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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Supplemental

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

…and then after the final trip from the kitchen…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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