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.