I woke up this morning feeling much better than yesterday.  A bit blocked up but I hadn’t spend the night with my nose running, and after all the sleep yesterday, I was feeling rested.  Having said that, it was about 10.00 when I got up!  No point over-doing it.  Kobe is a very nice place and I will come here again to see the things I didn’t get to this time.

The first place we went to was the Ikuta Shrine.  It was a simple 5 minute walk from our hotel.  We prayed, and walked around the beautiful gardens there.  Some of the trees were massive!

After a good walk around, we made our way through town, and found a sweet spot to stop and have some morning tea.  We then walked through Kobe Motomachi, passing the first we saw of a particular chain of Kobe beef shops featuring Spiderman on the outside.  I’m not sure what the relationship is, but he made numerous appearances throughout the day, and always at the same chain.  We then made our way in to Chinatown, because no visit to a place is complete without a walk through Chinatown!

It was extremely crowded, but given it was 1.00 – lunch time – it’s no surprise.  Peking duck ranged from 150 yen to 500 yen.  The only thing we could see different between the two shops is the 150 yen ones used prawn crackers to make them look bigger.  YUCK!  (we guessed – we didn’t buy one).  And the 150 yen places had lines 5 metres long, and the 500 yen places didn’t have any lines.

We completed our walk through, and found a place to eat that we thought might be interesting – they were serving a “Kobe Special” – lobster grilled cheese.  Unfortunately after ordering we found out that it is a chain shop based out of Main    e, USA, and even the lobster was from Maine and not from Kobe bay!  What a waste.  Oh well.

On our way back to the hotel we managed to find the underground section which Ryu had told us about.  At first all the shops were closed – apparently that’s what happens on a Wednesday.  but as we got further in, we found all the open shops (food places) and it was amazing just how much was there!  Kaoru ordered some bokkakeyakisoba – fried noodle with konjac and meat.  For eat in, it was served like okonomiyaki, but we got it for take away and ate it back in our room.

We then had a bit of a sleep – I was feeling a bit tired and didn’t want to get sick again.  We passed the afternoon until dinner time.  Then showered and went out to meet one of my teachers, who actually told me what was good about Kobe in the first place – the reason we came here.  On the way we passed a “cat cafe” – basically a cafe for crazy cat ladies.  That’s right, for 650 yen (AU$7) you can spend 30 minutes surrounded by cats.  WTF???

We went to a sukiyaki restaurant for dinner that Shiomi-sensie knew of, and had, once again, an amazing meal.  The chef on Monday had told us that sukiyaki kobe beef is different to normal sukiyaki, because of the oil.  And you could really taste it!  The meat just melted in our mouth.

After an enjoyable meal we walked Shiomi-sensei to the train station, as she had about a 15 minute train trip home, and then came back home for a bath and bed.

Some photos from the day:

A crazy-looking intersection. Crossing every which way!

Not good.

I was up with the sweats a lot during the night so didn’t get a lot of sleep.  Kaoru went out and got breakfast so we ate in the room when she got back – a selection of breads.  I slept in a bit longer.

After a shower I really needed some fresh air.  So we went for a walk to a “church” which Kaoru had found, which served a nice selection of morning tea’s, as well as lunches later in the day.  We couldn’t believe it as we walked, and we got back to Shin-Kobe.  It was so close to where we were staying.  Still a bit far with a suitcase, but for getting around, no problem at all.  We passed a place that was obviously an Aussies location.

We got the last table and ordered a sandwich and drink.  By the time we left there was a massive line outside.  The food wasn’t of *that* good a quality, so it must just be a location place.  We went to the 7-11 and bought some Vitamin C drink for me, as well as some tissues, and then got on the “hop on hop off” bus.  It’s “approx a 63 minute trip” all the way around – and we were only 3 stops from our hotel in the other direction, so thought that should kill and hour, and we get to see the city.  We were lucky we got on when we did, as during our travel the bus just got fuller and fuller, and was standing room only.

We got off at the stop nearest our hotel and I had a lay down for a bit, followed by some lunch, which was a Kobe Beef sandwich, and a Kobe Beef “pork bun”.  I then continued to rest / sleep for the rest of the day.

By dinner time I was feeling like I needed some fresh air and a walk.  So tossed up about eating in or taking away, and Ryu had told us about Akashiyaki being a local version of Takoyaki, so I wanted to try that.  So Kaoru found a place that was about a 15 minute casual walk away, and we made our way.  It was cool, but not too cold.  We found the restaurant and were surprised to see it almost empty (one other couple and a single lady).  We ordered our food.

Neither of us knew what to expect, but we weren’t disappointed!  Luckily there were instructions on how to eat it at the table too!  We were told that they are very slippery and I was asked if I wanted a fork, but I made do.  They were similar to Takoyaki, but eggy-er, making them softer and slipperyer.  So you pick it up, put it in the broth, break it open, and then eat it from the broth.  As the broth was hot it seemed like the perfect meal for me, and they tasted great too boot!  They were also very light, so it was easy to eat all 10, and then drink the left-over broth.

After dinner we went for a walk, passing the Kobe clock (which runs on solar power) and then went up to the viewing platform on level 24 of the Town Hall (which is also powered by solar).  There we were treated with amazing views of port and the city.  We spent a good 30 minutes walking around and checking out all the different angles.  We even saw the dinner cruise ship come in!

We had a casual stroll back to our hotel, and stopped off at the convenience store on the way for a matcha profitterole and a hot yuzu lemon drink for me, and some sushi rolls for Kaoru.

I had a shower, and went to bed.

Some more photos from the day:

The lights in the background are an anchor, the towns logo, and “Kobe 150” to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Port of Kobe.

I’m not used to seeing roads this empty in Japan!

I was up early (just before 7) – naturally Kaoru and Mio were already up, and Yoichi had already left for work.  After breakfast Mio took Arisa to school, while Kaoru and I organised things for our next trip – to Kobe.  We were fine with just the little suit case again, and in fact thought we must be missing things as it was so much emptier than when we went to Nasu.  The difference as I didn’t need my thick jacket, or waterproof boots packed in.

When Mio got back from dropping Arisa off, she took us to the station.  It was raining – just like our wedding day (a light sprinkle – not a lot, but enough to be annoying).  We caught the train to Shibuya and then went to get Kaoru’s Shinkansen ticket (I was covered already with my JR Pass).  The next train that we could catch (that went to Shin-Kobe, and not a super-super fast one as the JR Pass isn’t valid on them) was an 11.10 from Shinagawa (it was currently 10.00).  I suggested we may as well get it from Tokyo as going there would pass the time, and also increase our chances of getting seats next to each other if it was crowded (it starts from Tokyo, and Shinagawa is the second station).  So we went with that option.

After the 22 minute trip to Tokyo, we bought a bento box to eat on the train, and then went to stand in line.  They were all fairly short, but there were 8-10 people lined up for each door – and we were still 15 minutes before departure time.  By the time the train was cleaned and we boarded, the line was considerably longer, and not everybody could get a seat!  So our plan to get on here rather than Shinagawa paid off.  We’ll definitely book a reserved seat for our trip back to Tokyo.

I got a bit of work done on the trip, and we also investigated what to do in Kobe and Osaka.  We ate lunch, and enjoyed the scenery, as well as got a little bit of shut-eye.  The weather was clearing up, and it was quite warm in the train so I had taken all long sleeves off.  I’m sure it will still be cool in Kobe, but may as well enjoy it while we can!

We arrived in Kobe a bit after 2, and put the suitcase in a coin locker.  We then walked about 10 minutes to the Herb Garden ropeway and caught the cable car to the top.  There were amazing views of the city and the port on the way up, and once up the top.  Kobe is a very narrow town – there is not a lot of space between the mountains and the city.  The airport is on an island out in the harbour!  Unfortunately we didn’t get to see a plane land, but I understand it is a very beautiful airport to land at, with the lights of the city, and the mountain in the background.

After a walk around, and a drink, we caught the cable car back down to the halfway station, and we walked the rest of the of the way down.  It was a beautiful trail around the dam which provides Kobe its water supply, and past a number of water falls.  Unfortunately on the way down I must have passed my limit – I could feel a cold coming on.  Whilst I still had plenty of energy on the walk, my nose was running and throat was starting to get a bit sore.  Hope I can shake this.

It took us about an hour to get down to the bottom, but it was a beautiful hike and lovely scenery.  We got our suitcase and decided to catch a taxi rather than train to the hotel.  We checked in and went up to our room.  Wow!  King sized bed!  And decent sized bathroom!  When we checked in we were also given a coupon giving us access to the lounge – for “Premium rooms” (top two floors).  So we went down to check that out.  It’s open from 2pm to 6pm every day, so limited time.  It was tea / coffee / hot chocolate, and also an assortment of cakes on a tray!  We enjoyed them to keep us going.

Back in the room I decided to have a sleep and try to start shaking this cold.  After an hour or so it was time for dinner.  We were originally going to do a bay cruise but I hadn’t received any reply from my email to them.  And given I wasn’t 100%, we didn’t really want to spend the money it would cost.  So we walked around Kobe looking for somewhere to get some Kobe beef.  The town seemed quite small – we were surprised at how quickly we got to the station, based on the distance it looked on the map.  It looked like a very vibrant town and a fun one to go out in.  We eventually decided on a place that had a Kobe Beef Teppanyaki meal.

We went inside and it was the quietest teppanyaki restaurant I had ever been in!  This was the real thing though – not the Holleywood style you get around the world.  We had a number of delicious courses, which included Roast Kobe Beef in the entree, but most of the rest was cooked in front of us on the teppan.  Kaoru taught me to say “shashin o totemo ii desuka” (ask if I can take a photo of the chef).

I don’t normally do “meal” photos, but decided to make an exception:

After dinner we came back to the hotel, and I had a bath to try to sweat this cold out, and then went to bed.

Some photos from the day:

The island furthest in the distance is the airport.

I slept in a little bit, but was still up by 8.30.  My throat was sore – I later found out that I had been snoring during the night.  Which would explain why I felt very tired too.  Breakfast was leftover lobster with pasta and a tomato sauce.  Delicious!

We organised a few things, and then Kaoru and I had to leave.  It was raining today, and Yoichi drove us to the station rather than us walk, which was great.  Kaoru went to the convenience store to make payment for her Amazon order, and we went to the supermarket to buy some beer.  Then it was on the train to Yokohama for our customary visit with Ryu and Naoko.

Ryu met us at the train station and walked us to the house.  I had forgotten there were no steps to get to their new place – it was just up a hill.  He has been relocated to Kobe for work, so doesn’t spend a lot of time at home these days.  We gave Haruka a stuffed sting ray as her customary gift from Australia.  Naoko cooked some delicious prawns, and salad for lunch, and we drank a few beers and some sake, while we caught up.  We opened the cake we had brought for dessert which was delicious too.

We left a bit after 4.00, and it was nearly 6 by the time we got back to Mio’s.  We went to a sukiyaki / shaboo shaboo restaurant for dinner, where Mio gave us a Happy Anniversary card for tomorrow.  The shaboo shaboo sesame sauce had a bit of a nutty effect on me so I lost my appetite pretty quickly unfortunately, but soldiered through and managed to eat quite a bit.  We were all pretty stuffed by the time we left.

Once back home, I pretty much went straight to bed!

I had a bit of a sleep in this morning – I didn’t get up until after 8.00!  I went downstairs for breakfast and had no idea what it was on the counter defrosting… Mio had told me yesterday that there was a surprise for dinner, but she wouldn’t tell me what it was.  This was it.  It’s apparently the legs of a type of crab – Tarabagani.  It’s apparently very expencive and delicious – I’ll find out later tonight!

After breakfast I just did a bit of work.  Kaoru went to the dentist, so I took the opportunity to catch up on a number of things.  Arisa went to school not long after she got back, and then Mio, Kaoru and I went for lunch.  It was about a 15 minute walk, which was great for stretching the legs.  Once we found a restaurant which had taco rice, I was sold.  Delicious!

We walked back home and I had a beer, as we passed the afternoon.  Yoichi got home from work about 3.  I was feeling sleepy so went for a “half hour power nap”.  Next thing I knew it was nearly 6.00!  I guess these early mornings had caught up with me.

Not long after I went downstairs, another course arrived…

Kenichi, Kozue, Yukari and Minami arrived shortly after that.  Minami had grown so much in the last 18 months!  We sat down and ate another delicious meal.  After an hour or so we had to clear some room from the table as some large sushi plates had arrived, and they needed to fit on too.

Yoichi arrived home with Arisa a bit after 8.  And Mio’s friend Tomako(??) turned up.  I had met her on a previous visit.  The kids played upstairs for the night, as we all caught up, and did the usual things that happen at “Mio’s Bar”.  Everybody left around midnight, full and content.  Too full, in fact, if you look closely at this picture and see what was left at the end of the night!

I woke this morning at 6.45. Everybody else was up except Arisa. She is on school holidays so got to sleep in until 7.15. After a shower i felt much more refreshed, and then brekkie had me ready to go!

I got some work done and we left the house at 9.00 for Kaoru to get results of her medical checkup. Then we walked to the station and caught the train to Shibuya, where I picked up the JR Pass which i had pre purchased in oz before coming. Based on our plans for this trip, activating it today is the best value for money.

We did some price checks for alcohol to take home, and then went for a hot chocolate/macha latte at the famous Starbucks in Shibuya. I caught up on a few work issues while we were seated, and then was approached about doing a survey. It took 15 minutes or so and the questions were quite difficult to answer as I’m not the usual tourist (things like rating what you want to do, including partying with Japanese people, and asking your budget for the experience). At the end i was given a thank you gift -from Diaso!

It was then time to head off for the day. We seemed to lose a lot of time but weren’t on much of a schedule so it wasn’t a problem. We went to Uniqlo as i wanted a second heat-tec jacket. We looked at another place for alcohol. We did some shopping at Tokyu Hands, including buying a takoyaki top for our single burner butane stove. We had lunch at mos burger as i hadn’t been there yet this trip.

Then we caught the train to Harijuku for the customary walk down Takeshita street, and went to Togo shrine (where we got married) to pray. From there we walked up to Meiji-Jingu shrine as that is another special place of ours and prayed there.

We completed our walk back to the station and caught the next train to Kita-Kamakura, and walked to Kamakura from there. It’s another one of the areas familiar to us. We stopped en-route at a cake place and bought something for Ryu and Naoko as we are seeing them on Sunday.

We walked through the temple where we saw the bride faint one trip, and through the main drag of Kamakutra, stopping for a pork bun to warm up, and macha gelato to cool back down, on the way.

At Kamakura we caught the electric train, which is slower but more scenic, to Fujisawa. We walked to Kaoru’s old apartment to have a look around, especially at the building which was being constructed next door when she was living there. We then went to the supermarket and found the best deal on alcohol so bought a few good bottles. It’s not duty free but the net price is better! Then it was time for dinner.

We were spending the day down this area because we wanted to go to “our restaurant” since we had such fond memories of it. We didn’t know if they would remember us as we hadn’t been there for 3 years (and 2 days!). I waked in and there was a different young girl at the desk. Then Kaoru came in and the owner looked up. Not only did he recognise us but i heard him say “Darryl Hunter”! Now that’s the reason we had come all the way here!

We were given the only table of 2 in the restaurant. This would be the table they always try to keep free for VIPs. We have had it once or twice before. During the night the lady who normally serves us turned up for her shift. I turned around to get and said “konichiwa”. She hesitated for a moment trying to work out why this gaigin was talking to her. She then recognized us and came to have a chat (to Kaoru, obviously). It made Kaoru and I feel justified in making the 2+ hour return trip, and we will certainly make the effort on future trips.

Dinner was, as always, fantastic. After the “welcome dish” we had sashimi, and then tuna in a miso sauce, which I have definitely had before (was it here?), both which came out very quickly. Add the menu was only in japanese and had no pictures (this place isn’t westerner friendly), Kaoru had to order everything and as always it was superb. The only dodgy part, and I’m still not sure if she was just taking the piss, was our last course… Fish testicles. I tried to keep an open mind, but they just didn’t do it for me.

After dinner we bought some flowers for Mio, to say thanks for all she does for us. And then we started the long trip home.

We walked in the door a bit after 10.00. According to my watch I had broken my step record, by reaching 23,500 steps. The most we had done on this trip, and a great day out together, even if we didn’t see anything “new”. Yoichi got back with Arisa from school about 2 minutes later. The 4 of us had a few drinks (ok, Yoichi and I had a few drinks and Kaoru and Mio sat with us and talked) for a while, and then I politely went upstairs for a bath, as they can’t go until I do. I struggled but managed to stay in the bath for nearly 8 minutes. I wanted to give Mio and Yoichi a chance to go to bed, especially as Yoichi has to work tomorrow.

I came downstairs and had another whisky while finalizing today’s blog entry, and was ready to call it a night about midnight.

Kaoru left for her morning bath at 6.15. We had a bit of a schedule to keep and no time to waste. I tried to get back to sleep but decided to take advantage of my last bath. So I got up and went downstairs.

I wasn’t in for long, and as I was drying myself, the alarm on my watch went off – 7.00. I had a look for Kaoru in the library downstairs, thinking she would be having a morning coffee. But she wasn’t there so she must have been having a long bath!

She returned to the room a bit later and we went for breakfast at 7.30. I was still lounging around in my yukata but Kaoru had gotten dressed. Breakfast was the same as yesterday.

Our plan for the day (version 3 from last night’s planning) was to catch a 9.07 bus from the hotel. We had finished eating by 8.10 and decided to rush back upstairs and catch the 8.37 bus instead. We made it there with 5 minutes to spare. It was lightly raining as we left the hotel which just made us laugh again. We were expecting nice weather based on the forecast! It didn’t last long though.

Our destination was just 5 minutes away – sazaedou. We got off the bus and knew we were at the right place just by looking at the stairs ahead of us. But to make things easier there was a travelator! We opted for the exercise though and took on the stairs.

Sazaedou is an old building designed as a one way circuit. So you never pass people coming down as you are going up. There was a great view from the top.

We then climbed some more steps and found the graves of 19 soldiers who took their own lives rather than be killed by the army who just won the battle. They were 16 and 17 years old.

We descended the stairs and caught the next bus back to our hotel. We were back by 9.40 and I took the opportunity to have a final bath and warm up. The baths weren’t meant to close for cleaning until 10.00 but the one i wanted already was closed! So i went to the other and had 5 minutes relaxation. Then it was back to the room to do a final pack.

We went downstairs to check out and topped up our water bottles, and then walked to the bus stop-this time fully loaded. We took the 10.31 bus which was longer to get to the station than the 10.36 (as it went a different way) but we hadn’t done a full loop yet.

At the station we bought our tickets to Tokyo, some lunch from the supermarket and then killed some time at mister donut. We then boarded our train for Koriyama. There was some beautiful scenery for the trip. A bit over an hour later we arrived and had 15 minutes to transfer for the Shinkansen. It was going to be crowded so we went straight to the platform to wait in line, hoping we could get a seat. While we were waiting we watched a Shinkansen go past without stopping. I had never seen that before. Wow it was fast!

We could see 2 empty rows of 3 seats on the train as it went past, and we were second in line. Luckily i managed to get the one in middle before the person coming from the other door got there! We ate our lunch and sped back to Tokyo. 275 was the fastest speed i recorded us doing.

Once in Tokyo we did some shopping, and caught the 3 trains back to Mio’s house.  We had an iced drink (Mio had given Kaoru some vouchers for) and then picked Arisa up from her school.  The three of us were going to walk back to the house but Mio was now free and came to pick us up.

Back at the house we unpacked and passed the time, until going out to dinner.  We walked to an Italian restaurant nearby, where they regularly go to.  Mio and I talked for a bit – her getting to practice English, and me practicing some Japanese when I could.  The 5 of us enjoyed a fantastic meal, and then walked back home for the night.

Arisa had a bath.  Kaoru, Yoichi and I sat downstairs and had a couple of drinks.  Mio had bought a few new whisky’s for me to try, so I didn’t want to offend.  Kaoru and Yoichi chatted while I did a bit of work.  I hope to be able to understand what they are saying one day!

Some photos from today:

This morning I had a little bit of a sleep in.  Kaoru got up early and had a bath, and a coffee.  She got back about 7.30, just as Okasan was phoning.

We opened the curtains and it was snowing outside.  Quite heavily.  The picture doesn’t really do it justice.  The view was quite interesting.  The building (hotel) across the river got damaged in an earthquake.  The local hotels have tried to help fund its restoration, as it’s an eyesore, but the owners haven’t done anything about it.  Our room had a note in it apologising for the bad view!

We went for breakfast about 8.15.  This was an assorted Japanese style buffet, with a couple of western foods too (Pain Au Chocolate, Crossiant, Fruit Salad, Yoghurt…).

Back in our room we packed our bags for the day.  My backpack was so light!  I’ve been carrying my laptop around in it lately so not needing that is fantastic!  I also left my jacket behind, just wearing my heat-tec jacket.

We walked to the bus stop (about 5 minutes) and then caught the 20 minute trip to the train station.  15 minutes later, our train arrived.  It wasn’t quite what we were expecting!  A single carriage, and painted!

The trip was very pleasant.  We laughed when the tiny carriage blew its horn, which was more of a toot of a whistle.

We passed the local tow truck on the way, which gave us a laugh too!

Our planned destination was Tounohetsuri; there are some cliffs there like the apostles on the Great Ocean Road.  We were then going to come back one stop to Ouchijuku for a bit, before returning to Aizu.  This is about an hour out of Aizu, and still included in the 2-day pass we had purchased yesterday.  On the way it started to snow and by the time we got to the station at Ouchijuku it was really coming down.  We had seen a number of stations that were just a small shelter – smaller than Yarraville or Seddon station.  So were worried that if we had to wait there for a while for the next train, it would be cold.  So we decided to skip Tounohestsuri and just get off at Ouchijuku (luckily the train was stopped there for 5 minutes or so, so we had time to come to this decision :)).

We rushed off the train and then started putting our layers of clothes back on inside the station.  While we were there another girl came in, asking the local person how to get to Ouchijuku.  We already knew we would have to catch a taxi to get there, so when she was told that, we invited her to join us.  She was on a working holiday from Taiwan, and spoke English fairly well, and Japanese to a level that Kaoru didn’t know she wasn’t a local.  Funny part was that as we had said we were on holiday from Australia, she assumed Kaoru wasn’t a local either, and commented on how good her Japanese was!  We both managed to keep a straight face at the time, and had a good laugh at it later in the day.

It was about 10 minutes in the taxi, and then we walked in to the village.  It is a town on the old trade route, so was built up many years ago.  They try to keep the town in its old style look, however there are also more modern houses off the main street where people live.  It’s not quite as authentic as Gokayama was (see April 28, 2015) but still a pretty place.  We climbed a hill (which was covered in snow and was quite slippery, so we had to be careful) and had a great view down the main street.

We then had some lunch.  The specialty here is soba noodles, but instead of using chopsticks, you use a spring onion.  Ok, I might not have had quite as much grace as Kaoru eating it!

After lunch we found a sake place, and tasted a few of the local sake’s.  There were all made in the Aizu region, and one from this village.  It is “cellared” in the snow, which was quite an interesting thought!

We caught a taxi back to the train station.  I fell asleep for half of the trip back so missed a lot of the scenery, which was disappointing as it was beautiful on the way out, but we were sitting on the wrong side of the train to see it all.  We got off the train at Nanukamachi, and walked about 10 minutes to a local sake brewery.  There were other places to try sake but this was the only brewery that did a tour.  We arrived with about 2 minutes to spare (not knowing the tour schedules) so we were really lucky.  There was a room upstairs that was dedicated to the Fukushima earthquake, and had photos of damage, the shelter, etc.  Afterwards we sampled a number of their sake’s.  We were wondering what to buy when we realised the time.  So we rushed off and just made it to the next bus.

Our next destination was Tsuruga-jo castle.  This castle has seen quite a bit of history, and the tour inside (discounted, with our passes!) detailed it all.  From the top of the castle there was a fantastic 360 degree view of the area.  We were in a valley, surrounded by mountains.  It’s hard to imagine just what it would have looked like without all of the houses / buildings around it but in a cold winter it would have been tough conditions.

We had a croquette to warm us up as it was getting quite cold, and then waited for our bus to arrive.  Back at the hotel we got changed and went to the onsen.  I went in the outside one this time, which was much cooler and easier to stay in.  As I left, I heard Kaoru leaving as well which was surprising as I thought she would be in for longer than me.  We went in to the lounge and I had a sho-chu, which was quite harsh after the sake I had been drinking.  Then it was off to dinner.

Second night dinner is different to first night.  Kaoru had worked that out last night, but I was oblivious to it as I was in a food coma.  The interesting part of tonights meal was the beef sushi.  It was oh-so-lightly seared, and served on a bed of rice, with wasabi and soy sauce.  You couldn’t taste the wasabi (even though I put quite a bit on).

We left quite full again, and returned to the room to plan tomorrow, and then had another bath.  It was going to be an early start so we tried to get an early night.

A few miscellaneous photos from the day:

I didn’t have a good nights sleep last night.  I think the air intake on the wood stove was partly blocked so the fire didn’t stay burning very well.  Whilst the room was warm enough, I didn’t want it to be cold when we woke up and I had to re-light it at 1 in the morning.  Luckily there was some small kindling in the entrance.

We woke up a bit before 7 and had breakfast; it was yam on rice with bonito.  It was delicious, despite Kaoru not being sure what I would think of the yam.  After breakfast we finished packing, and left home about 8.00.

On the way to the train station we stopped at a convenient store to get a train ticket we need for later.  This was a 2 day travel pass, which would start today, and continue through tomorrow, saving us quite a bit of money on the trains and buses.  Then we were dropped off at the station with about 15 minutes to spare.  We caught the train from Kuroiso (near Okasan and Ottosan’s) to Kooriyama station.  That was about 1 hour train trip, and at the end we had about an hour to kill.  We walked around the shopping centre and bought some food.  Then we caught the train to Aizu-Wakamatsu station – the main station in Aizu, where we were to spend the next few days.  Aizu is where the Akabeko – the red cow that shakes its head for good luck – originated.  That was another hour train trip, through some beautiful countryside where the snow was getting thicker in areas – it was certainly going to be colder than Nasu!  At the end we had about an hour to wait for our next train, so we went to the information centre, and then got a hot chocolate.

Our original plan was to take the suitcase to the hotel, but that would waste too much time; so we were going to take it with us for the day.  However at the Information Centre, there was a sign saying they would deliver suitcases free of charge, so that seemed perfect for us!  It was raining today, so we had planned to basically do a couple of hours on a train looking at the scenery, and then the couple of hours back.  However the lady at the information centre suggested getting off at Aizu-Yamaizu and spending a couple of hours there.  Before catching the train we grabbed some sushi from the supermarket for lunch.

We got off at a small station.  There was a heater inside, boiling a kettle of water.  We then walked towards the temple, finding the smallest Alfa Romeo I’ve ever seen along the way!  We went up some stairs to what we thought was the temple, however it was just a smaller one.  We followed a trail covered snow, through the rain, laughing the whole way.  Luckily I was wearing my waterproof boots so I would go first to find the solid snow (or just sink to the bottom) and Kaoru would walk in my footsteps.  We finally got to the main temple, our feet slightly damp, but we enjoyed our little adventure.

At the temple we found a statue that we were supposed to touch for good luck.   So we both gave him a stroke for some luck, before walking inside the temple for a bit.  It was amazing to see the sculptings in the woodwork.

We made our way back down to town and stopped in a bakery for some afternoon tea.  We then made our way back to the train station, the scenic way, crossing the red bridges in town.  The drizzle didn’t dampen our spirits – we were enjoying being away together as it had been a long time, and the town was very picturesque.

We made it back to the train station with about 15 minutes to spare.  Given the next train was 2 hours away, we didn’t want to miss it!  So we travelled the 1 hour back to Aizu, and then caught the “Hop on Hop off” bus (which was free, thanks to our travel card), which took about 30 minutes to get to near our hotel.  It was then a 5 minute walk and finally we had arrived.

After checking in, before we could go to our room we had to have a welcome drink.  As nice as a drink after a long days travelling is, it was 6.30 and we just wanted to go to our room.  Anyway we had a sake, and then were taken up to our room.  But had to rush downstairs to make our 6.30 dinner reservation.  It just didn’t stop!

Dinner was quite a feast.  And Kaoru had planned a couple of extra treats.  So as well as the set menu which included a glass of sake, and a variety of different local foods, there was also a sake tasting platter, which included 5 more sake’s.  Plus, halfway through the meal, they brought out horse sushi.  I had eaten horse once before but that was thinly sliced and with a salad.  This was just raw horse meat, with some soy sauce and mizu.  It was quite nice.

By the end of the meal we were both full to the brim, and it was a struggle to make it back up to our room!  But we got changed and went downstairs to the communal onsen for a bath (separate mens and womens).  It was nice to sit down and have a good wash, and then relax in the hot water for a while – although I couldn’t stay in there long, as it was just too hot.  I did sit on the reflexology machine (foot massager) for a little bit, which was nice too.

And so endith the first day of our adventures.

Another early-ish morning.  I haven’t been sleeping the best on this trip.  A combination of being on the floor, and either Kaoru or I getting up every hour or so to put more wood on the stove.  The room has certainly been warm as a result of it though!

Breakfast was a bit more western – we had pizza toast!  With rice and the usual trimmings on the side, of course!

The first job for the day was cleaning things up from last night.  Putting the table back under the house, etc.  Kaoru and I spent a bit of time planning our next few days travel, and then it was time to get back on to cutting up the wood pile, and roping it together.  That kept us going until lunch time.

Lunch today was Japanese Curry, with noodles.  Delicious, as expected!

I had a Fitgenes meeting from 12.30 until 2.30, during which time Kaoru booked our accommodation, and Okasan and Ottosan went to the garden to do some watering.  After the meetings we cut some more wood, brought wood up to the house for tonights fire, and stacked what we had cut the last couple of days into the shed.  It was good being outside and getting some exercise, although I’m going to feel it tomorrow!  We had a break for some afternoon tea in the middle.

Back inside it was time for some beer, and start packing.  Packing always is hard to do – it means it’s time to leave.  We watched some more sumo wrestling for some entertainment, and passed the time until dinner time.  This included catching up on my blog, and also some more thoughts about our travels in Japan.

Dinner tonight was fish.  Kimmedaie, steamed, and half each.  It was delicious, and served in a light sauce that just added to the flavour.  Ottosan had a bottle sake from the local area, which is considered rich because the emperor has a house in the area.  Another delicious sake, and it seemed a waste to leave any as nobody else would drink it, so being the person I am, I “took one for the team” and finished off the bottle.  It was a struggle, but we had a great night talking, and when Kaoru was on the phone I was able to easily ask Okasan who she was talking to.

It wasn’t easy finishing the night as we were enjoying it, but eventually we came in to finish packing our bags, and Ottosan cleaned the kitchen up.  We watched a bit of TV and called it a night.

I slept in a bit this morning.  It was nearly 8.00 by the time I got up.  I had to quickly get dressed because I knew everybody would be waiting for me before starting breakfast!

Once the kitchen was cleaned up, we showed Okasan and Ottosan some photos of what we have been doing since we last saw them.  It’s always fun looking at old photos and remembering what we were doing at the time.

Lunch was served on a plate today!  We didn’t have to pick what we wanted from a dozen bowls!  Yakisoba noodles, and they were delicious!

After lunch, Kaoru and I went for a walk.  It was quite cold when we went up the hill – it wasn’t quite snow, but not far off it.  A little bit of rain, which made things cooler.  Kaoru then took me to the camp ground nearby.  In all the trips we have made to Nasu, she had never taken me there before.  It was quite interesting seeing a japanese campground.  The sites were very clean and neat, and also mostly powered.  The tents were quite large too.  There was a vending machine which I’m sure served alcohol!

Back at the house it was time to start work.  So we got the chain saw out and made a start on cutting Ottosan’s wood pile up for in 3 years time.  A neighbour had had some trees cleaned from his yard so a lot of the wood came back to Ottosan’s house.  Most of it had been cut up, so the hard work had been done.  But they were larger cuts than what was desired.  So Kaoru and I worked our way through the pile.

Kaoru’s favourite cousin (who I had never met before) then turned up with his wife and 3 kids.  They had been skiing for the day not far away, so came round to say hello on their way home.  The kids knew a bit of English, and while they spoke clearly, they had trouble understanding when I asked them some questions.  Still a good experience for them though.  They ended up staying for dinner, which was Shabu Shabu.  They all enjoyed catching up, and it was nearly 8.00 by the time they left for the 2-3 hour drive back to Tokyo.

We cleaned up and called it a day.  This has been a really relaxing trip so far!

I woke up a bit before the 7.00 chimes this morning, but relaxed in bed for a bit.  A few problems on the Inflatable World server, fixed by a simple restart of the MySQL service, and it was time for breakfast.

We pottered around the house for a while.  I got the second UFO configured back in the old main house, so there was good coverage around both houses and the entire property.  Then we went to their garden field.  I had gone there last time I was here, with Kenichi, Kozue, Mio and the kids – that time we were just cutting the baby bamboo to eat.  This time Kaoru and I started by filling watering cans from the stream to water the vegies, and then we had to cut down the tall bamboo trees that were too bushy, and overgrown, which were preventing new ones from getting enough light to grow.  They were much easier to cut than I was expecting.  The saw we used went through them very easily.  We then had to trim the branches and cut them to length.  I’m not sure what was going to happen from there.

We cleaned up and went to lunch.  This was at a pancake place that Ottosan likes.  We had to wait about half an hour to get a table but they were worth the wait!  I had a Danish pancake, which was more like shoe pastry, with banana, cream, cinnamon sugar and lemon.  Kaoru had a cheese fondou dish, which had 2 layers of buttermilk pancakes, a layer of meatloaf (very thin though), and another pancake.  It was surrounded with salad, and a nice dressing.  The drive through the countryside to these places was beautiful.  The mountains were topped with snow, and the mountain that we hiked through a few trips ago was visible.

On the way home from lunch we went to a grocery store to buy some supplies.  The sushi platters were as amazing as always to look at!  We stocked up on sake as well as some more food.  Then it was back to the house for a siesta.  We slept for an hour or so.  I got the fire going as it was starting to cool down, and did a bit of studying while we watched sumo wrestling.  Dinner tonight was sukiyaki, with sake, and some more conversation.

Kaoru and I watched some TV while Okasan and Ottosan tidied up and had a bath.  Then we had a bath and crashed.  This mountain air is really making me tired!

My alarm went off at 7, just before the main clock started its chimes. The wood stove had all but gone out so it was quite cool. I got dressed and opened the outside shutters and there was a thin layer of snow on the ground.

Japanese style breakfast was a great start to the day and then i had to race off for a Fitgenes meeting. That took an hour or so.

We passed the day pretty relaxing. I got a few work things done and had a Japanese lesson at 2. We had a bit of a sleep too. Okasan and ottosan had to go out to their garden (which is a 10 minute drive away).

Kaoru cut up some sushi to have with dinner which mio had sent for us. That was accompanied with nabe and of course some sake! I practiced some more Japanese and reviewed a number of my previous lesson notes to try to pull things together.

After a bath we were ready to call it a night.

I woke up about 6.00 local time, which was quite impressive!  Kaoru, Mio and Arisa were awake (Arisa was getting ready for school).

To make things interesting, a few servers back home had crashed, so I emailed Sparky and had breakfast.  Afterwards I gave him a call and he was just getting them back up, so crisis averted, but it was an annoying start to the “holiday”.

We packed the small suitcase that I brought to Japan (I brought it empty, for Kaoru to be able to fill with any food she wanted to bring back).  It was much easier than carrying a bag so a good idea.  I still had my backpack for my computer, and a few other things had to go in there.  Once ready, Mio drove us to the train station.  It took us 3 trains, and about half an hour, to get to Tokyo station, where we purchased our Shinkansen ticket for Nasu.  We had just missed a train so had 45 minutes to kill.

It was about 11.20, but I was getting hungry so we had some lunch and relaxed for a bit, before doing some quick shopping for a treat, and then we caught the Shinkansen.  We hadn’t purchased reserved seats, thinking it would be quiet, but the platform was very busy!  We considered upgrading but decided against it.  Luckily we were able to find 2 seats next to each other.  I got a little bit of work done on the train, and we arrived at Nasu on time (no surprise there) after about 1 hour of travel.

At Nasu we changed to a local train – we had to wait 30 minutes so we must have just missed one.  But eventually we arrived at the local station, and Okasan and Ottosan were there waiting for us.  The first place they took us was the local shopping centre.  Ottosan had to pick up some new glasses.  It was nothing like a Tokyo shopping centre – more like a Melbourne Home Center!  I had a look around their equivalent of Bunnings and was tempted to buy a laser tape measure (~$50, reduced from $90!) but fought the urge.  We looked around the camping section, and it was quite interesting seeing what they had.  A lot of things that were Coleman brand, but different designs to what we have, for the Japanese market.  There was even a camp table with a burner in the middle!

Our next destination was a hotel.  Apparently in Nasu, that’s the place to buy bread.  So we purchased a few things to eat over the next couple of days.  Then it was off to the house.

Kaoru came here last September so she had seen the extension on the house, but I hadn’t seen it yet.  The second house now has a washroom, bedroom and kitchen.  Still with the same sort of design.  It was amazing.  I could also see piles of chopped wood all over the back yard.  So somebody’s already done the work I was expecting to be doing!  I guess it’ll just be sharpening the blades for me this time.

We went inside and I had a proper look around the extension.  After some tea and the treats we bought back in Tokyo I got a bit of work done while Kaoru caught up with her parents.  But first I had to fix the internet coverage in the house.  The phone line is now running in the second house, with a different box (not the old router) so the UFO’s I had installed weren’t communicating properly.  Pretty easy to fix up, which got all of my devices working immediately as they had previously been connected.  We also made some labels with the SSID and password so whenever visitors came, they could easily find the password to get them on the WIFI.

Dinner was the usual feast, which no matter how full you were, you just can’t stop eating.  Ottosan bought out a bottle of sake for us to enjoy with dinner.  So I had to get used to the custom of pouring his drink and him pouring mine.  I fumbled my way through a bit of communication, stringing nouns and verbs together, but not really making much sense.

After dinner there were a few more work things that needed to be finished.  Then a relax in the new bath, and off to bed.

It was an early start for the trip. The alarm went off at 6.00. I was awake between 4 and 4.30, and it had been a late night as it was boys night last night, and then finish packing… but i got up, dressed, and called an uber which arrived about 3 minutes later. Off to the airport.

It was a quick check in, aided by the fact i was using more points and flying business class again😆. Once through i went straight to the lounge for some breakfast.

We got called for the plane but a minute later they retracted the call. An issue the engineers were looking at and would need another 40 minutes. Take your time guys! I don’t want to leave if it’s not all 100%. Eventually we took off about an hour late – just after 10.30.

I watched a few movies and slept a little bit on the flight (and consumed a bevvie or two) and before i knew it we were landing. Immigration was painless and my bags were ready by the time i had walked from our gate to the main terminal building. So i bought my bus ticket and waited 45 minutes.

The bus ride was just under 2 hours. I did some work on the bus so it went pretty quick. At Futako tamagawa station i got in a taxi which took me the rest of the way to Mio’s house. Yoichi had just gotten home and Kaoru was there. Mio was picking Arisa up from school (it’s about 9.30 by now mind you). We had a few drinks and eventually went to bed.