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.