all, although we did make a wrong turn, since navigation was coming from Okaasan in the back seat, through Kaoru, to me. Kaoru was getting stressed but I just said no problem.

My last *real* meal in Japan was tempura-don. The tempura sauce on the rice made it delicious! So we had a great last lunch together. Then it was in to Kurioso, to the pharmacy to by some tissues. The (good) Japanese ones are coated in lanoline, so whilst I don’t like to use daily, when you have a cold they are the bees knees! I had room for 3 boxes in my suitcase, and they sold a 3-pack, so made for it. It was then just a short drive to the station, where we said goodbye. Ottosan was happy with my driving and said any time we come I can use his car. So an international driving license is on my preparation list from now on. He had to pay about $40 for one month to have me a nominated driver on his insurance, but it was well worth it as Kaoru doesn’t trust his driving.

The train from Kurioso was just leaving as we got to the gate. But we had planned for the one after so it was no problem – we went in to the waiting area and packed the tissues into my second suitcase, and passed the time until our train came to take us to Nasushiobara; there we waited for about half an hour for our Shinkansen to Tokyo. It is such a nice way to travel!

Once we arrived at Tokyo station, we got some money out from the bank. Today was the best day exchange rate for the whole trip! 101.5yen to the dollar! So Kaoru withdrew $1000 worth from my account, and also from hers. It’s always a gamble with exchange rates, but I figure it’s not going to get much better, but will get worse, so we may as well use cash, and put leftover money into Kaoru’s bank account.

After buying my Narita Express ticket, we still had some time to kill, so went in to a coffee shop to have a (last) iced mocca latte, and a piece of cake. We headed downstairs to the Narita Express track about 10 minutes early. As expected the train ran on time, to take me to the airport.

Check in was easy, and I had dinner in the lounge. Boarding was smooth (love business class checking in!). I went to sleep after some dinner.

Flight was uneventful. Melbourne immigration is a disgrace. It wasn’t any better than when I travelled in August last year. Very few kiosks, a slow process, and no direction of where to go. For example, once you’ve been to a kiosk, you don’t need to go through the “ePassport holders” line further up, as that just funnels you to kiosks. With a few kiosks down, and a few flights coming in, at 1 minute per person and I reckon maybe 15 operational kiosks, it’s going to be slow.

Customs was easy – they took one look at the piece of paper Kaoru had prepared documenting what was in the suitcase, looked at me, believed it and sent me through the green lane! I was expecting him to say “too hard” and put me through the red lane for them to look at it. So that was my one win.

This trip was no where near as hectic as our last trip to Japan; the weather was much better (cooler); we got to see Mai (for the first time in Japan!), Kenichi, Yukari, Minami, Mio, Mikiko and Yoshi, Okaasan and Ottosan, plus Kaoru’s friends from our wedding. Unfortunately I didn’t get to see Kozue this trip (Kaoru is going to her house now for the night), Youichi or Arisa. I drove for the first time (unless you include Mario Kart, in which case it’s the second time). No bad hangovers, or late night parties. We did more craft breweries than we’ve done on other trips, and enjoyed that, as well as a few Oktoberfests. A few new areas of Tokyo, and also the usual haunts.

Kaoru woke up early this morning, to have a bath – which I knew would happen. What I didn’t know is the view she was going to be treated with for sunrise!

I had a case of bath envy when I got up, so went to the bath on the other side of the hotel (mountain-side), and was treated with a different view.

We met downstairs for breakfast. This was a proper Japanese breakfast, so we had much more variety than at Toyoko-Inn. It took me a few trips to get through everything. We finished breakfast off with a raw egg, mixed in some soy sauce and bonito flakes, poured on rice.

We were quite full by the time we left. We returned to our room to get dressed, and then drove to Okaasan and Ottosan’s house. We had a cuppa and an apple, and then it was time to take Okaasan to her singing group. So I drove us there – Ottosan was very happy being a passenger! After dropping Okaasan off, Kaoru, Ottosan and I went to a temple to pray. It was the same one we went to on New Years Day many years ago.

Then back in the car, and we drove to the farm, to get some soft serve. We also bought some to bring home, and went back to the house. Kaoru and her father talked for a while – I wandered around the property, and had a bit of a doze. It’s always so peaceful and relaxing here.

For anybody who we have tried to describe a wet room to; you can see the shower and bath in here.

Kaoru and I picked Okaasan up from singing around 12.00. She then took us round the back where there were a couple of people doing Kyudo – Japanese archery. This is something Kaoru used to do as a child. It was interesting seeing the size of the bows, and the focus used to prepare for every shot.

Then it was back to the house for lunch – Okaasan had prepared Japanese Curry already, so it was just a matter of heating it up. Delicious! It’s nice not having to think about where and what to eat for every meal. And knowing that we are getting lots of vegies in too!

Otoosan had a nap, while Kaoru and I re-packed our suitcases. The intention is to not to have to open them tomorrow. I’m going home with 2, and want to leave Kaoru’s as empty as possible for anything more she may want to buy.

We then all had a chat in the lounge, and watched some TV, until 3.00 when it was time for a snack and hot drink. I also installed Teamviewer on Ottosan’s computer – it had crashed since I was here last and set everything up, and Kenichi had to factory reset it. After that, Kaoru and I returned to the hotel to have a bath. It was a lot busier today. There was even a young boy in there with his father (maybe 8 or 9?). I used the inside (public) bath this time, and it was noticeably hotter than the outside one I had used yesterday. Once the outside one was empty, I moved out there, and it was much more comfortable. The cool air really helped. I had a shave, which was great with the nice soft skin after my bath.

I knew Kaoru would still be a while, so I had a go on the massage chair downstairs. It wasn’t anything fantastic, but killed some time. Kaoru arrived quite soon, which was a surprise. I must have been in the bath longer than I had thought! We went to our room to get dressed, and came back downstairs at 5.00 for “welcome snack”. We were about 5 minutes past 5, and it was much busier than yesterday!

After our snack, we hopped in the car to return to the house for dinner. Okaasan had made Sukiyaki (at my request). By coincidence, Youichi’s parent had just sent some Kobe Beef to Okaasan and Ottosan (they regularly send seasonal food back and forth, because their areas are so different).

We couldn’t quite finish the second plate of meat – although we had a good crack! It’s so nice, with the raw egg.

We chatted for a while, and then returned to the hotel, in time for 7.00 dessert, 8.00 “all you can drink”, and 9.30 “private bath”. For a relaxing few days, it’s still quite busy! We didn’t get to dessert until 7.30, but it went until 8 so that was fine. It was quite busy, and the same creme brule as yesterday. We tried out the massage chair for 5 minutes or so, and then got a seat at the bar before it opened – because the place was looking busy, we thought it would fill up quick! Once they started service, I started with a Riku whisky, which was a bit harsh at first, but once it had warmed up, it smoothed out nicely. I followed that up with a grape sour, and then a beer to finish the day.

At 9.30 we went to our bath, using the same one as last night. There was a very light rain as we got in the water, but that was fine. It made things a little bit cooler so I could stay out there longer. However I was getting tired, so we only stayed in for 15 minutes or so, before calling it a night.

I’m not going to miss this bed! The pillow is flat and the bed quite hard. I woke up about 7.30 again. We needed to get going, so after our last breakfast at the hotel, we returned to the room, had a shower, and re-organised some packing to make things easier. Luckily we were still able to keep my second (smaller) suitcase in my main suitcase. So we checked out, with two suitcases, my laptop bag, and Kaoru’s big black bag (holding our clothes for the next couple of days).

We caught the train to Tokyo station. Kaoru went do do some quick shopping while I stayed with the bags. Then we went through to get on the Shinkansen. We didn’t have a reserved seat, and particularly with our bags, we wanted to be there early, so were a good 10 minutes before the train arrived. 10.07 they were still cleaning the train – I said to Kaoru that there is no way this train can leave on time, at 10.11. But somehow, the doors opened, everybody got on, and we left right on time.

It took about an hour to Nasushiobara. The train to Kurioso was running 10 minutes late, but eventually we got there. It was then about a 10 minute walk with our bags to the chinese restaurant, where Okasan and Ottosan were having lunch. So we joined them for some food, and then played tetris trying to get our bags into the car.

Eventually we managed to get it all in, and the doors closed. I had gotten my international drivers license, so I drove us back to the house. My first time driving in Japan (other than Mario Kart, of course). Pretty easy – especially as it’s the same side of the road. Ottosan was surprised at how careful I was to not go over the speed limit. Kaoru explained how strict the penalties, and low the tolerance is, in Australia.

We got to the house, and brought our suitcases in, and went for a cup of tea and some treats. This trip we are staying at a hotel, rather than at the house. During the year, Okasan and Ottosan sold a part of their land, including one of the houses, so there isn’t room for us to stay anymore. I will be driving the car, so it means no beer with the inlaws this time!

We showed them photos of our house and chatted for a while. About 3.00 we decided to go to the hotel and check in, to give Okasan and Ottosan some rest time. It was about a 10 minute drive. Once we parked, somebody came down to the car park to grab our bags and assist with checking in. We were offered a herbal tea while doing the checkin process, and we had to pick a time for our “private bath”. Knowing that it was free drinks from 8-10, and that we were going to have dinner with Okasan and Ottosan, we booked for 9.30 both nights. We were taken to our room, and left to relax a while. It was much bigger than we’ve had the last week!

We decided that we may as well have an onsen. The public one is closed at times, but was open now, so let’s kill some time. There were separate mens and womens ones, so I took the key as I would probably be finished first. It was nice and relaxing to soak in the warm water.

There was a “welcome food” at 5.00, so we decided to hang around to attend that – it was already 4.45 so why not. It wasn’t much – just a small sample plate. Kaoru also enjoyed a glass of lemon sour, but I couldn’t as I was driving. So we left about 5.10 to go back to the house for dinner.

Dinner was, as always, a big spread. Okasan’s Gyoza is Kaoru’s favourite so she had made that.

We chatted for a while, and left to return to the hotel a bit after 7. We were able to enjoy “complimentary dessert”, which was a creme brule and (small spoonful of) ice cream. We returned to our room to relax for a bit, before going to the bar at 8.00 for “all you can drink” until 10.00. This was included in the room price! So I tasted a hot sake, and a cold sake, before leaving just after 9. We returned to the room for a little bit, and then went to our “private bath” at 9.30. This was on the 6th floor, and outside. It was a beautiful way to finish the day.

I’m really looking forward to a sleep in the countryside without traffic outside the window! We were up before 8 and having breakfast. Showers afterwards, and we were ready to hit the road.

A real cool change has hit. Yesterday was 31. The day before was mid 20’s. Today’s forecast was 20 degrees. I walked out the room and second guessed shorts and a t-shirt, and grabbed my long sleeve T around my waist…just in case. I’m glad I did, as it cooled down in the afternoon!

We made our way towards Tokyo Skytree. We did the “tight arse” option and walked instead of catching the second train. Kaoru went to the “Koban” (police station) and asked for directions. We could see Tokyo Sky tree (our destination), and the officer kept wanting her to go a particular direction. She asked about taking the “back streets”. He kept making it sound like it was difficult. But ultimately we went the the back streets anyway. And crossing the street and river was a piece of piss. So we have no idea what he was concerned about.

At Tokyo tower we had a bit of time to kill, before making our way to the 6th floor, and meeting Kayoko, Michiro and their son Sorta – we met them in Akita last year (and Kayoko came to our wedding in Japan), but they have moved to Chiba now, so today was about catching up with them. After a short wait, Jun (another friend, who also came to our wedding) turned up, and the restaurant opened at 11. We enjoyed lunch together – most of the conversation was in Japanese but I had a few conversations in English, and also attempted Japanese; sometimes me speaking Japanese and them speaking in English. It was good practice for me.

After lunch we wandered around the shops at the skytree for a bit. This included seeing a “food sample” store, where children could create their own “plastic” food. And the “World Beer Museum”, but we didn’t get to stop in there.

We then started going upstairs, and found the Chiba University of Technology display, with robots that they had engineered. It was an interesting exhibition, and included a full scale version of an anime “transformer” character, in one of its intermediate phases. I have no idea who this character is, but Michiyo told me that he used to watch this Anime as a child. and now it was up to version 6 (season 6? Movie 6? I didn’t quite get that bit).

Then it was in to the “Post Office Museum”, for a walk around. Surprisingly, this was a paid exhibition, but about 300yen per person. So we paid and had a walk around. It was interesting to see the history of mail, and also a video of how the sorting in a post office works.

After killing half an hour or so in there, we left, and met up with another of Kaoru’s friends (I’ve forgotten her name), who was also at our wedding. Kaoru has met up with her on other visits to Japan, but I have not seen her since. Again, she spoke English, so we could communicate a bit while we were walking, but I wanted Kaoru to spend as much time as possible with her friends so I just stood back and tried reading and interpreting signs.

We were heading for a place to stop for a sit-down and drink. We were looking in a shop at possibly getting an ice cream or something, and before buying, we went outside to look for a seat. And what did we find?

So in we all went. It was all German-style beers, so no craft breweries inside, but the atmosphere was great. We managed to find a table for the 7 of us, and I got a tasting paddle from one of the places. We sat and enjoyed being out in the sun for a while, but quite suddenly it got cool, and I had to put my long sleeve T on. Kaoru’s friend (the last to arrive) had to go, and not long after we went inside for a bit more of a wander. Jun left after a bit, and eventually we decided to make tracks.

The 5 of us remaining caught a train, but after one stop, Miyako, Mitchiyo and Sorta got off, so we said our goodbyes. Kaoru and I had a bit of a doze on the train, as we made our way to Shibuya, and then changed trains for Daikanyama station. There, we got off the train, and made our way to Spring Valley brewery. This was quite an interesting area. The gap between the train and the platform was noticable. Kaoru mentioned that this was an “up-market” town, although it didn’t have the appearance of that at all. When we got to the brewery, we were surprised to find that it was actually a “Hop Festival”. So we had to pay 3,500 yen ($35) each to get in, which included 7 tickets, each being for one drink or food.

We sat and enjoyed ourselves for a while, until they announced that last drinks was in 10 minutes, and we hadn’t used many of our tickets. They hadn’t said when we entered that it was only a 2 hour session, and half an hour in by the time we had arrived. So the enjoyable atmosphere turned in to feeling very rushed, which was a shame. We ended up having 5 food platters, and 9 tasters, and I walked out with one in my hand.

We weren’t full (other than me being full of beer), so wanted some more food. So we made our way back to Shinagawa and went to the supermarket above the train station, knowing bento boxes would be on special. I bought a sushimi platter that was 40% off (from about $15), and Kaoru bought shumai and another assorted platter. I also bought a bottle of sake for tonight, and one to take to Nasu (not knowing what we would have available to us at our next accommodation), and dessert.

We ate food while watching TV, and planned a bit of tomorrow. We had an early night in the end, which was probably good for us – probably 10.30 lights out.

Kaoru finished the washing in the middle of the night. We then woke up a bit before 8.00, and had breakfast. We didn’t have any plans for starting the day, so after a shower, we went to Shinagawa for a cuppa. We ended up at Tulley’s, where I had an iced ginger. At 10.30 we walked back to the station and said goodbye, as Kaoru was off to visit her friends for lunch. I went back to the room, and had a bit of a rest, before heading back to Shinagawa station. I met up with Mai at 12.00. We recognized each other immediately.

Our first destination was a meat show in Shinagawa. Kaoru and I had noticed it when we were out at our cuppa this morning. So we walked around it, but were too busy talking to really look at anything. So about half an hour later we were back at the station, and went in for “Stand Up Sushi”. We had to wait about 10 minutes to get in, but eventually it was our turn, so we took a stand and got in to it. We ordered one by one, but saw somebody order 8 or 9 all at once. Maybe that’s the better way to do it. But then the rest in between each helps justify a longer time there.

After sushi we caught the train to Ropongi, and walked to our planned destination – Teamlabs Borderless. Mai had already booked tickets, which was lucky as Mum and Dad missed out when they were in Japan 3 months ago, and we have spoken to a few other people who have said it was hard for them too. We had a 3.00 entrance which was a good time, so we found out. Too many photos to upload from here. It was quite an experience, but impossible to describe. Lots of rooms with different visual light shows.

Once we had finished, we went to a tap room I had seen on our way. Mai had never been to a tap room, so I was obliged to introduce her to one. Their tasting paddle was for set beers, which was a shame as I didn’t like the looks of them, so I picked a beer for myself and one for Mai. Both were quite nice, although Mai preferred my higher IBU one which was interesting. The place was interesting – being in Ropongi it was tailored to non-Japanese people, so seemed to be owned and operated by Americans.

We then made our way to Tsukishima, where we met up with Kaoru at the station. We went to Monjayaki (or Monja) for dinner, which is something Mai has only had once or twice before (because where she comes from they have Okonomiyaki, so not Monjayaki). Tsukishima has a street that is famous for Monja, so we walked down there and found a place to eat. After about 10 minutes, Mai’s cousin joined us – Mai is staying with her cousin tonight so we invited her to come out for dinner. Her English is very good so it was easy to have a conversation.

After dinner we felt like one more drink, so we caught the train to Yurakucho – Mai’s cousin (Rika) had booked a table for us at a bar so we went in there for a cocktail. It was a very posh place. I had a dark rum chocolate drink, which I think was just dark rum on ice, with a thin slice of chocolate on top. It was quite nice.

We then said goodbye – Mai and Rika were able to walk back to Rika’s house, and Kaoru and I caught the train home. We went to a convenience store on the way (in Yurakucho) but it was so small and didn’t have any sake!!!! So we caught the train back to Shinagawa, and instead of going in to the 7-11, we just went to the New Days in the station. Their sake selection wasn’t as good, but we found dessert to keep us happy.

That’s right – I ended up with cup sake. But my cake was nice.

I’m getting better at sleeping in. It’s definitely a trade-off of waking up early to do things, and enjoying some relaxing time on holiday. And also getting to breakfast when it’s not too busy. We went downstairs at 8.00, and there was quite a crowd. We managed to get a couple of seats though.

I had a shower and did teeth. We didn’t really have a plan for today, other than to just wing it. We did think we were going to catch a few JR trains, so bought a one day pass. And off to our first destination, which was at Yurakuchou station. We went to the “Art Aquarium Museum”. It was about $25 to get in, and we didn’t really know what to expect. It was quite amazing, seeing lots of different types of goldfish, in different types of environments.

After about an hour of looking around, we headed out and walked around the department store the exhibition is in. Then down to the streets of Ginza – the fashion area of Tokyo, which basically means anything we’re going to buy is going to cost a heap more. Kaoru wanted some Anpan (anko bread), and there was a particular place that she wanted to eat at; but the wait was 5 people, and we didn’t want to wait that long. So we just bought take-away, and I had a cream cheese pan.

Then it was off to the Nissan Love Story Exhibition, at Nissan Crossing. Over the two floors there were a few cars – one concept car, one “for sale” car, and two “vintage” cars, on display. We had a look around and took some photos. There was a sign advertising that the doors open on the concept car every 30 minutes, for 10 minutes, so we had to make sure we were around for that. The inside made it look pretty uncomfortable for driving!

It was then time for a more substantial lunch. Kaoru remembered an Unagi restaurant she had been to with Mio before, which wasn’t too far away, so we wandered around until we found that. It was beautiful unagi (eel). A bit expensive, as we’re overdue for a “cheaper” day, but I do love unagi.

We then made our way around Ginza Uniqlo for some more shopping. Then a brief stop at a Starbucks, on our way to “I Brew beer”. They had about 30 taps, ~70% of their own beer and 30% imported. I had a tasting paddle, so sampled 3 of their hazy beers. All were very nice. It was amazing to imagine them having all of these beers in such a small space. I started a conversation with one of the staff (which Kaoru then had to translate most of, but I made an effort), and found out that they have 15 litre kegs, and when one is empty in the night, that’s it until the next day.

Then we went to the train station, and caught a train back to Yurakuchou, to visit Tokyo Aleworks Taproom. This was just their taproom – the brewery was elsewhere, but they only had their own beers. I got to talking to the man behind the bar – initially trying to talk in Japanese (when Kaoru wasn’t around) and then found out he was Canadian so preferred English! This made it much easier to find out about the craft culture in Japan. He believed that it was growing before the pandemic, but that killed things. It has been growing again over the last few years, but he thinks it has plateaued.

Another (foreigner) couple walked in while I was chatting to the guy, so they were relieved to be able to order drinks in English. Kaoru and I chatted to them while enjoying a couple of beers – she was a kiwi working on Naroo, and he used to live in the UK but sounded more Aussie.

Eventually we left, and went to our hotel to drop off our shopping (Kaoru also bought some food at the station stall to take to work when she gets home) and then back to the station, to Ooimachi. We wanted to have a look at the hotel Mikiko and Yoshi stayed at, as another option for when we come to Tokyo. And then we went to a shabu shabu restaurant, as that was something else I wanted while I was here. Kaoru wasn’t sure because it was warm, and shabu shabu is more of a winter meal. But she had looked up a chain store and took us there. They had various options of all you can eat (and an extra $15 for all you can drink) for 2 hours – but we didn’t think we would need that much food, so just ordered a few other set meals (their best beef one, and a pork one), knowing we could always order an extra platter if we needed to.

It turned out to be plenty of food, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. A few drinks to go with it, dessert included, and still under $70!

We had a wander around their local supermarket, and bought dessert from there. Then it was back to the station, and return to Shinagawa. It was a planned washing day, but unfortunately somebody was using the machine, so Kaoru planned to do it when she wakes up in the middle of the night.

So much for good nights sleep. There must have been an accident at the station work site across the road during the night, as I lost count of how many ambulances we heard stopping during the night. I woke up around 7 and was still quite tired. But we decided to start the day.

I checked emails while Kaoru had a shower, and had a work problem to deal with. Luckily that wasn’t too bad. We went downstairs for breakfast, and came back up to get ready for the day.

We started the day with coffee at the walkway above Shinagawa station. They had a coffee shot which Kaoru enjoyed. I had a lemonade, which was a refreshing start to the day. We wandered around the grocery store up there, looking at all the yummy food for sale, and also compared the prices for whisky (it wasn’t as good as other places we’ve seen). But it killed some time, before making our way to Ebisu.

The multiple travelators from the station were great! We were in no rush so just rode them, looking outside along the way. We then wandered around the shops, having a good look at a camping shop, and a DIY shop, to see the types of things available in Japan. We then went up the Ebisu Garden Place tower to have a look over the city. It was beautiful, and we could see for miles!

We then headed downstairs to Lawry’s restaurant, where we were having lunch with Mio. I came here many years ago for dinner with the Yoneda’s, but don’t really remember it that well. For lunch you could pick how much beef you wanted (65g, 130g, 3x65g) and it included the salad and dessert bar. So the girls had 65g and I had 130g. We started with the salad bar, and eventually the guy came over with the beef, which he cut to our liking (medium rare, or medium). Apparently he is so good that he doesn’t need to measure the meat – he knows he is giving you the right amount, and just does a single cut. Meaning mine was a bit thicker (I wouldn’t have said twice as thick though).

After lunch we said goodbye to Mio, and Kaoru and I headed to Yebisu Tap Room. Ebisu is one of the few places where the product came before the town. So Yebisu beer started there (in the late 1800’s), and the train line was built to distribute the beer, and the town built around it. As for the difference in name (Yebisu beer, and the town Ebisu), we can only theorise that there is no Japanese Ye sound. Anyway, I enjoyed a tasting paddle of their beers.

A combination of sleepless night, the warm room for lunch, and the beer had left me a bit tired. So I went back to the hotel, while Kaoru went to Shibuya to do some shopping. After about an hours sleep I got in touch with Kaoru and made my way to Shibuya to meet up with her. I managed to take the wrong exit and end up at the wrong end of town in Shibuya, but it was still enjoyable. I eventually found the Shibuya Scramble (which was crazy-busy – at 5.45 on a Thursday afternoon) and found Kaoru outside the Starbucks. We went to the Nintendo store to have a look around, and then made our way to dinner. Tonight we wanted to try a “yokocho” – Japanese food alley. There is a new place which tries to imitate the traditional yokocho, but cater to the westerners, so we gave that a go. There were stores from all different areas of Japan, and you could take your pick. But none of this was in English, so for foreigners, it was lucky dip. We picked a place tailored to food from Hokaido, and I ordered a number of dishes, and some beers to wash it down. The people on the table next to us had two drinks delivered each, and we made a comment about “efficiency”, which started a conversation with them. They were from New Zealand and had never had a “sour” before, so were enjoying them immensely!

After dinner we walk past a real “yokocho” and could see most of them were full (ie 4 or 5 people) of westerners. We headed back to Shibuya station.

and made our way to Shinagawa. Once there we went to a food court above the station, which served American beers, so I had a nice hazy to finish the day. After stopping at the shops above the station (since we were there anyway….), we returned to our hotel room, and I decided to have a bath, some sake, and call it a day.

7.30 this morning! I’m in holiday mode! I didn’t even wake up during the night until after the outside light was turned off. We had a rough plan for today, but didn’t finalise things until breakfast time – and even then, we changed it as we went.

After shower, breakfast, and teeth, we bought a one-day ticket for JR – it was going to be cheaper for what we had in mind today. We caught the train to Harajuku, and took a while to get our bearings when we got off. It was a new station!

Kaoru was suffering withdrawal from “good” coffee. Whilst she’s not a big coffee drinker, she does enjoy Melbourne coffee, and has not had a decent one since we got here – even though we’ve paid AU$5+ for cups. So we tried a new place at the station. And we were on a winner! I had an iced macha latte, which was nice, but they are all much the same (apart from the Starbucks ones, which have whipped cream).

After making use of the facilities, we went to Meiji Jingu shrine, talking about how busy it is these days. When Kaoru took me there on our first date there were very few other people. We joked how, bac then, I was able to take a photograph of a young Japanese girl in her kimono. These days the locals wouldn’t want to, because every body would stop to take a photograph, and they would never get to where they are trying to get to! Whereas the mother was thrilled to have a gaijin photograph her daughter 13 years ago.

Once we had prayed, Kaoru bought a token from the shrine for Arisa – it is one for good luck in studies, as Arisa has exams next week. We completed our walk around Meiji Jingu, and then did our trek down Takeshita street, veering off at the crepe stand to go to Togo shrine. It actually wasn’t “fully” open. We were still able to pray but most of the stalls were closed. We completed our walk around Togo shrine, and back down Takeshita street to Harijuku station.

Next it was off to Akihabara.

Whilst there is no real need to go there, I still feel like I have to. Before going to Electric City though, we found a place for a massage. I had a great 30 minute massage on my feet, and then 30 minutes “all over”. I was feeling sore from walking and having shoes on all day. So this was well worth the $60. We had some takoyaki for lunch, and then walked around Akihabara.

Back at the station, we caught the train to Shinjuku, to go to Bic Camera. We wanted to check the price of various duty free alcohol. While waiting to cross the road we were greeted with an amazing digital art sign in 3D.

We looked at the duty free prices at Bic Camera, but then found it was cheaper to buy the alcohol I wanted on Amazon Prime (which Kozue can do). So we made our way back to the station, and caught the 4.00 train to Fujisawa. Our plan was to go to “our restaurant” – the one we have been going to since we were dating. We arrived at 5.00 (opening time). Kaoru walked in first, and then me. The usual lady wasn’t working there, but the guy who was usually helping out, and the owner were there. When Kaoru said “Hunter”, he responded “Aaah, Darryl Hunter!” and remembered us. And that’s why we keep coming back. Unfortunately they were very quiet, so we are hoping they don’t go out of business.

We ate a lot of food, a couple of beers, Sake, and a Kaoru had a couple of mixed drinks, so it was a very enjoyable evening. We then went to Kaoru’s old local supermarket, as that is always cheaper than Tokyo. I found a bottle of “The Nikka” – my favourite whisky. I had looked and hadn’t been able to find it anywhere else, and I remember from previous trips that this was the cheapest place I had ever seen it (usually ~$70). Now it was up to $90, and not in the impressive box it used to come in, but it went in the basket anyway. As did plenty of other food!

We had to wait about 10 minutes for the train back to Shinagawa, but luckily it wasn’t too busy so we managed to get a seat. About 35 minutes later we had arrived at Shinagawa, and walked back to our hotel to drop off the shopping. Then it was back to the supermarket next door for dessert, which we ate in our room while watching Japanese TV.

I slept in until after 7! What a good sleep! Although I woke up at one point, and thought it seemed to early to be daylight. I looked at my watch and it was 12.15. The light directly outside our window is bright! Each floor of the hotel has 2 king sized rooms (one at each end), and we have one of those. But for some reason, there is a light shining upwards directly below our window.

After breakfast downstairs, and doing our teeth, we headed out for the day. We bought a one day travel pass as that was most appropriate for our plans. We started by going to a station near Asakusa, where Kaoru is registered. She needed to go there in order to prove she doesn’t live in Japan – something which is needed for her to be able to buy things duty free and take back to Australia. It’s not as simple as for most countries where a stamp in your passport proves you have left.

We then travelled one stop to Asakusa, and did a walk through there to the shrine and back. We hadn’t been to pray yet this trip. We couldn’t believe how crowded it was for a Tuesday – lots of tourists but also Japanese people.

Back at the station we travelled to the Ginza area for a sushi lunch. Kaoru ordered a don bouri, and I had a sushi platter.

It was absolutely delicious, and great watching the sushi chef making it in front of us. I think the owner is retiring, as he stood up and welcomed everybody who came in, but somebody else was making all the food, and (presumably) his wife was serving drinks / miso soup / clearing the tables / etc.

Then it was a short walk to our next adventure – Kabuki. Kabuki is traditional Japanese theatre, and something I had been thinking for a while would be interesting to see. We had booked the tickets earlier in the morning. The matinee session had 3 performances, and you can buy “good” seats for all 3, or “cheap” seats for just one – but these are on the 4th level. That was good enough for us, so we had bought tickets to the second and third sessions. Of course there were no photos allowed during the show.

I also paid the extra 1,000 yen for the English translation, which meant I had a tablet which translated the performance. It unfortunately meant I was looking at the screen too much and missed part of the show, but certainly helped with my understanding of it. The first performance (so second show) was more of the “traditional” version – dominated by a song, with short sentences used now and then. This was enjoyable, but not overly entertaining. But the final show was more of a caper comedy and extremely entertaining. It was set in the 1100’s (or thereabouts). It was quite amusing because when I could read the translation, I was reading jokes before the actors had said them. So I would have a laugh to myself, and then a bit later the audience would laugh!

After the show Kaoru decided she wanted a parfait. So we went to a place in Ginza which she knew of.

I really have no idea how Japanese people manage to stay so thin with things like this being served regularly!

We went back to our hotel, and I had a bit of a snooze. I had fallen asleep briefly before the Kabuki, and Kaoru had dozed a bit during the it! So I wanted to rest up before the evening. About 5.20 we headed out, and caught the bus to Ni no machi to go to a soba restaurant, where we met up with Mikiko and Yoshi. We had a fantastic meal and great conversation, especially reflecting on my first trip to Japan and our experiences there – when I first met Mikiko, and then Kaoru (and they both met each other then, too).

After dinner we said our goodbyes, and caught the bus back to Shinagawa. Kaoru did a load of washing while we watched some TV.

We woke up a bit more refreshed today. Breakfast wasn’t as busy downstairs, even though it’s a public holiday. We’re expecting people to be travelling back to their home towns today.

After some kanji study, and a casual morning, we left for todays adventures. We caught the train to Tokyo Station, arriving around 9.30. We had some time to kill until the Zoff (glasses) shop opened. So wandered around the food court area 🙂

Kaoru did an eye test to have some glasses made up, as it was a shop that came recommended by her work colleagues. I had a look at some of the frames, and ended up chatting to another older man who was in to get his glasses adjusted; and said how popular this shop was. I ended up getting my eyes tested there too, to get some new glasses. They went stronger by one point on one eye, and two points on the other eye. In the end, Kaoru bought 3 pairs (including prescription sunglasses) and I bought one pair, all for < $350! Kaoru needs to wait for hers to be ready, but mine will be ready later in the day.

Once we had finished, I had to haul arse, to catch the train to Gaienmae station, which involved a change on the way. Easy peasy. Kaoru stayed in Tokyo, but my plans (as of yesterday) were to catch up with Kenichi again, and go to Oktoberfest. So we met at the station, and it was then about 15 minutes to walk to the venue.

It was really enjoyable. There was a stage where a german band were playing, and we had several beers. Lyn had sent some jerky with me, so I decided it would be a good place to share that with Kenichi – it went very well with the beer! We also ordered some lamb, and sausages, to eat to keep us going.

It was quite a hot day, so drinking out in the sun was quite warm. Luckily after our first round we managed to find a seat undercover. But around 4.00 we were ready to call it quits, so made our way to Shinjuku, where we met up with Kaoru. She had enjoyed an afternoon shopping by herself.

Once we met up, we made our way to a ramen festival in Shinjuku. There was a marketing person there giving tastings of various beers, that they sell in a “kegerator”. But nothing of the level we are used to. The bottles (of beer) that they sell are probably 1.25 litre bottles, so not much in each – for 4000 yen! Very expensive. But they had about 150 different beers, so must have a good range. We tasted a couple of their IPA’s which were nice.

We then queued up for (different) ramen’s, and met up to enjoy eating them together, as well as another drink to go with it. It was quite a small serve though, so we were all still a bit hungry. Kenichi had a suggestion of a good ramen place to go to, so we wandered back through Shinjuku to eat some more. It was nice, but I couldn’t finish mine. Kaoru was happy to lend a hand, as always!

After dinner we made our way to Shinjuku station, and said goodbye to Kenichi. Kaoru and I got the train to Shinagawa, and went to the convenience store on the other side of the train tracks. It was empty, so much more enjoyable than 2 nights ago! At the station, we found Japan had taken vending machines to a whole new level – they are no longer just for “drink now” or “eat now”….

We came back to our hotel room, watched some TV, and had an early night, enjoying some sake and desserts.

I didn’t sleep too well. Woke up several times. Apparently there was an earthquake during the night, which Kaoru felt but I slept right through it. I got up about 6.00 (Kaoru was already awake), had a shower and we went downstairs for breakfast.

At Toyoko Inn, breakfast is included. It’s a serve-yourself-buffet – pretty basic foods, but it hit the spot, and fueled us for the morning.

Back in the room I got an eSim set up on Kaoru’s phone, so we both always have internet. Then we went to the bank as we had gotten cash in Australia some time ago when the exchange rate was looking good (it has since gotten better, but you never know). In Shinagawa we stopped for a cuppa – I had an iced match latte and Kauro had a coffee.

We then caught the train to Shibuya, and changed to get to Futako Tamagawa. This is where I used to catch the bus to from the airport, when I went straight to Mio’s. Our original plan was to have lunch with Mio, Arisa, Kenichi, Kozue, Yukari and Minami. Unfortunately Kozue recently caught covid, and Mio couldn’t make it, so it was just Kenichi, Yukari, Minami, Kaoru and I. We ate at a fantastic soba restaurant, with a set course meal that was amazing.

We started at 11.30 and didn’t finish until about 2.00, so were well fed! The girls english has come a long way and most of the meal was speaking in English to help them practice.

After lunch Kaoru and I went to Uniqlo to do some duty free clothes shopping. We then went to Starbucks where Yukari was working, and ordered a drink.

Our original evening plan was to go to a dance festival that was on – this is a long weekend in Japan. But luckily Kaoru looked it up and found that it finished at 6. So we found another festival to go to, which wasn’t very exciting but there were a number of stalls around. Unfortunately no craft beef ones. We had some yakitori to keep us going, and then caught a train to Oimachi and had dinner at an izakaya that specialised in tongue.

It was great to start with, but then some people started smoking, which was a shame. Originally we were there with no smokers – we could smell a faint smell of smoke but thought that may have been from in the past. But unfortunately not. It was certainly better than it used to be though, with some people smoking e-cigarettes which aren’t as bad.

We went back to the hotel after dinner and checked in to our new room. This was a king sized room – still very small, but certainly better than our last room. And is where we will be staying for the rest of our Tokyo part. We went to the supermarket next door to buy some treats (Sake / chocolate / ice cream / noodles), and had an early night as it had been a long day, watching some TV in bed.

A bit of a sleepless night. I had been sick for the previous 2 weeks, so at least I wasn’t coughing. But I’m always paranoid about oversleeping on the early morning starts.

6.15 the alarm went off. A shower and banana, final packing, and Kaoru and I were in the car just after 7. We left the car at the Inflatable World warehouse and caught a $25 uber to the airport. Check in was a breeze, as was immigration, and in no time we were sitting at a cafe eating breakfast.

The plane was about half an hour+ late to take off, but eventually we were on our way to Tokyo. A couple of movies, a bit of a sleep, and we had arrived at Narita.

The longest part at Narita was waiting for our bag to get off the plane. The immigration system was very quick, helped by the Visit Japan Web website (giving me a QR code). A Rapid train to Tokyo took us about 90 minutes, and then a Yamanote train to Shinagawa, and short walk to the familiar Toyoko Inn.

After check in (which had our wifi hotspot waiting for us) we went back to the convenience store at Shinagawa Prince for our customary snacks. It was probably about 11.30 by the time we got to bed.