My “bonus” day. I wanted to make the most of the extra time, so after breakfast and some work I caught the shuttle bus in to Narita. I had a walk around, including a stop at the 7-ll for a cold drink, and then to the local temple. I stopped and saw “unigi” (eel) being prepared (a place Kaoru and I had eaten at several years ago when we were here) on the way. The temple was having some work done – it was the 1080th anniversary so they were putting a totem pole-type-thing up in the middle of the courtyard outside the main temple. I walked around and had a good look at the temple, taking my time.

I walked around the town a bit more and made my way back to the station, to catch a shuttle back to the hotel. I did some work back in my room and then went to lunch. Another buffet of food, but it’s not as enjoyable without Kaoru around. I feel like an unknowledgable tourist rather than a local. So this is what it’s like for normal people. I got the soft boiled egg and the sauce to go with it, but didn’t know how to crack the egg and mix it – little things like that which I take for granted usually when I’m here.

After a quick shower I finished packing my bags and left the room about 2.00. I checked out and decided not to catch the 2.20 bus, but rather the 3.05. I would rather wait in the hotel lounge (comfortable chairs) than the airport (sitting on the floor). So I passed the time, and got to the airport about 3.15 to join the check-in line. It opened at 3.45. My flight still wasn’t showing up on the Qantas app, but it was showing a points deduction for an upgrade, which was interesting. Hopefully a good sign. Sure enough, yep, I was upgraded to business!

Customs and immigration was smooth and quick (even with all the duty free receipts they had to take out of my passport), and after a quick walk through the airport I went in to the lounge to get some work done. We boarded about 10 minutes late, but we were looking good for me to get home in comfort, and earlier than normal (so hopefully less traffic for the drive home).

Once I arrived at Melbourne, things were pretty quick and smooth.  Although I had to wait 15 minutes before bags started to come.  Immigration was easy as Kaoru had written down everything that was in my suitcase so I just handed them the piece of paper.  They looked at it and waved me through.

(My) last day. It’s always sad when I have to work out what to do on my last day of holiday. After breakfast I put the last few things in my suitcase and closed it, and got some work done. We left about 9.45 with 2 suitcases and my backpack, and went to Futago Tamagawa station.

We started by going to the lounge that Mio is a member of, and asked if we could leave my bags with them for a few hours. They said no, but that there was somewhere on the 3rd floor that we could. We stayed in the lounge and had a tea and considered lunch. The place we had in mind, Mio thought would be busy, so she ducked out and got a ticket for us. They open at 11, but tickets become available from 10ish, and if you’re not there when your ticket is called you miss out. We got number 15, so that was good – we would be having an early lunch.

After we finished tea, we made our way with bags to the information desk on the 3rd floor to check them in. Then I said goodbye to Mio, as I may not be seeing her again. She had to go to Arisa’s school for something. It’s always sad leaving her because she’s so hospitable. Then it was off to the post office – Mum had given me something from a friend of hers to post internally, rather than having to send it from Australia.

We rushed to the restaurant as it was a few minutes to 11 and we didn’t want to lose our place in line. So we headed up to the 6th floor, but we were in the wrong tower! We were now in a rush, and had to go down, change towers, and go back up. We got to the restaurant just as they were calling number 1. So we were all good. What was strange, is that they called people very slowly – it was a couple of minutes between each. I’m presuming so as not to overload the chefs. Eventually we were called and taken to the counter (there were a couple of numbers called where the person wasn’t there and missed out).

We didn’t know what to eat, but there was a “current special” so we went with one of those, and then ordered a few extra things that we like. It was probably 30 minutes before we started eating, so we were now at a normal lunch time. As we got a seat at the counter the chef said he will just give us food as it’s ready, rather than on a big tray (like they do to the tables). We ate and ate, and then ordered some more. We were the last people to leave from our “set” – they had already started sitting people for the next set! We were really stuffed by the end of it. But it was our only really big sushi meal for the trip so had to make the most of it!

After lunch we walked aimlessly for a while; well there was a bit of an aim – I wanted an iced macha latte. We eventually found one in the food court downstairs. They didn’t have seats but there were seats nearby so we sat there. Next to them was a “display” of some muffin-type things filled with white cream and macha cream, so I thought I’d better buy one of them. It was OK, but looked better than it tasted. We then got up to have a toilet break when Mio arrived.

We did some shopping with her – I saw a wagyu beef scotched egg croquet, which just sounded too good to be true. I couldn’t eat anything but thought it would be good for on the way to the airport. We then went to the 6th floor food exhibition and walked around there for a while. We ended up tasting a plate or two, and then it was time to go. We went to the 3rd floor to get the bags and then to the bus terminal. I bought some beer for the bus trip, said goodbye to Mio (again) and then Kaoru, and boarded the bus for Narita.

On the way I looked at the Qantas app on the phone and it said something about flight delayed. But the time was 1845 (supposed to be 2005) so I didn’t take much notice of it. Once at the airport, the fun began. Kaoru had found out that yes, the flight was delayed until tomorrow. I stood in line waiting for check-in to open and a few of us started talking, trying to put some puzzle pieces together. But we were left with no information until check-in actually opened. So sure enough the plane hadn’t left Melbourne, and we weren’t flying out. So I was given hotel details and hopped on the bus. Kaoru and I talked about me staying longer and going to Tokyo (might increase the chances of a business class upgrade) but I stuck with the simple option. And it wasn’t worth Kaoru coming out to join me for the night as she was supposed to go back to Nasu.

When I checked in I was given 3 food vouchers – dinner, breakfast and lunch. I also had late check-out (2pm) so less time to have to kill at the airport tomorrow. So I went for dinner but was still full from lunch so couldn’t eat much and was feeling bloated. I bought a drink from the vending machine on my floor and then decided that I should check out the night life in Narita. So I got on the next shuttle bus for town.

It was < 15 minutes to town. I messaged Rod Andrewartha (old skydiving pilot, who flys to Narita regularly in the 747’s) and asked for recommendations of where to go. We had a few messages back and forth during the night, and I ended up going to 3 different bars. All were full of English speaking people – air crew put up overnight. So wasn’t very exciting. I caught the bus back to the hotel, had a bath and went to bed.

Our last full day in Tokyo. I woke about 7.30 so had a great sleep and was feeling fine. Mio and Youichi were worried about me as they hadn’t seen me look that bad before – they had already told Kaoru that the ambulance station is only a couple of minutes away! I had breakfast and we left to start our day about 9.00 with a walk to the station.

We started with our customary trip to Harajuku to visit and pray at Meiji Jingu. Then a walk around Harajuku to Togu shrine, and then completed our walk through Takeshita street, via Daiso for some supplies. The Daiso on Takeshita street has had renovations and now has a Bic Camera in it! So we looked around there too.

We had finished this part of our day, and got to Ebisu around 11.40 – a bit early for our 12.15 meeting, but I called Gary and he managed to get there a bit early. He and Rikuko wanted to take us to a soba restaurant that they say is the best soba in Tokyo. I don’t really notice the difference to be honest – and we had to wait in line for 15 minutes to get in which gives it a cross to me 🙂 But it was good spending time with them and we had a great time together.

We said goodbye after lunch and walked around Ebisu shopping center for a while as Kaoru said it’s nice. Then it was off to Shinjuku for some more shopping. We went to a Daiso there (as the one in Harajuku didn’t have something we needed). Then it was off to the bookshop. Kaoru had reserved a number of books the other day when she went in by herself, but needed my passport to buy them tax free. So now my bag was heavy, so we went back home.

We walked to Mio’s from the station and were back about 5.30; so had a quick beer and then the 5 of us went out to dinner (this was the first dinner we had shared with Arisa as she had been at Juku every other night). We went to “New Texas” which was a steak restaurant. We had been there before but it was a great meal. And then it was back to Mio’s for finishing packing, and then some drinking, bath and bed.

I was up about 7 this morning. We had breakfast, mucked around and left about 9. We had to walk around the corner to the bus stop. About 10 minutes later the bus arrived. We got off after about 25 minutes and then had a 5 minute walk to Minami’s school. We arrived just as she was getting ready for her first performance, so timed it well!

It took us a while to find Kenichi and Kozue (and Kenichi’s parents) but we finally found them. They had a great spot as Kenichi had arrived at 5.30 in the morning to reserve it! They had a couple of rugs out, and some small seats, and plenty of food and drink. So we said hello and sat down. Within minutes Minami came out for her first performance which was a dance. As she takes lessons she was one of the better ones, so up the front. And on the end, meaning she was right in front of us.

After the dance they all ran off the stage / arena, and the next sport started (running). The whole sports day was most enjoyable to watch. The organisation of the groups – all different year levels – showed the effort the teachers had put in to it. And the kids did it with complete commitment.

Minami came over to join us at lunch time – Kozue had prepared sandwiches, fried pork, edamame, etc. After lunch she went back to get ready for the afternoon events she was competing in. I had to go to the toilet, which was an experience in itself. As I first walked in to the building there were tarps all over the floor. Usually the kids have to take their shoes off as they walk in, and wear different shoes inside. Amazing to have it going right from elementary school! In Australia the shoes would be stolen by some bully! However at the actual toilet there were no tarps down, so I still had to take my shoes off there and put on “toilet slippers”. Washing my hands was a struggle because the sink was so low!

Lunch was followed by a marching band – the whole band (including conductor) were probably grade 4. In typical Japanese form everybody did their job. The next event Minami was in was a weird “3 person” race. There were two teams of about 30 people each, in groups of 3. So 3 people had to run a short distance, pick up a pole (one on each end and one in the middle), run to a witches hat, turn around (so one kid being the anchor and the one on the other end having the furthest to run), then run back and put the pole down on its support. Once they had then ran back to the group, the next group of 3 went. This was quite amuzing to watch.

The next challenge was the parents and teachers “tug of war” event. So out Kenichi and I went to represent the family. There were a lot of people really committed to the event – they had brought gloves along! I had thought about it at one point but didn’t actually do anything about it – wish I had! There was one “war”, and then we all swapped sides and had another. We lost the first and won the second. But no decider.

Minami competed in a running race. She wanted to come first but made second (out of 5 in her heat). There were several other events during they day, including racing walking a giant ball around a course, grade 1’s shooting baskets, and even human pyramid’s. Apparently this was disappointing to Kaoru because they only built 3 levels, whereas when she was in school they would build much higher. Watching the synchronised building was fantastic though!

After the closing ceremoney we went back to Kozue and Kenichi’s and had a couple of beers and a chat. Kenichi’s parents were apparently nervous to meet us but had said afterwards that they enjoyed it and just wished they could speak English so we could communicate better. They used to live in Himeji so being able to talk about the beauty of that from our visit was great. We then went to dinner which was at a Nepalese restaurant, where we met up with Mio and Youichi as well. The food was spicy and Kaoru asked them about nuts. Apparently almost everything would have some form of nuts in it. So a vegetable curry came out to me. I had a couple of mouthfuls with some naan bread, and then started feeling ill. So either there were nuts in it, or there’s something else I’m allergic to that is in Nepalese food. This had happened to me a few years ago at a Sri Lankan restaurant, where the owner swore there were no nuts, so I guess it’s possible. So I struggled to maintain composure for a while until we had finished our meal, said goodbye, got in the car with Mio and Youichi and then just zoned out. We got back to the house and Mio served me some apple which was great as I needed some food and sugar (but couldn’t eat much). I was very tired from my body fighting it so I went to bed about 7.30.

Kaoru wanted to do some shopping so left early (about 8.00).  I got up, and Mio cooked breakfast for me.  The cleaner arrived at 9, and we left the house about 9.40 for the shopping centre.  Mio had some shopping to do, so I said let’s meet back in an hour, so I could walk around at my own pace and she could get things done.

I had a leisurely walk around the shopping centre, and bought myself a soft serve to keep me going.  We met again at 11.15 at the bookshop / cafe, and walked to another section which had an exhibition – I think invitation only.  They had some wines / champagnes on display and tasting, so I sampled the $250 bottle of champagne while the guy explained it to Mio (she was driving so couldn’t taste any).  We then went to the sake’s, and this guy spoke English so I had to listen to him while tasting.  I went through 4 there, and passed on the 5th.

Kaoru managed to find us just as we were leaving.  She hadn’t ended up buying anything as she didn’t have her visa with her to show that she doesn’t live in Japan.  We went for lunch, but the line at the first place we had in mind was too long, so we ended up at an eel restaurant.  It wasn’t air conditioned though, and was hotter than outside the restaurant so very uncomfortable.  We ate and left as soon as we had finished, and went outside for some fresh air.

Kaoru and I left Mio for a bit, as Kaoru wanted to look at some things in Uniqlo.  Then we met again at the massage place, where I had my first reflexology.  Mio and Kaoru left me for an hour to do some things while I relaxed and had a fantastic treatment.  The therapist spoke some English so we were able to converse – I found out she had been to Melbourne and Sydney when she was 19.  My thought was that she wouldn’t be more than 21 now – but she said “long time ago”.  You never know with Japanese people!

After the session she said she would talk to my wife as she didn’t know the translations for what she needed to explain “about my body”.  Kaoru and Mio arrived about 5 minutes later, and she came out and said that my “liver had pain” :).  Side effect of last night, perhaps? 🙂  We then went upstairs to another bookshop, where Arisa was reading a book.  We split up and I walked around this shop for a bit to see the various sections.  Kaoru showed me a WordPress book she wanted to buy, but we were going to get it another day when it was tax free (different store).  Mio, Kaoru and I then went to a coffee shop – I had an iced chocolate, Kaoru had an iced tea, and Mio had an iced coffee.  We also shared an apple pie.  It was bloody expensive!  Oh well.  Mio left us to take Arisa to Juku, and came back 15 minutes later.

We found an ATM as Kaoru was running low on money, and then went back home.  The cleaner was still there finishing off a few things.  We sorted out our suitcases, and worked out how we were going fitting everything in.  It was hot so I needed the air conditioner on to keep going.  We then went downstairs and I caught up on my blog, and then the 3 of us ate dinner.  I had a bath and when I came back downstairs Youichi was home from work and eating his dinner. We had a couple of drinks but i was quite tired so we went to bed.

Again, the sun woke be up – but this time it was 4.00!  So I went back to sleep.  We had breakfast at 8 (similar to yesterday’s), and a nice relaxing morning.  It was a beautiful day – sun was shining and definitely shorts and T shirt weather!  After some cleaning up, we left the house at 11ish and went for lunch. We ate at a Chinesey restaurant. Kaoru wanted ramen so we ended up at this place.  I had an assortment of gyoza and Xiao Long Bao, which was delicious!  We managed to pay for this meal with Okaasan and Ottosan.

After lunch we walked to the station – because of the roadworks near the station it would be difficult to drive through, and it was < 5 minutes away.  So we said goodbye and made our way.  We had about 10 minutes to wait, which gave us time to buy a beer and some chocolate, and then caught the train to Nasushiobora.  There we had about 6 minutes before the Shinkansen left, to change platforms.  We were still walking to the “non reserved seats” section as the train pulled in.  We had to go all the way up to car 2 in order to find 2 seats next to each other, but eventually we were seated and on the way.  I worked the whole way to Tokyo unfortunately so didn’t get to enjoy the trip.  Kaoru managed a bit of sleep.

We went to Daimaru, which was quite a mission.  We had to go to the 13th floor to get a 5% off coupon (for travellers).  Then back down to the 1st floor to buy some sweets as gifts for people.  The 5% doesn’t work on food though.  Once we had bought it all, we had to go back to the 13th floor to get the GST refund.  So a bit of stuffing around, but all worked out in the end and killed some time.

We then went to a cafe and had an iced macha while I tried to finish the work I had been doing on the train.  We realised we didn’t have time to go back to Mio’s before meeting up with Mikiko and Yoshi for dinner.  So we went to Shibuya to get some of our shopping out of the way.  Kaoru wanted to buy some cosmetics, and then we went to Don Quiote where I decided to buy a USB Type C => Ethernet adapter for my laptop, and a USB hub.  I also got Darren a micro SD card.

We met up with Mikiko and Yoshi just after 6, and had a fantastic dinner with them (and beer, and sake……).  They had moved to Japan in August.  So we had a great catch up with them.  We were told last drinks, so it must have been a sitting that we were there for.  So we paid the bill and said goodbye.  We decided we could have a few drinks in Shibuya and then pick Arisa up from Juku on our way home and give Mio and Yoichi a night where they don’t have to go out later.  So we called Mio, but Arisa was already at home and in bed!  So instead we caught the train back to Sakura Shinmachie, and met them at the Italian restaurant for a couple of drinks and some food.  We then went back to their house and had several whisky’s, and Youichi showed us a number of the watches in his collection.  There were some amazing watches in there, and hearing the prices he paid just blew my mind.  We went to bed way too late.

I woke up as it got bright but when I looked at the time it was only 5.00!  This was worse than Brisbane in summer time!  I managed to fall back asleep and got up a bit before 8.  Everybody else was up so we had breakfast which consisted of pizza toast, left over chicken and sashimi, rice, etc, etc.  We packed up and left at 9.00.  Last thing I did before leaving (with advice) was changed in to jeans and brought my jumper.  I didn’t think I’d need them but I’m glad I brought them!

The car needed petrol so I had my first experience at a service station.  And was it service!  We didn’t need to leave the car, as it was filled and ALL windows cleaned with a rag while we waited!  We then drove to a friends field, which is a bit further away than Okaasan and Ottosan’s.  This was somebody Okaasan went to school with and by coincidence lives in Nasu too now.  She had tomatoes in the field, and they don’t like the rain so we were to put a cover up over them.  Various parts were laying on the ground at the end of the field.  It didn’t take us long to put up and cover with the sheet – certainly easier given my height.  I don’t know how they will go taking it down!  It was enjoyable, but a bit chilly on that side of the mountain so I had my T shirt, long sleeve T, and jumper on, and was comfortable.

Our next destination was the Sapporo Brewery.  Another friend of their’s had some art showing in an exhibition there so we went to see her and her work.  It was the first time we had been to that brewery.  We saw a group of people brewing their own beer, so that’s on our list for a future trip!  They also had a tasting board – 5 beers for 700 yen so I gave that a go.

It was approaching lunch time – Okaasan had a Raman place in mind but when we got there it was closed (Wednesday’s).  So we went to the place we have been before (where we caught the fish when the kids were up here).  The owner had just gotten back from a visit to Cairns, where his granddaughter is studying.  We had soba instead of raman.  On the way out, one of the staff asked Kaoru what words / phrase to use in English for “dipping the soba noodles in the broth”.

We went back to the house for a siesta which was nice and relaxing.  I then got a bit of work done, and had a beer (or two) while watching the sumo, before dinner.  Tonights dinner was a bit more western style – Hamburg Steak with salad, Karage and vegies.  After dinner we watched some TV, had a bath and called it a night.

We woke up naturally this morning, with my phone turned off so no annoying facebook crap.  After a shower we went to breakfast.  We wanted to go to the food court area across from the hotel, but it was closed!  We couldn’t believe it, as it was nearly 8.30.  So we ended up at a Pronto bar in the train station.

After breakfast we went back to our room to re-pack everything, and checked out of the hotel.  We walked around the train station, and caught a 10.02 train back to Tokyo.  I spent the trip on the laptop, tidying emails, and working on a number of things.  We got to Tokyo about 1.30, and made our way to the north bound Shinkansen section.  We didn’t have reserved seats for this leg of the trip – even though it would be free for me (with my JR Pass), it would cost an extra $10 for Kaoru, and because we were getting on at Tokyo (start of the line) with time to spare, we thought we’d take the gamble.  We bought some food while we were waiting, but were at the front of the line so the gamble paid off – we got a seat.

More work (and blogging) and we eventually arrived at Nasushiobara.  We then changed for Kuroiso (one stop) where Okaasan and Ottosan picked us up.  We started by going to the field to pick some vegies.  It had really taken off with the weather!  We then went to visit the owner of the field to drop some vegies off, and pick some up from them, and then we finally arrived at the house.  We sat outside and had a drink and snack until the bugs got to be too annoying – they were bitey ones, but not serious bites.

We went inside for dinner, which was sashimi and chicken, served with sake (with Okaasan) and beer (with Ottosan).  We ate for an hour or so – it was sooo delicious!  Dessert was strawberries with milk and sugar (but no strawberry spoon :().  After dinner we skyped Mum and Dad to say hello, watched TV for a while, had a bath and called it a day.

We got to wake up at our own pace this morning.  Unfortunately that got interrupted by my phone beeping.  It doesn’t check for email overnight but seems Facebook isn’t as good at controlling times to let you sleep.

After a shower we went to a cafe and I had french toast and orange juice for breakfast.  We went back to the room and tidied up a bit, and left to start the day about 10.00.  We started by going to the bus ticket office and bought a return ticket to Mt Shosha by bus, but also includes return on the ropeway.  It was about a 20 minute bus ride and a 5 minute ropeway ride to the top.  We had a good walk around and admired the numerous sites.  This included a Buddah that is supposed to heal you if you pray correctly.  We also had Udon noodles for lunch, along with an ice cream waffle sandwich.

Walking further around we saw all of the buildings.  There was an area that has been used in many films, including The Last Samurai.  It was a beautiful area, although very hilly and steep.  Eventually we made our way back to the ropeway where a car was waiting for us (left about 30 seconds after we got on!).  We had to wait about 20 minutes for the bus but eventually we were back in Himeji.

Our next destination was a Sake brewery Kaoru had found.  The little map Kaoru had picked up at the Information Centre indicated it was quite close, but the level of detail was pretty poor.  We found a city map and couldn’t map one to the other!  Some locals saw us looking at the map and asked if they could help (again, really friendly people).  We said (in English) that we wanted to go to the Sake Brewery and they didn’t know where it was.  They spent a while looking at the map and scratching their heads, until I eventually said Daijobu (don’t worry about it) and took the map off them and we made our way.  I punched “Sake Brewery” into Google Maps and it came straight up, so we were fine.

It took us about 20 minutes to get there, but it was nice seeing the other side of town.  Eventually we found the brewery, which had a London double-decker bus out the front (no idea why).  We walked around the brewery but were only allowed in 2 of the old (retired) buildings, and weren’t allowed in the working brewery.  We then went to the gift shop to do some tastings.  I didn’t find any that I really liked but it was interesting comparing the differences between them – especially as they had processed and un-processed sake’s there.  They also had a liquor sake (37%) which was sweet, but again, not quite my thing.  At the end we tasted some “amazake” which is the fermented koji with rice, so it was thick (and lumpy with bits of rice) but quite sweet (and non-alcoholic).  Kaoru bought a few “care packages” of food to take to the family and we left, but not without stopping at an ice cream shop that was in the brewery, which poured mirin on the ice cream.  We were able to taste some mirin from the bottle (using a spoon, of course!) which was nice and sweet, but you couldn’t taste it on the ice cream.

We walked back to town, and went to Uniqlo for some shopping.  We then went to the Lawsons outside the hotel and bought a drink which we had back in our room before going to dinner.  I wanted to have Anago, which is a type of eel which the area is famous for.  Kaoru found a “dodgy” shop (down a lane way) that we could go to, and we ordered an assortment of food to try it.  It was very nice – probably not covered in as thick a sauce as eel usually is.

We went back to Lawsons and bought some dessert (Huggen Daas, and a “cheap” ice cream Kaoru used to have as a child) and another drink, and back to our room.  After dessert we had a bath, watched some TV and called it a night.

The alarm was set for 6.30 to make sure we didn’t miss our trains.  But I didn’t sleep as well, and we were both awake at 6, so we decided to leave early and use any extra time for breakfast.  We got dressed and left the house, and walked to Sakura Shinmachi station in time for a 6.52 train.

We got to Shinagawa and were hoping to go to the stand up sushi restaurant that I’ve been to before, but they were closed.  How terrible!  So we ended up at a stand up don restaurant, where I had a tuna don, and Kaoru had a meat one.  There was lots of rice on it though, and Kaoru couldn’t eat much at all!  I got about half way through my rice (but ate all the tuna of course!).  Then it was on to the 8.05 Shinkansen.

Checking a few things on my computer back home, I noticed the NAS was down and I couldn’t get it going again.  I had to send a message to Sian and she had to go round to our house.  I called her (as voice calls on WhatsApp weren’t good enough for me to hear on a noisy train – not that the phone was much better but at least there wasn’t the 10 second delay!) and she managed to get power going (seems my UPS may have been the problem but won’t know for sure until I get home).  Thank god!

I got a few more work things done on the train, as well as a bit of a sleep (and maybe a beer or two :)), before arriving at Himeji at 11.46.  James (Kaoru’s friend from the UK, who came to our wedding in Japan) is working nearby for 12 months so that was our driver for Himeji on this trip.  He was running late to meet us though, so we dropped our suit case at the hotel and looked around the tourist information centre while we waited.

Once he arrived we walked to Himeji-jo (Himeji castle) and we booked on the “cruise” – basically a gondola ride around the moat.  We booked for about an hours time, so we went and had some lunch, and then came back for our ride.  We were given a straw hat to wear which was fun, and a life vest, which I think would drag you to the bottom with the weight of the auto-inflation system in it!

We spent a couple of hours walking around the castle.  It was huge, and has featured in a number of movies including You Only Live Twice.  They had an app, which we downloaded, which had “Augmented Reality”.  There were areas where we could hold the phone and it would show some photos or a video explaining a bit of history.  After the castle we went to the garden next door (it was only an extra 40 yen on the ticket price) which was very photogenic.  We then made our way back to the hotel.  An old man came up to us and started talking to us in English.  He wasn’t saying much but obviously wanted to practice or show off that he could do it, so we humoured him for a while.  We then continued on our way, where another person stopped us to have a chat!  It was a really friendly town.

At the hotel we checked in to our room.  The bed was massive!  I think it was 2 double beds pushed together!  I don’t know where they got a fitted sheet big enough to fit, let alone the doona.  It was after 6 and we were starting to get hungry so we went back outside and looked for somewhere to go.  Kaoru asked James if he had done Shabu Shabu before, which he hadn’t, so the decision was made.  There was a restaurant just across from the hotel, which was all you can eat for 100 minutes, for about $30/head, which included all you can drink (soft drink) and ice cream bar.  So we made the most of that and were quite full by the time we were kicked out.

We went to the convenience store to buy a couple of drinks and went back to our room to consume them, and chat for a bit longer.  We then walked James to the station to ensure he didn’t miss the last train (11.17).  Back at the hotel we went to the 4th floor to enjoy the bath.  It wasn’t an onsen so the water didn’t feel as nice, but it was certainly hot!  It had been a long day and the time to unwind before calling it a night was great.

I slept really well last night.  No surprise.  I went downstairs for breakfast – Yoichi had already left for work and Mio and Kaoru were chatting.  So after a breakfast of scrambled egg on (ultra-thick) toast with a side of garlic prawns, I was ready to start the day.  First thing was organise our bags a bit so we had some space in our room!

Mio drove us to the train station at 10.30, dropping Arisa off at school at the same time.  We started by going to Asakusa because there was a big festival there and Kaoru wanted to show me a big crowd.  It wasn’t as crazy as I thought – I was expecting an extra 50% people at least!  But we walked around and had some food.  It was quite warm.  We ate Takoyaki first, which were massive bits of tako, but wasn’t cooked well and, to be honest, not good at all.  We went in to a shopping strip and bought Sakura Ice Cream Sandwich, which was nice and refreshing in the heat.  I was still a bit hungry so we finished that off with Pork Kushiyaki (grilled on a skewer).

We made our way back to the train station and then went to Akihabara for a massage.  We managed to get in to the same place we went last time (and the time before – 3000 yen for 60 minutes) with just a 20 minute wait.  We wanted to sit down in a cafe after that but they were too busy, so we went on to Shibuya and found a cafe there.  I had an iced chai latte and Kaoru had a cafe latte; we also ordered an apple crumble (which unfortunately had walnuts in it so Kaoru had to eat it) and a strawberry cake.

We went shopping at Bic Camera for some alcohol.  Last time I bought a bottle of Nikka 12 Year whisky which I really enjoyed so needed to replenish it.  Kaoru wanted a bottle of Bailey’s and a bottle of Yuzu.  I also got a 6 pack of Suntory Premium Malts, which came with a top to the can, with a pourer that does frothing as well.  Probably doesn’t work but a fun novelty.

We looked further and I noticed some drones.  I thought it might be a good toy and Kaoru really wanted one too.  I found a unit for ~AU$150.  It would be AU$168+shipping in Australia so despite the extra weight to have to carry, I bought it.  That was duty free, plus a further 5% discount for paying by AMEX.

We were pretty loaded up now so made our way back home.  Kaoru spoke to Mio on the way and found out she had missed a number of messages from Mio during the day – we were going to be cutting it fine for our dinner booking.  They met us at the station and we caught a taxi to the Kushiage restaurant.  Ageru means deep fried, and Kushi is on a skewer.  Note we had Kushiyaki for lunch (skewer but cooked on a grill – Yaki).  We had a sauce to dip (no double dipping allowed!) the food in before eating it.  Nice, but not as keen on the deep fried foods.

Youichi left early to pick Arisa up from school.  Mio, Kaoru and I caught a taxi back to the house maybe 15 minutes later, and we actually were back first.  Kaoru had a bath, and I stayed to talk to Youichi and Mio.  I then had a bath, and we packed our bags for the next part of our adventure, and were off to bed.

Kaoru’s Birthday  Trip!

The alarm went off at 5.00.  A couple of snoozes and we got up, finished a couple of things, and called our “Ola” to take us to the airport.  Uber is starting to give me the shits so time to try a new service.  Not a good start as the first driver didn’t seem to come and get us (went over the West Gate bridge instead of turning off) but the second one got us there OK.

We checked in (I got a business class upgrade so it was pretty quick), and then after a quick look at the duty free shops, it was in to the lounge.  We went to the Amex lounge first as Kaoru’s Amex has 2 passes, and we wanted to see what it was like.  We didn’t want to use her pass to get in though, so we asked if we could just have a quick look around, as it’s new.  It was quite small, but nice.  Then we went in to the Qantas lounge, where I had a shower, and we finally ate breakfast.

We passed the time until boarding the plane for the long flight to Tokyo.  I told the steward that my wife was in Economy so he went back and gave her some special treatment.  And I went back to say Hello a few times.  About 2 hours out of Tokyo the chief steward asked where she was sitting.  Next thing I knew, I saw her sneak in (with him) to the back row of Business Class!  So I moved my seat (from 4 window to 7 centre) so I could sit next to her.  He then brought her a glass of champagne!

We enjoyed the rest of the flight and eventually landed.  Immigration was the most amazing I have ever seen.  No queue at all, and I thought we were going to be waiting for ages for our bags to come off – but no, they came almost straight away too!  Once through immigration Kaoru had a look at the bus times, and there was a 7.05 one – we were expecting to have to catch a 7.30 one, so that sounded good, but we only had about 15 minutes.  I ran downstairs to get my JR Pass while Kaoru bought our tickets.  There was a long line for the JR exchange and I had pretty much given up on the idea of getting the early bus.  But once I had my pass I ran upstairs, looked around for Kaoru, heard her call me and I just ran in the direction of her voice.  We raced outside, to the bus rank, and within 20 seconds the bus arrived.  I didn’t have time to buy my customary beer for the trip, but we were on our way.

At Futako Tamagawa we caught a taxi to Mio’s – easy to do (I’ve done it on my own before!), where she and Yoichi were.  We ate and I had a much-awaited Suntory Premium Malt, and then Yoichi had to go and pick Arisa up from school (this is about 10.30pm local time, mind you).  We chatted for a bit, but I was pretty tired (I hadn’t slept well the previous night) so I went to bed about 11.30.

Our last day.

We had a late start to the day.  There was no real rush, so we got up, and went across to Segafredo for our last breakfast.  Once back at the room, Kaoru decided she wanted to re-pack the bags, so I put them up on the bed and she shuffled things across the three suitcases.  I had a shower, and finished off a couple of things that needed doing, and thought about how we would spend our last day here.

We checked out of the hotel a bit before 11 (which was check out time), leaving our bags at the hotel, and we caught a train to Todoroki Valley.  This is an area close to Mio’s and Kozue’s house.  It was a short walk from the train station, along which we went to the super market for a drink.  The valley was a little foresty area in the suburban jungle.  A stream ran through the middle of it.  It was a peaceful area, and very picturesque.  We even saw some artists down there painting.

We got to a temple (no surprise there), which we had to walk up several steps to see.  We had a bit of a walk around, and then started the walk back.  We didn’t want to stroll around the suburban area as we would get too far away from the station.  So we started walking back.  There were mosquitoes down here and Kaoru was getting bitten.  We saw a sign pointing to a tomb, so we ascended a truck-load of steps and followed my GPS to get there.  This was not what I had expected.  It was an above ground mound, maybe 50 feet high.  We climbed to the top and there was a description of the person buried there, and his weapons and armour also buried with him.

We managed to find another way back to the train station, so we didn’t need to go back down to the forest.  We caught a train a couple of stops, and then had to do the one thing we had not yet done this trip – sushi train.  We noticed an advertisement for this place on the train ride to Todoroki Valley, and Kaoru managed to find it.  It was only a 5-10 minute walk from the station.

Content that I had now completed all I needed to in this trip, we caught the train back to Shinagawa.  We still had some time to kill so stopped for a cold macha latte at the station.  We got our bags at the hotel and caught the bus from the hotel to the airport.  With 3 suitcases we didn’t bother with the train.

We were at the airport about an hour before check in opened.  So we posted off the wifi hotspot we had rented and passed the time.  We noticed the line was forming – even the business class one!  So we joined that about 15 minutes before check in opened.  Eventually we were able to check in.  Baggage was fine and all got Business Class labels on them.  We went through customs and waited in the business lounge for our flight to be called.

A fantastic holiday.  A bit too much work, unfortunately.  Especially Fitgenes.  But we got to see a few new areas, and the Marikart was an awesome experience!

We had a bit of a sleep in this morning. We met Michael and Leila at 9. They had checked out of the hotel so we had a last breakfast together at the bakery. Kaoru got food from the bakery this time but I stuck with my eggs benedict. Michael and Leila did the same as me.

After brekkie we came back to the hotel and Kaoru showed them a souvenir shop. But then it was time for us to say goodbye. It had been a most enjoyable 2 weeks (almost) and we certainly saw and did a lot.

Kaoru and I went back to our room to brush teeth and have a shower and then we left for our activities for the day. We caught the train to Harajuku and walked to a place Kaoru saw advertised on the tv when we were in sapporo. It was a tea museum.

The tour started with us trying a couple of teas. One was certainly more bitter than the other but they wouldn’t tell us why – that’s what the tour was all about!  We went upstairs and watched a few slides about tea and then listened to a talk. We were able to smell and feel a few different styles of tea. We were told (as far as i could tell through the translation) that all styles of tea come from the same plant, and the difference is in how it is treated – both during growing and processing.

The final part to our tour was a bit more interactive. We made the two teas that we had at the start. The first thing we did was measured a teaspoon of tea leaves in to each of two pots. We then poured hot water in to one of the cups in front of us. After half a minute we poured it from the first cup to the second cup. The instructor felt the second cup a couple of times and when she thought it was the right temperature we poured it in to the pot, waited 30 seconds and then poured it in to the cup. We then poured boiling water in to the cup, straight in to the pot, waited 30 seconds and then poured it back in to the cup. This showed the difference between brewing with 70 degree and 80 degree water. The taste and look were so much different. The lower temperature one was sweeter and clearer. Amazing to experience the difference.

Our last test was pouring hot water in to the cup, straight in to the pot, and straight back out. This had a different colour and taste again, and was probably my favorite, followed by the low temperature one. So all in all it was a very educational morning.

We left and headed towards takeshita street, looking for somewhere for lunch. We looked in a couple of places but it was all so over crowded with long lines. We found a place that sold japanese style spaghetti for lunch, which was delicious. We ordered a bolagnaise and a mixed (with egg, bacon and sesame) and shared them both.

We did a walk down takeshita street and went in to a couple of shops for some last minute items. We then caught the train from Harajuku to Shinjuku to do some more shopping at takashimaya department store. We took longer than expected, which included a tea stop as well. We didn’t get back to the hotel until after 5.

We had a short lay down but couldn’t postpone the inevitable any longer. We put our suitcases on the bed and got them unpacked and then packed properly for the flight home tomorrow. It took us until after 7.30 before we were complete, and we had some spare space and weight allowance so we were pretty happy with that.

We went for dinner above the train station. We saw people eating meet off a hung skewer, like when we went to the meat and wine co in Melbourne. So we were sold by that. It was a nice meal but not enough. We walked around Shinagawa a while and got back to our room, watched tv for a bit and went to bed.

I woke up feeling pretty seedy this morning.  Kaoru went out for coffee and bought me an electrolyte drink and a bun.  About 9.30 I got out of bed and went to Segafredo for some breakfast.  I messaged Kaoru and she joined me there.  We then went back to the room so I could have a shower.

Michael and Leila messaged saying they were going to Segafredo now.  So once we were organised we went over and joined them.  They both looked pretty tired too.

First job of the day was to go to the Shinkansen ticket office and arrange Michael and Leila’s tickets for the next part of their trip.  They could do it, as the ticket office speaks English, but it’s so much easier when Kaoru does.  It didn’t take long at all to arrange.  We then went upstairs and had an iced tea to decide on the rest of the day.

Plan A was that we were going to go to Shibuya and watch the AFL grand final, as Michael is a Richmond fan, and this is their first grand final in 35 years.  But then yesterday Gary had sent me a link about a sake festival and Michael was happy to miss the game to do that instead.  But this was all before a big night last night, and now we didn’t really feel like drinking all day.  So we came up with Plan C, which was to go to Ginza.

I needed a massage as I was quite sore.  I don’t think the pillow was very good at the hotel.  The others were all OK, so they weren’t interested, but Kaoru took me in to the place in Ginza to see when I could be done.  I couldn’t get in for 70 minutes though, so we made a booking, and then wandered around Ginza for a while.  At first we weren’t sure if Michael and Leila had been to Ginza before, but parts looked familiar once we were there.  We went to a few stores, got a bite to eat, showed Michael and Leila where the station was, and then Kaoru took me to the massage.  She was able to get one as well, which was great!

After the massage Kaoru had some shopping to do, so I went back to the hotel by myself.  I caught up on my blog, and then it was time to go to Mio’s. I bought a vitamin b drink on the way as i was going to need all the help I could get! We caught the train and walked from the station. My blisters were starting to really get sore.

Kozue, Kenichi and Minami were already there, as was Tomoko (a friend of Mio’s who I have met on a few occasions in the past), and another couple – he was a kiwi but has been living in Japan for 21 years so speaks fluent japanese, and she is japanese. They have 3 kids but they didn’t come.

After saying hello and exchanging gifts we made a start on the feast Mio had organized. At one stage Yoichi had to duck out to pick Arisa up from juku but after that he was allowed to start drinking. His birthday is tomorrow so a part of tonight is to celebrate that. And this was done in usual Mio’s bar form, by opening a bottle of vintage Dom Perignon. It was delicious. We also went through a bottle of Ichiros Malt (one which Mio had bought back in march) and put a dint in another bottle. We gave Yoichi his birthday present – a bottle of Hennessey XO, which is the expensive one he likes. We can never repay them for all they do for us so a good bottle that he appreciates is justified.

At around midnight we thought it was time to leave. I was getting a (dangerous) second wind, and Michael and Leila were struggling to stay awake. So we called a taxi to take us back home.

The alarm went off at 7.00 this morning.  I had a shower and a small nibble that we had bought last night, and worked until 8.  We then had a walk to the fish market in Sapporo.  It was about 20 minutes so by the time we got there we were all getting pretty hungry.  We found a little restaurant to eat in, where we all had a selection of mini don buri’s.  Afterwards we were allowed to take a photo holding their (fake) giant crab.  Lots of the restaurants had crab here, so it seemed quite common.

We walked back to the hotel, stopping to have a quick look at the Jim Beam festival that was set up.  It didn’t open until 10.00 though.  We went to our room and I did more work, we finished our packing, and checked out about 10.15.  We walked to the station, and got on the next train for the airport.

Checking in was easy!  We were even allowed to select exit row seats, at no extra charge!  Plus they were the only seats on the plane that had 2 next to each other.  We also went to level 4 where there was a “VR” show (although it wasn’t really VR) – we had been given tickets back at the food festival in Sapporo.  I’m glad we didn’t pay the 500 yen for it, but at the end we were (each) given a voucher for 500 yen off any purchase at a particular store in the airport!  So we went there and bought a few things, with a very nice saving.

We purchased a bento box each for lunch on the plane, and then rushed to the gate.  We had gotten to the airport nice and early, but how time flew!  Once on board we ate our lunch and then I slept for most of the flight to Haneda.  The Shinkansen was more fun than flying, but flying was a lot quicker!  We landed about 3.15 – so just a 2 hour flight.

We caught the train to Shinagawa and checked back in to Shinagawa Prince.  Our room was very disappointing.  Lower floor, noticably smaller, less seats…Our last room must have been a special as we were staying for 5 days.  This time it is only 3 days.  Michael and Kaoru got washing organised, and then everybody came to our room to chat and drink while the washing was going (I was working).  As soon as it came out of the dryer we rushed off to Ebisu station, to meet up with Gary and Rikuko for dinner.

We arrived just after 7.  The restaurant was a very authentic place.  We were in a “shoes off” area, on the floor, and for the first time, there wasn’t an area under the table so you could sit normally.  So it was quite uncomfortable but enjoyable.  Kaoru and Rikuko sat on their knees the whole time – it was amazing to see.  We drank sake, wine and beer, and the girls ordered some fantastic food for us all.

After dinner Gary had to meet a friend of his, as his daughter was in town and he wanted to say hello.  So we all got in a couple of taxis and ended up having to go through a secret door to get in to the bar!  It had only recently opened.  Inside I saw a familiar face – Neil, who I met to discuss Inflatable World with last time I was here.  So that was a surprise.  We stayed for a few drinks, but not too long as it wasn’t really what we were after.  Leila and Kaoru went back to the hotel, but Michael, Gary, Rikuko and I decided to go out for a few more drinks.  So we went to the gaigin bar Gary took me to when I was here in June, where we had a couple of drinks.  Then we went home.

My alarm went off at 5.30.  No surprise – Kaoru was out (in the onsen).  She came back just as I was getting out of bed.  I had a shower to wake me up and we went downstairs.

On the bus to the ropeway (cable car) I ate the breakfast I had bought last night.  It wasn’t much but kept me going.  It was quite cool – I had 2 t shirts, a long sleeve T shirt, and my jumper on.  I was OK but wouldn’t have wanted it to be any cooler.

We caught the ropeway up looking at the autumn colors, covered by cloud.  It was quite pretty.  There was a very light hint of rain and as we left the ropeway building we were able to grab a light waterproof overcoat and umbrella.  We walked around for a bit and enjoyed the scenery.  Then we went on top of the ropeway building.  This view was amazing!  in the 10 minutes we were up there it changed from foggy to clear to a white out!  I played around with the hyperlapse mode of my camera and got some good effects.

We caught the next cable car down and had to walk back to the hotel.  Luckily it wasn’t raining.  We walked through the village which was closed but quite quaint.  And then it was breakfast time.  Another buffet, but we didn’t go overboard today.  After breakfast I decided to have another onsen (I was the only person in there) and then we finished packing and went downstairs to check out just after 9.

I had a hot chocolate and we met Michael and Leila downstairs, and we boarded the bus at 9.30.  We drove for about an hour through some beautiful countryside, which took us to a spot where we had an hour to walk around.  We had a short hike but the view at the bottom was better than the top due to the fog / cloud.  It was also a few degrees cooler here than back at the hotel / ropeway we had been at earlier.  I’m glad I didn’t bring a jacket just for this but also glad it wasn’t any cooler.  Hard to believe I would have been fine in shorts back in Sapporo yesterday.

We were all back on the bus early so we left about 10 minutes ahead of schedule.  This meant we were going to be at lunch before they were ready for us so we made a slight detour to see a waterfall.  We weren’t allowed out of the bus because we would have been late but it was an impressive waterfall.

Lunch was at the same place as our second stop yesterday.  It was pretty average unfortunately.  It had tempura which I would have been happy to skip. But a beer helped wsh it down.  We had a look in the shop again and then reboarded the bus.

We all had a bit of a sleep on the next leg.  Our stop was the same as our first stop yesterday.  We bought a profiterole which was gigantic – famous in this area, apparently.  We also bought an ice cream which was very creamy and delicious, plus a beer for our final leg.

Finally, after a very enjoyable trip, we returned to Sapporo.  We said goodbye to our guide and walked back to our hotel to check in. I set up my computer to address a couple of quick things and we went to Michael and Leila’s room, to plan our next day.

For dinner we went to Bikkuri Donkey, which translates to “Surprise Donkey”.  We had a meals worth of jokes going about that!  It was a cheaper place where kids go after school, to get hamburg steak.  I had one with cheese and potato salad mixed through the mince.  It was quite nice!

We then went to a shopping centre for Leila to do some shopping.  Michael saw a label in the complex for a gaming centre so we had a look through there.  We couldn’t understand most of the games.  I had a go of the Japanese drums game, choosing a couple of classical tunes so I knew them.  It was fun and killed some time.

Back at the hotel (via 7-11, of course) we went to Michael and Leila’s room for some sake and sweets.  We went back to our room about 10.00 and went to bed.

I didn’t sleep very well last night. The work issues kept me up from about 3 for a while. So when we got up at 730 i really wanted a bit more sleep. But no time for sleep….There were things to do!

We went downstairs for breakfast just before 8. We had decided to have a buffet breakfast this morning so ate in the hotel. They served a western and a Japanese style breakfast. So we helped ourselves to a number of serves and were all quite full when we left. We planned to meet just before 11 to check out. I spent the next hour working while Kaoru got our bags organized.

For today we had packed my backpack as anovernight bag and put all we could in the small suitcase. We left this at the hotel when we checked out, and walked to the station. We went back to Dimarau and bought bento boxes for lunch. We killed the remaining timehaving a drink and snack at mister donut, and walked to the bus stop, where Kaoru checked us in for our tour.

There were about 20 people on our bus. We were easily the youngest, and the only non japanese. We left at 12.00. The bus was half full but the organizer had given us reserved seats so we were all up the front. My backpack wouldn’t fit up top so it was at our feet. We ate lunch and admired the scenery of outer sapporo.

After about an hour we made our first stop ata rest area with lots of food stands. So we made our way through them getting samples. Back on the bus we were told we can move so took the back where we could stretch out.  A couple of other people moved too, but not many.

We drove for about another hour and reached our next stop – i had a power nap onthe way. It was similar to the first stop but less samples. I bought a bottle of milky sake (for tonight) and a can of nikka whisky and soda (for the last leg). Michael and Leila bought a bottle of the local beer. So we enjoyed them for the last leg for the day, and arrived at our hotel in Sounkyo Mt Daisetsu.

We drove for about another hour and reached our next stop – i had a power nap onthe way. It was similar to the first stop but less samples. I bought a bottle of milky sake (for tonight) and a can of nikka whisky and soda (for the last leg). Michael and Leila bought a bottle of the local beer. So we enjoyed them for the last leg for the day, and arrived at our hotel in Sounkyo Mt Daisetsu.

We had a wander around the hotel – both inside and outside. We learnt there is a sisterhotel up the road and a shuttle bus connectsthem so we caught that and checked out that hotel too. It was much nicer! Oh well…

We caught the next shuttle back to our hotel and made it right on time for our dinner sitting – our tour group had been booked for 5.30. A little earlier than we would have liked but nothing we could do.

We overate… Lots…There was plenty of food,all japanese style, buffet. After a buffet breakfast we really didn’t need a buffet dinner. It was all we could do to stand up.

We went across the road to the 7-11; which is really the last thing you’d expect to see in a place like this (well, in any other country anyway). We wanted to buy some nibbles forthe morning as we have a tour at 6.00 am but breakfast isn’t until 7.30. It was amazing how crowded it was. There was even a “tax free” line, meaning people were buying over ¥5000 to take home with them. We didn’t buy much at all.

We all went back to our room for some sake and a chat. Then Kaoru and i went to the onsen. Michael and Leila wanted to go later. The men’s one wasn’t too crowded (the women’s was though, Kaoru told me) – there might have been 10 other guys? At first i wasa bit uncomfortable about getting nude in a room full of strangers but once i was down there and washing i felt fine. I had gotten used to it on our March trip and the feeling came back.

I went in the 40 degree one. But even that was too hot for me. I lasted maybe 10 minutes. Once out i decided to have a shave since they supply a razor, shaving cream and my skin was soft from being in a hot, wet room. I dried myself and returned to the room. I met Kaoru at the elevator which was a surprise as she normally has long baths.

Back in the room we were both really tired soi set my alarm for 5.30 and we were lights out by 9.30.

A relaxing start today. After a shower Kaoru and i went for breakfast. Unfortunately we had trouble finding an appropriate cafe. After about 40 minutes of walking we ended up back at the Starbucks outside the hotel. While eating we saw Michael who had come to get their morning coffees.

After breakfast i got some work done and we all met outside the rooms at 9.15. We walked to the station and caught a 940 train to the Sapporo Beer factory. It took about 40 minutes and i booked my flight to Sydney for next Sunday (Charmhaven installation) en route. It was about a 10 minute walk from the station to the gates and we checked in for our 11.00 tour.

A shuttle bus took us to the starting point of the tour and once our group were ready we were taken around the factory. It didn’t seem very operational so we couldn’t see machines in action – just a few short videos in various rooms. But it was interesting nonetheless. At the end of the tour we were taken to the tasting room where we were allowed to try 2 different beers. Kaoru nearly had a whole one so was a bit tipsy. We helped her finish them off. The tasting room had a great view over the fields where people were playing a game which was a cross between mini golf and croquet. The guide also demonstrated how to pour a beer properly, but for mine it took too long and had too much head.

We checked the time of the next train and realized we needed to move fast, so rushed to the station. On the way Kaoru had us change trains to save us 4 minutes, but we lost 3.5 minutes with delays. Once back at sapporo station we rushed to the bus terminal and just made the next bus to the sapporo museum. The 3.00 tour was not full but they weren’t taking bookings on the day over the phone. So we got the about 1.00 and they said we could fit in.

For lunch we went to one of the halls and paid about $32 a head for a 2 hour “all you can eat”. We had to cook (similar to Korean bbq). The meat was called gengis kahn – basically lamb. It was delicious! We cooked, ate and drank for the next 90 minutes, then paid the bill and went to the tour start point.

We had paid the ¥500 each for the premium tour. This had a guide who took us through the museum (stopping at a few places of interest) and also had a video (with English subtitles). But the real clincher was that we got a couple of drinks at the end, one of which was the original recipe for sapporo. After finishing these we bought a beer which was a special for the museum, and after enjoying that we caught the next bus home.

On the way back to the hotel we made a detour at dimarou food court where we sampled some food and Kaoru bought some cake. We all went to our room to sample it and Leila bought a sake in to go with it. Once that was finished we had some chill time for 30 minutes in which i just worked.

We met outside the room at 7 and walked to the food festival where we sampled a few more things for dinner, including a beer to wash it down (Leila had a wine). We then went to 7-11 for a supply of snacks and sake. We planned to meet for breakfast tomorrow and i had another sake-bath to finish the night.

I woke before the 7.00 alarm went off. After a shower, some grapes and a bit of work we left the hotel at 8.00. We walked to the train station and separated to find breakfast, but ended up bumping in to each other at mister donut.

We caught an 8.43 train to Yoichi. This is the town where the Nikka whisky distillery is. This was a surprise Kaoru had organized for us. It took 2 trains to get there, and we were early so we went for a walk around the town. They make a great apple pie next to their space dome – which they put in to commemerate a Japanese person (who lived here) who went to the moon. Unfortunately it was closed so we could only get a photo out the front.

We got to the Distillery and managed to move forward to an 11.00 tour. The guide was in japanese but they had an app we could install to get a self guided english tour. It was quite enjoyable, especially the bit at the end where we each got to taste 3 whiskies! They had a recommended way of drinking them so we did that. Kaoru only had one of hers so we had the other two straight up. It had a much stronger caramel flavor – definitely my preference in cooler weather.

We walked back to the station and caught a 1230 train to Otaru. Once there we found a sushi place for lunch, and then wandered around for a bit. Kaoru called her cousins daughter who, by coincidence is in sapporo at the moment, and is actually in Otaru for the day. So we met up with her and her friend from Singapore. Kaoru had met the girl once before, before she was 1 year old.

We strolled along the canal chatting and eventually ended up at Le Tao – a famous place in hokkaido. I had a hot chocolate and cheese cake. We then went to Don Quiote, as Leila and Yuka’s friend both wanted to go there and it was right near the station. We then said goodbye as they were going back by bus (a little cheaper but as 3 of us are using JR passes the train is better for us). We got on the train and started the long trip back to sapporo.

We walked back to the hotel, took a 5 minute break and then went out for dinner. We found a ramen restaurant which was a bit smokey at first but not too bad. I ordered gyoza and the others all got ramen. It was a big meal. I couldn’t finish my rice. And about $10 each! The restaurant started to get smokey and i noticed somebody at the table 2 next to us had lit up. So we payed the bill and left.

We spent the next 90 minutes just walking around, and admiring the town at night. It was a comfortable 17 degrees. We finally got back to the hotel. I had completed 20000 steps for the day. So i had a bath enjoying some sake from the 7-11, and called it a night.

We woke up, had a shower, and met outside our room at 8.00.  Our first mission was to get money from the bank, but it was closed!  Luckily we found that we can withdraw money from the ATM in the 7-11, and it was the best exchange rate we have encountered yet!  So that’s good to know.

We went to the food market, and after a bit of a browse, decided it was time for breakfast.  We ate at a Ramen restaurant.  We then walked around the market a bit more (I had a matcha tea frappuchino), and then we walked around the port.  We could see the ropeway up Mount Hakodate, but decided against doing it.  So we booked our tickets to Sapporo and then went back to the hotel to check out.  Back at the station we bought some food for the trip, and caught the 10.48 train.

The trip seemed to take forever.  I had a nap, ate lunch, and another nap, but it was still really slow.  Nearly 4 hours in total.  The scenery was nice, especially going around the bay, with the water close enough to touch on the right, and the mountains on the left.  Finally we arrived, and found our hotel, navigating through the subway.

Once we had checked in and were taken to our rooms we had a bit of a relax, but then thought it was time to hit the food festival. It was about a 5 minute walk from the hotel to get to the start but it took an hour to get from one end to the other… and that was just seeing one side! We stopped regularly to buy some food and drink and it just seemed to go on forever. We then walked back on the other side with more stops and enjoying the look and taste of the selection of food available.

We had seen everything just after 6…So now it was time for dinner. But we were all full! So we went back to the hotel. It was starting to get cool now it was dark. We had some relax time and then walked to the tv tower, which we had first noticed as we walked to the festival, and on the way home it was lit up. As we got closer we could hear music playing, which ended up being “YMCA” – a Japanese favorite, and it was playing at an oktoberfest underneath the tower! It would be wrong of us to not stop and have a drink, so we ordered a drink each and sat down. It finishes at 830 and it was already after 8 so things were thinning out. By the time we had finished our drink the lights were off.

We paid our 720 yen and went to the top of the tower – about 90m high, and walked around admiring the sights. The Sapporo region is definitely a picturesque one. We could see the ski jump which was used for the winter Olympics many years ago. It is one of the attractions on my list if we have time.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped at the convenience store for some food. We were all pretty tired – the adrenaline is wearing off. So we had an early night.

I woke up around 7.45. Everybody else was up, naturally. After a shower breakfast started, which consisted of (several slices of) pizza toast and left over oden. We tidied up our room and had a wander around the yard. The 4 of us then went for a walk – first to drop something off to the lady next door (who I have met several times before), and then just a walk around the block to enjoy the fresh mountain air.

Back at the house we had some tea and planned what we would do for the rest of the day. We packed our bags and took some photos of the 6 of us, and then all piled in to Otoosan’s car (Kaoru in the boot! Lucky it’s a hatch!) and went to see their vegetable garden. It had grown so much since March when we were there last. We tasted some of the fresh food, and it was beautiful.

All in the car again, and it was off to the train station, where we said goodbye to Otoosan and Okaasan. We were sad to leave them, but needed to continue our travelling. So a train ride, 3 Shinkansen’s, a local train, and about 5 hours later, we got off at Hakodate, in Hokkaido!  It took us about 10 minutes to find our hotel, but we checked in and went to our rooms.

We realised the Sumo was on, so turned on the TV and saw the end of the day’s fights.  We went for dinner, just as it started to rain.  And boy did it rain!  We ran across the road to an Izakaya, but they were full, so managed to hail a taxi which took us to a place Kaoru found – Hakodate Beer.  We ate and drank there for a couple of hours, including a beer which “the presidents of companies drink”.  It was 10%!  Michael and I had one each.  It was quite nice.

We walked back to the hotel as the rain had subsided, and went to our room for drinks and snacks, which we bought from the 7-11 on our way home.

The alarm at 6.00 was not nice after a late night the night before. But we had a big day planned. After a shower Kaoru and I went to Segafredo for breakfast, but they were still closed! At 6.30! We had to go to the convenience store instead and I bought a couple of rice balls and a bottle of orange juice, which we consumed back in our room. We finished our packing (we had put the stuff we didn’t need for the next week in our main suitcases, and just had our small suitcase to live out of), and went downstairs to check out and put our big suitcases in storage. We then waited in the lobby for Michael and Leila.

At 7.30 we left Shinagawa Prince for the Shinkansen lines. Michael, Leila and I caught a Shinkansen to Tokyo, and Kaoru caught a JR train there. As the JR would be so crowded it made it easier for the suitcases to go by Shinkansen, but as Kaoru didn’t have a JR pass it would have cost a lot more for her to come with us. We met up, bought some snacks, and got on the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Nasu.

Once at Nasu we caught a local train to Kurodahara, where we met Otoosan and put our bags in his car. We then walked about 10 minutes up the road and met with Okaasan, and did a course on how to make miso. This was something Kaoru’s parents had done before, and Kaoru went with them to pick it up a few weeks ago, and thought we might enjoy it. Michael and I were given aprons to wear to keep our pants clean and it was off to work for us! Kaoru, as always, was busy translating everything for us so we could enjoy the experience as much as possible. We had a look around the storage areas and were explained how the parts of the process work which we did not get to see. He has been doing it for over 40 years, and his family have been doing it for over 120 years, so a long history.

After being served some snacks and green tea, it was time for us to head off, so we walked back to the station (it was so great without our bags with us!) and caught two local trains and a bus, which eventually got us to Nasu Land Beer – a craft brewery Kaoru had found for us to visit, which brews beer for the emperor! We got a tasting paddle each, and enjoyed a couple of pizzas with our beer. We then walked back to the bus stop and caught the next bus to the taxi office which Kaoru and I went to on (maybe) my first trip to Nasu – with the Soba restaurant across the road. The taxi came through and left just as we got there, and didn’t say anything to us, so must have been on another job. We watched another taxi go past and not stop, so decided we would start walking. It was only 3 km so wouldn’t take us too long, but Kaoru called Otoosan and he came and picked us up, and took us to the house.

We showed Michael and Leila around the house, as they hadn’t seen the extension. Leila gave them a present – a canvas print of a photo that we took last time they were there, with the 6 of us. We had a couple of beers, and then I had to deal with some work for an hour or so. Otoosan got the coal bbq going and cooked some pike on it! What a treat that was. We were going to eat outside but then the rain came, so we came inside while Kaoru and Otoosan finished cooking the fish. We then went in to the lounge to watch some Sumo, but I fell asleep on the floor so missed it. Once Sumo was complete it was time for more food. We were treated to tomaki sushi and oden (like a hot pot), with sake to go with it all. After dinner we got the beds sorted while Okaasan and Otoosan did the dishes and tidied up. We watched some TV for a laugh, but were all pretty tired so were in bed by 9.

No alarm needed today. We got to have a bit more of a relaxed morning. Kaoru and I had breakfast at the bakery at the far end of the station. We had never eaten there before. I had eggs benedict and Kaoru had French Toast. We watched the endless line of people going to Shinagawa town. It was so thick-it would be a nightmare if you had to cross it…especially if you had a suitcase.

We went back to our room to brush teeth and start packing. As we have an early checkout tomorrow we wanted to be prepared. We went over to the station and met Michael and Leila at 10.30. We made our way to Roppongi area and had an early lunch. I had cheese toast – the bread was over an inch thick! We then made our way to our adventure for the day… MarioKart!

I had heard about this when i was in Japan in June. When i showed it to Michael and Leila it was locked in. We had arranged our international driving permits (a requirement) and were good to go. Kaoru couldn’t join us as she can’t drive but she got some photos of us as we drive away. We were allowed to wear costumes as well but since it was a hot day we just wore hats. We asked about helmets and were told “you don’t need if you don’t crash”. I also had borrowed Davids Go Pro, and they leant me a chest mount for it which looked better than the head mount David had leant me.

So off we went for my first drive in Tokyo. And what a hoot it was! We went to a few stops along the way for a couple of photos but we were more interested in the driving. As we got to tokyo tower i heard a scream from Leila behind me. Kaoru had managed to find us and was taking photos! We got a cold drink, said goodbye to Kaoru and got back on the road.

We were back at our starting point after about 2 hours, after a thoroughly exhilarating time. Then the 3 of us were alone in Tokyo and made our way to a craft brewery Michael had found, in Shibuya. We had a couple of beers there and i dealt with a couple of work issues. Then we got on the train for yoyogi for another spot Michael had found. We were able to have a tasting paddle there so could experience a larger number of beers.

After we were done we headed back to Shinjuku and met Kaoru in a department store. No matter how many times you see them they are always mind blowing. The foods…the colors…the packaging. But then it was time for dinner. We went to omoide yokochou, which is a lane way with a number of yakitori stands. Salarymen often go there for dinner on their way home, and we had seen it on master chef. We found a shop where we could eat outside where there was a bit of air flow.

Once dinner was complete we went to golden gai – a drinking laneway where each shop could fit about 10 people (sometimes less). Kaoru was tired so went straight back to the hotel. A number of the shops have a cover charge (500 – 1000¥) and others didn’t but charged more for drinks. We only wanted a couple, and wanted to experience a number of places so picked the no cover charge ones. I had an opportunity to practice my Japanese (what little there is) and we had a great time. But we had a busy night ahead so after our 3rd place we made our way back to the hotel.

Michael and Leila organized their dirty washing and i took them to the washing room. We also had a look at the pool in the hotel. Kaoru checked our load but it needed a bit longer in the dryer. So while washing was being done we ate meats Michael bought in Kamakura, cheese and snacks Kaoru had bought, drank beer and sake and looked at photos and videos of our mario karting. Eventually we called it a night, but it was nearly 1.

We met outside our room again at 830 and went in to the station for breakfast. I had congee. After breakfast we caught the train to ofuna (where Kaoru used to work), and she changed her ticket to a one day for the area. It wasn’t worth it for us as we were on jr pass.

The next train took us to Kamakura where Kaoru showed us a vegetable market, but it wasn’t as busy as she was hoping to show us. Then we went to a craft beer place for a late second breakfast.

A bit of a wander around and we caught a bus to the bamboo temple. We paid an extra 500 yen to get the green tea as well. It came with a sugar lollie which improved the bitterness of it. Drinking the tea looking up at the bamboo was so peaceful. Pity about all the tourists! The whole area was crazy.

A bit more of a walk around and then we caught the bus back to another temple. This is the one Kaoru and i saw the bride pass out at many years ago. We then walked back down the street to the station, stopping for a pork bun, matcha ice cream, beer and shopping along the way. We all had sore legs so stopped for a sausage and drink, and planned the rest of our afternoon. We decided we didn’t have time for the big buddah so caught the train to Endoshi island. We walked across the bridge and up the main street, and bought a squashed squid. …something. … basically there were 3 little squid with a small amount of batter, squashed in a sandwich press.

We walked further up to the temple but after a number of steps decided we didn’t have time to go further. So we made our way back to the station and caught the train to fujisawa. We went to Kaoru’s old “OK!” supermarket where Kaoru showed Michael around all the food and Leila and i checked out the bottle shop and daiso to make some purchases.

We got to “our restaurant” for our 7.00 booking. As usual they were happy to see us again. We ate and drank plenty and had a great meal. On the way out the master came from the kitchen and gave us a gift. A cloth each, like the ones we gave guests after our wedding.

We walked to the station and caught the train back to Tokyo. It was a bit late and we were all pretty tired so we skipped late night drinks. I had a beer while getting some work done.

We left at 830 this morning and went to my usual breakfast place – Segafredo. We watched the mayhem of the station for a bit and then caught the train to Tsukiji (fish market). We walked around town for a bit and made it to the gates bang on 10.00, which was when the gates open to the public. So we didn’t get to see any sales but saw them packing things up and also got to walk through most of the market and see all the fish. It was a “no photos” area but there were a high number of tourists with their camera out. We looked at one fish and the guy said “fugu”. Michael asked if he could take a photo and the guy said ok.

We then had second breakfast. We found a donbourie restaurant with no line which was great as people were lined up at all the sushi places (as we did last time), with a beer, but also a very refreshing cold green tea. Once finished we moved on to tsukigi honganji which is the main temple in the area.

After a look around there and watching a bit of the memorial service we caught a train to ryougoku and went to the museum for a walk around. We spent probably a couple of hours there. It had a great history of the edo period as well as more modern tokyo.

Then it was time for our “big event” of this trip. SUMO! Kenichi and Kaoru had organized tickets for us, so in we went and found our seats. We watched a couple of bouts but because it was still early they were low grade. We bought some lunch and beer and watched for more, learning bits of the rules. We watched a number of fights over the afternoon and it was really enjoyable. The very last fight had an upset as a lower ranked person beat the higher ranked!  This caused the crowd to go wild which included throwing cushions at the stage!  We couldn’t tell if this was from excitement or disgust.

After the fights were over it was about a 20 minute walk to the place Kaoru had organized dinner for the night. It was a Michelan restaurant and owned by an ex Sumo wrestler. There was a ring in the middle which used to be a training ring. We had a hot pot there which was great.

We made our way back to the station and to Shinagawa. We then went to the supermarket on the second floor at the station and bought a few drinks and snacks. We went back to our room to plan the next days activities and get some work done.

We woke about 720, had a shower and left the room just as Michael and Leila got to our room at 8. Kaoru took us to a place she wanted to go to for breakfast, for a croque monsuier. It was a bit of a walk but worth it!  The day was warming up already, on its way to 31.

After breakfast we aimlessly walked around for a while and waited for a cafe to open at 10.00 for coffee (i had lemonade) and do some planning. We then got our Shinkansen tickets for our next trip. We don’t leave until Friday but as we wanted reserved seats we thought we should get in early; as it was we couldn’t get 4 seats together.

We caught a train to Nippori and walked through the main street. It was a very old fashioned town. We found a craft brewery place and had some beers (tasting paddle) and food. We finished the walk through the main street, stopping in the occasional shop to look around. As we were ready for lunch we found a soba noodle shop. It was hot outside so some cold soba and beer was just what we needed.

After a bit more walking we got on the train to Akihabara. Kaoru wanted to show Michael and Leila a craft shop there. It wasn’t what she was expecting but there was s large selection of foods to look at, and we got a few samples. We then decide to go for massages so went to the same place Kaoru and i went to the other day. We had to wait 20 minutes or so, so passed the time with a bit of a walk around.

Once our massages were complete we got on the train to Shibuya, and then non JR to Kozawa daigaku station. It was then a bit of a walk to nikufest – meat festival. We were walking against a large number of people, so we figured we were going the right way but getting worried why everybody was leaving. It wasn’t as crowded as we were expecting so i think we choose the right time to get there. We had a couple of beers and some meat dishes. Nothing overly fantastic but still nice.

We walked back to the station and back to the hotel. A trip to 7-11 had us top up on supplies, and then we all went back to our room to eat and drink a bit, and plan the next day.

I woke several times in the night but got up about 830, had a shower and went down for breakfast. After breakfast Kaoru and I started packing our bags as we were checking out of “château Yoneda” today.

We left our bags behind (as we were coming back later this afternoon) and Mio drove us to the station. It was still raining from yesterday – nothing major, just a constant rain. We then went to yokohama again – this time to see Hiro and Yasuko.

We found Kiyoken restaurant which Kaoru had booked. It’s a famous Chinese food restaurant. They were waiting for us out the front. We had a great meal and lovely chat about old times. Bob and Irene Nelson, for example, and trips to lake massasecum. Their english is still very good considering they haven’t really used it in over 20 years.

We paid for lunch and took a photo outside to send to mum and dad. After a long goodbye we parted ways at the station and caught the train back to Tokyo. Because it was rainy and Kaoru was getting tired we got Mio to pick us up from the station.

Yoichi was having a sleep and after a cup of tea i had a lay down too. A beer as a jump start and we were ready to go for dinner. We put our suitcases in the back of the car and said goodbye to Yoichi as he was off for nomikai. Mio, Kaoru and i went to town and i went in to pick Arisa up again. We then went to an Italian restaurant for dinner. Near the end of the meal we got a message from Michael and Leila. They had landed and were just going through immigration.

After dinner we dropped Arisa off as she wanted to watch tv. Mio then drove us to Meguro station as that was jr and close to Shinagawa. Kaoru and i said goodbye and left. Once at Shinagawa we checked in at Shinagawa prince hotel – our residence for the next few days. We went up to our room and to our surprise we were in the same room i was in on my very first trip to Japan!  I know because it was the corner room.

We spent a bit of time unpacking and getting the place under control. We then went down to reception to await Michael and Leilas bus. We saw them at the checkin counter. So said hello and once they had finished we arranged to take 5 minutes to drop their bags off and then we went out for food.

The rain was getting heavier just as we crossed the road to the station. We crossed the tracks and went to the same restaurant i started at on my June trip. We ordered some food and drink and caught up for a bit but were all pretty tired. We went back about 1145 and called it a night.

As usual Kaoru was up about 6. I had a bit of a sleep in, got up and had a shower and breakfast. I was served these amazing grapes which you can only get in Japan. They were big, dark purple in color, and very juicy.

After a bit of work we walked to the station and made our way to yokohama. Even though i had a jr pass, we didn’t take the jr line as it would take longer and cost more for Kaoru. So there’s a bit of planning that goes in to each trip.

At Yokohama we went to a cafe. I had an iced macha latte and a chocolate and banana croissant, as i was getting a bit hungry. Kaoru bought a cake for us to take. We got on a local train and walked to Ryu and Naoko’s house. We both remembered the way. Just as we arrived it was starting to rain. This was the start of typhoon 18 (their names are the number for the year). We had a great afternoon of eating and talking. Naoko is pregnant again. Ryu has been on assignment in Kobe, but his boss has changed and is moving back to Tokyo at the end of the month. So things are going very well for them.

The afternoon flew, with the help of beer, wine and sake. We didn’t get away until about 6 and were therefore in a bit of a rush. My task for the day was to pick Arisa up from school and bring her to the restaurant we were eating at. So Kaoru dropped me at the school, and i went up and said “Yoneda Arisa no ogi desu. Arisa o mukaeni kimashita”. Shortly followed by “toile wa doco desuka” as i was busting.

I am not allowed to speak any japanese to Arisa. So i asked her a couple of questions and she had nobody to help her. In the elevator i told her we needed the 10th floor and she knew what that meant. We then found Kaoru and went to Kamakurayama, and waited for Mio and Yoichi to arrive.

Our dinner was absolutely amazing. Lobster, sashimi, and then the most beautiful scotch filet you could imagine. We had a great view from our private room, and delicious wine to go with it. Then they brought out a selection of cakes, of which we could pick 2 each, and tea or coffee. I also needed to help Mio finish her meat as there was too much for her. By the end of the meal we were stuffed. Kaoru and I had been eating pretty much all afternoon.

Yoichi had nomikai (drinking party) planned so we said goodnight to him and caught a taxi home. Back at the house i more or less collapsed and went to bed.

It’s cleaning day today, so I’m not allowed to have a shower as it has already been “cleaned” for when the cleaner comes.  I had breakfast and addressed a couple of small work things, and then the 3 of us left the house.  Mio had to go to the dentist, so we went up to the shopping centre; Kaoru and I went to Starbucks and had a drink, and then went and did some shopping.

Mio met us at Daiso, and we went to a Ramen restaurant for some lunch.  At 11.30 we still had to wait in line for 15 minutes or so.  Unbelievable!  But the lunch was delicious and filled a gap!  We then came back home. After doing some work and getting a quick power nap in, we were ready to leave about 3.00. We walked to the station (Mio wanted to drive us but i showed her how low my step count was) and got off at Harajuku.

We did our usual visit to meiji jingu shrine and could see how the works are progressing. We then went to the scetchers shop as i thought a new pair of sneakers would be good and these would be tax free. Plus i like my current pair. They had 20% off a second pair but Kaoru couldn’t find a pair that she liked.

We were getting a bit hungry so we walked down takeshita street and bought a crepe each. Kaoru said they remind her of her childhood. Once finished we went to togu shrine but as it was after 5.00 we couldn’t go in to pray. We were able to walk around the lake though.

We had some time to kill so went to chrome2 – the place i found last time i was here that i met Gary at. After a beer we headed off to dinner. We met Gary out the front of the same restaurant they took me to in June. We were taken to our table which already had our first course laid out. So we ordered a beer to get started.

Rikuko arrived about 10 minutes later. She was held up at work. We enjoyed the evening. Kaoru and Rikuko got along great. They have much in common as Rikuko is a kimono sensei (among other things). We had one of the dishes we ate last time – it had tomato on bottom and pureed carrot on top, with a delicious juice. It was very refreshing on a hot day. A few more beers and some sake (poured the proper way – where it overflows into a saucer underneath), and also some pike (which is currently in season, and was delicious), and before we knew it, it was time to go. Gary and Rikuko had to leave early for Hokkaido with Rikukos aunt tomorrow.

We says goodbye and caught the train and walked back to Mio’s. She and Yoichi were still up so we had a beer with them and called it a night.

We had a bit of a sleep in this morning – waking up about 8.00.  We got ourselves organised and went to find somewhere for breakfast.  We ended up downstairs in the train station, finding a small cafe.  I had a caesar salad with a waffle and Kaoru had (thick) toast with ham and egg on top.  We had almost completed the walk to the nearest JR station, so we decided to go the rest of the way and buy Kaoru’s Shinkansen ticket back to Tokyo.  It meant we didn’t have to be at Shinosaka with enough time to wait in a long line, so allowed our day to be a bit more relaxing.

We went back to our room to plan our day and shower, and checked out a bit before 11.  We left our bag at reception and caught the train (well, 2 trains) to Osaka castle.  It was a long walk from the station to the castle, and another long walk from the gates to the castle itself.  We got an ice cream to cool us down, as it was about 30 degrees.  We caught the elevator to the 5th floor, and walked up to the 8th, did the walk around the observation deck, and then walked down and looked at the exhibits of each floor.

We went back to the hotel the same way we came to the castle.  We had already completed 7000 steps and hadn’t even had lunch!  We got our suitcase and caught the train to Shin-Osaka, where we finally had some lunch.  We had Okonomiyaki, at the same restaurant we had it at on our way home from Kobe in March.  We caught a 3.15 Shinkansen back to Tokyo.

I spent the whole trip back to Tokyo doing Fitgenes work.  I started with a phone call to Leigh, and then had a number of little tasks.  We arrived at Shin-Yokohama about 5.50.  It took us 2 more local trains to arrive at Seijokuen-mae at 7.15 (we deliberately took a slower-than-normal train to save waiting too long at the end), and met Kozue and Minami.  Kenichi arrived 5 minutes later, and we went for dinner at their local Korean restaurant.  Kenichi had done several trips to Korea with his business so we let him order everything.  At about 9.30 Kozue and Minami went out to pick Yukari up from school, and then she ate, and we had a couple more drinks.

We didn’t realise how late it was, but we finally left and caught a taxi back to Mio’s.  We got home after 11, and everybody was in bed.  Ange started barking so Mio let her out of their room so she could see us.  We tried to be as quiet as possible, and went to bed.

I had a better nights sleep, but still had a couple of wake-ups, before getting up at 7.30.  A shower made me a bit more functional, and breakfast sealed the deal.

Kaoru and I got our bags packed, and Mio drove us to the station at 9.00.  It was a beautiful, clear day, on its way to 31 degrees.  It took us 3 trains to get to Tokyo station, but each change was at the same platform (well, across the platform) so very convenient.  We got there earlier than we had planned, so got some nibbles (rather than a lunch) and waited in line for the train to open up.  From our experience going to Kobe in March, we learnt that getting on at Tokyo, and being there early enough, means we don’t have to pay for a reserved seat for Kaoru (just a normal ticket).

We got on the Shinkansen, where I caught up on a few more things, and we ate our nibbles.  One was a meat pie made with Kobe beef (delicious!), and the other were banana-filled cakes (kind of like a twinkie with banana cream inside).  It was then time to enjoy the countryside, and get a little bit of sleep.

We arrived at shinosaka just after 1, and found somewhere to have some lunch. It’s great being on holiday time! After lunch we caught the train to Namba station and were able to check in to our hotel once we managed to find it (about 215). Mikusan had suggested this hotel – Swissotel Nankai Osaka. It was very nice.

Once we were ready we made our way downstairs and awaited Mikusan.  She was a little bit late (about 3.40), but we had nothing else to do.  I introduced her and Kaoru, and we grabbed a cold drink and chatted for a while.  She speaks confident English when she knows what she is saying, but as soon as she had any trouble she would get Kaoru to translate.  That Japanese mindset of not wanting to look silly in front of somebody else.  We found out that she lives in the mountains between Osaka and Kobe, and that it takes her 90 minutes to get to Osaka.  So we were very lucky to have her come all this way!

Matsuyama-san arrived about an hour or so later.  He had a meeting but finished it early to come and see us.  So we demonstrated Datascore to them, with me driving, and Kaoru translating it all; and doing an excellent job of it, considering she doesn’t really know the indoor sports business.  She has learnt parts of it from hearing me talk about it, but has no real hands on experience.  Matsuyama-san has already spoken about it to some of his contacts!  It could be a long, slow road, but it will hopefully move faster than Konami has over the last 5 years!

Once finished we went to dinner.  Matsuyama-san had booked a restaurant that he knows.  Miku-san had bought a couple of bottles of wine; the restaurant wasn’t BYO but as Matsuyama-san knows the owners we were able to drink it.  We gave Matsuyama-san a bottle of Shiraz that we had brought from Australia, and Miku-san a container of T2 Tea.  We then enjoyed a delicious meal and great conversation.  We got to know them both better.

After dinner we went for a walk around Osaka.  The night life was beautiful.  We didn’t go for any drinks, but just strolled around Dotonbori.  We passed a shop which sold puffer fish. There were some live ones in a tank in the window and then the frame of a couple of dead ones all blown up. Osaka is apparently a better place to eat it than tokyo.

Matsuyama-san explained how people jump off the bridge in to the river when Osaka baseball team wins a game!  Kaoru spoke to him a lot (as he doesn’t speak a lot of English) and I spoke to Miku-san, so she could practice her English without somebody else hearing.  We ended up back at our hotel about 9.30 but as Miku-san had a long trip home we didn’t suggest going for another drink.

Once they were out of sight, Kaoru and I went back out, thinking a drink would be nice.  But we couldn’t find a pub to drink at so we bought some take away drinks and some sweets and went back to our hotel room.  The view out our window (23rd floor) was beautiful at night – it was a pity we couldn’t sit on the balcony.  So we enjoyed a drink and snack, and went to bed.

I didn’t have the best nights sleep.  The couple of craft beers I tried (with the sushi) last night probably didn’t help.  That, and knowing I had to test everything in preparation for my demo today at Konami…

I woke about 7.30 local time and went downstairs to say Hello.  Yoichi and Arisa had already gone to work and school.  I had a shower which woke me up a bit, and then some breakfast.  It was then a busy morning of testing Datascore on Kaoru’s computer, and dealing with issues from yesterday (mostly Fitgenes).

Mio drove us to the train station which was great.  It was raining, and muggy.  Although the traffic was bad, and it looked like we may be late.  At the station I caught the train to Shinagawa and Kaoru went to Shibuya (opposite direction).  At Shinagawa I went across the road to Goos hotel and met Mikiko in the lobby.  I gave her a bottle of wine as a present which she took to her room, and we went for an early lunch (it was 11.00 :)) at TGI Fridays.  Once I saw Taco rice I didn’t have to look any further on the menu!

We caught up and chatted about our plan for the day, and then caught a taxi to Konami headquarters.  The presentation was just to Oishii-san, which was disappointing.  But he was certainly happy with it and will put forward the idea to management.  They also had just tried moving to Sportskeep 3 (finally) and their original database had become corrupt.  So I had to try to fix that (but without my laptop, and other issues in that they couldn’t get the database off the computer).  We left about 2.00.

Back at Shinagawa we had a drink in the lobby, and then Kaoru called as she was on her way.  I met her at the station, and we caught a train to Akihabara.  I needed a new battery for my laptop and Kenichi suggested a store I may be able to get it from.  Unfortunately they didn’t have anything.  So we left empty handed.  We went to a Mr Donut for a donut and drink, and decide what to do for the rest of the day.

I had received a new version of the database from Oishii-san while we were there, so I logged on to my computer back in Oz and managed to repair it, and get it back to him (via Mikiko with an explanation).  We then went for a massage.  Kaoru managed to find a place that charged ~3,000 yen for 60 minutes (~AU$35).  So we went there, and were both surprised at how good a massage we received!  But we then had to move and get to the station, and back to Shinagawa.

We met Mikiko at the station at 6.30 (just on time) and went to Korean BBQ restaurant around the corner.  This was the restaurant that Kaoru and I went to on our first dinner date, that night 5 years ago, when I met Ochi-san as well.  We were at a different table, but had an awesome dinner.  Apart from the beef guts…..I won’t order them again :).

Back at Shinagawa station, Kaoru and I got our Shinkansen tickets for tomorrow, and then made our way back to Mio’s.  Luckily it wasn’t raining any more for the walk from the station, but it was still pretty warm and humid.  Kenichi was in the lounge, so i sat down and had a beer.  Mio was in the bath but came down after a bit.  Arisa was still awake as well.  I had a shower to freshen up (and wash the sweat off!) and went to bed.

Here we go again. ..

I have spoilt myself this trip. I paid for business class flights. The last one was just no good when i got home as i didn’t get any sleep.

Kaoru left a week ago. I caught the uber at 6 and had a quick check in. Once in the lounge i had some breakfast and a shower to freshen up, and passed the time until departure.

Immigration was very busy. It took me about 40 minutes to get through. It was like that the first few times i came but the last few have been quite quick. So i didn’t make the 730 bus unfortunately; by the time i had my ticket it was just before 8 and i was on the 835 bus. To pass the time i went downstairs to the train station and got my jr pass sorted. There wasn’t much of a line at all, luckily.

It was quite hot and humid. I’ll be looking forward to shorts for the next few weeks!  I got a beer and cheese hot dog to keep me going and then caught the bus to Futako Tamagawa station. I was able to get a little bit of sleep on the bus. I can’t have a late night tonight as tomorrow will be busy. Of course once i arrive at Mio’s bar, anything goes!

I was a little bit rough when I woke up this morning (to be expected).  But had to make a move as there was a busy day ahead.  I started by going for my last (usual) breakfast, and then got my bags packed (which was quite an exercise – next time I’ll just bring bubble wrap and a larger suitcase!).  I checked out at 10.00, put my suitcase in storage at the hotel, and then met up with Mikiko-san.

We went across to Shinagawa Prince food court as she wanted a hot dog.  I had a hot chocolate to join her, and we had a chat.  At 11.00 we went back to the hotel as she had to meet up with Mark and co, so I said goodbye to them all.  I had been thinking a bit more about Enplug and Datascore and mentioned my thoughts to Mark and Nanxi, as something to ponder.  I was then on my own for the day.

I went to the train station and caught a train to Roppongi Hills.  I had had some earlier emails with Neil – a contact Gary had put me on to for possibly bringing Inflatable World to Japan – and was going to meet up with him for Lunch.  So I thought I’d get there early and make sure I found the way OK.  I went to the Hilton and grabbed a seat – I was about half an hour early so just caught up on a few things.  Then Neil and I went for a sushi lunch in Roppongi Hills and I presented Inflatable World, as well as Datascore and my other ventures.  He is not the guy to make it happen, but he runs a local newspaper for expats in Japan (the last one ran by non-Japanese people) and is very well connected.  So the seed was planted.

After lunch Neil went back to work, and I wondered around Roppongi Hills.  It’s one hell of a shopping centre.  There was a bit of a Marvel Comics exhibition on, so wax figures were all over the shopping centre.  It was a very nice place, and I’m sure very expensive.

Once I was done there I was at a bit of a loss on what to do.  It was going to be another day of feeling like a gaijin.  I walked around the Roppongi area for a while and just looked around.  My bag was pretty heavy (as it had my laptop in it) so it was hard work, but nice to be outside.

I then thought it was time to head back to the hotel and get myself organised to leave.  But on the train I changed my mind (it really was toto early) and got off at Daimon (I had to change trains there anyway), and went to Zojoji temple.  I had a wonder around there – it was really nice with Tokyo Tower in the background.  Not sure if I had been there before or not.

I was then going to start going back to the hotel but decided I had enough time to walk to Tokyo Tower.  For no reason other than to walk there and hopefully get a better photo as the sun was

in the way for my earlier photos to work out.  And what should I see?  Well, we had been talking about these Mario Kart go kart’s you can drive around the city over the last couple of days.  I managed to see a couple driving around the corner of Tokyo Tower!  So it was definitely a worthwhile detour as I now know that we *have* to do it the next time we come (with Michael and Leila in September).

Now it really was time to get moving, so I made my way back to the nearest station to get me back to Shinagawa.  I was making good time, and I hadn’t had a Mos Burger yet, and I walked right past one.  So maybe there was time to squeeze that in too.  So I downed the burger quickly, and made my way back to the station, and to Shinagawa.

Kaoru had sent me a message earlier about getting her a tri-colour pen, so I went to the shop she suggested in Shinagawa and managed to get that.  And then I approached the downfall in my “cutting it fine” timing – I went to buy my ticket for the Narita Express and the line at the ticket counter was long.  Oh shit.

It took me about 20 minutes before I was able to get my ticket, for the train that leaves in 15 minutes time.  I wish I could do this from a machine!  Anyway I grabbed my ticket, and jogged across the road back to the Keikyu Hotel to grab my suitcase, and then rushed back to the train station.  I worked out where the Narita Express leaves from and rushed to the platform – I was getting quite sweaty.  But luckily I made it with a couple of minutes to spare.

I had a couple of beers (Suntory Premium, of course) in my bag which weren’t nice and cold anymore, but they were wet and beer, so I had one on the way to the airport, and addressed a couple of issues that required my laptop.  Once at the airport I checked in for my flight (very quick), returned my wifi router, had my last beer, used up my remaining credit talking to Kaoru, and boarded the plane for my flight home.

This was a very different trip, not having Kaoru there.  It was very enjoyable, and I have renewed hope that I may have business in Japan in the future.  Fingers crossed.

Until next trip…..

Today was thankfully a late start. I had breakfast at the usual place after a shower and then got in to some work. I went to the stand up sushi restaurant in the station for some lunch about 1145. I knew you had to pay to go in the station even if you were just shopping, but i thought i could just go in and it would work it out on the way out, and charge my Suica. However i got the red gates that closed on me so i had to go through the manual gates. I later found that Mikiko has had the same problem in the past so it’s not even well written for Japanese people.

We all met at 12.30 and walked to the train station. It took two trains and about an hour travel time to get to Mukuhari Messe, for the Interop exhibition. We were there with Enplug so had exhibitors passes. I got to have a good look around though which was interesting. Some amazing things in digital signage. I had a beer break in the middle though to relax a bit.  At 5.00 we went to see Nanxi’s presentation on Enplug, which finally gave me a chance to see what it was all about.

After the presentation we all got in a bus which Teru had organized-and when i say all, i mean all the people he had arranged for the Enplug

stand and i think investors and people in his other business’s. So it was a full bus. That took us to a reception room where Teru spoke for a bit and then Nanxi gave her presentation again. We then got to eat and drink and be merry.

I met one of the original Konami people from when Sportskeep was initially installed in Japan.  He is no longer with Konami but still knows people in the industry so I’m hoping that turns in to a business lead.  He doesn’t speak English (just a few words) but he has a friend / colleague who is an English teacher, so hopefully she will be able to assist with making things happen.

Once we had finished we were all given some Sake in a gift box, which Mikiko later told me was very good quality sake.  Unfortunately because I brought just a small suitcase, I couldn’t fit it in to bring it back home.  I ended up giving it to Mikiko to give to a friend of hers who she thinks would appreciate it.  We then went back to the hotel and had a few drinks in the lounge at reception.  It was then time to call it a night.

I had a bit of a chat to Nathan (Mark’s son) about how Enplug could integrate with Datascore.  Something to think about…

We didn’t have to leave until 930 again so i woke up, had breakfast and then did some more work in my room. I joined the others at the cafe on the second floor, where i said “tanjoobi omedetto” to Mikiko. I already knew Mark and Jack. So was introduced to Teru who is a businessman they are here to see for another venture-Enplug. Then i met Nanxi who is the ceo of enplug in the us, and Harry (one of the workers) and Nathan (Marks son who is also involved in Enplug).

Mark, Jack, Mikiko and i went to Konami for their annual meeting. There was a much different vibe in the room. I just did a bit of work while Mark whinged at them about numbers. It certainly didn’t look like a good business relationship.

The stadium managers all came in to the room after that, and the intention was for me to do some training with them. Mark and Jack went off to an enplug press release.  However after showing them a couple of the new features i stepped back and they had a good session together where the managers discussed how they use Sportskeep and address various issues. They came across some translation issues which i rectified or took a note of. The department manager came in and all the stadium managers introduced themselves to him. Amazingly they had never done anything like this before, and it was such good value to them all. He told them that action sports is going to be their focus moving forward so all looked promising. I got about a minute with him to show some of Datascore and he enjoyed seeing the animations. There may be hope yet!

We went to a convenience store for lunch-it was a short break as the ceo was coming in. He spent about 10 minutes talking to the managers. Mark has never met him before so it all looked great. Mikiko and i introduced ourselves to the ceo but didn’t get more than a minute. We resumed for a little longer and the managers got to ask a couple of questions, but then it was time to leave. So we caught a taxi back to the hotel and dropped our things in our room.

Our next mission-i had brought a hat i had to post to ottosan. He liked my hat last time i was there so we had bought him one. Mikiko and i went to the post office and it was easy to send, however good having her there as they asked if it had to go express or courier or normal mail, and i may not have been able to answer that and would have been overcharged. We then went back to the hotel, and to TGIF again for happy hour and birthday drinks. We also ordered some salad to keep us going.

We got a message from Mark saying dinner was booked for the ninja restaurant in Asakusa. Kaoru and i had been there before, and most of the guys had on a previous trip. But we weren’t leaving until 930 so ordered a bit more food and drinks. We called Jack and invited him to join us as Mark had said he was back at the hotel. He eventually came along, but then Mark, Angie and Teru came and grabbed him for a meeting.

Mikiko and i went back to our rooms and i got some work done (and had another beer to keep me going). Finally it was time to meet for dinner. 3 taxis took us to the restaurant where we were taken through the secret passages to our table.

The meal was nice and of course the drinks were flowing. I had a chat to Angie as i hadn’t seen her for a few years. I was back at my seat for the ninja magic which was enjoyable and very impressive. Jack, Mikiko and i shared our meals so we got some variety which was good as it was hard to pick just one dish! After dinner we caught taxis back to the hotel and called it a night.

The business side begins.

I had an alarm set for this morning.  But my watch was on Melbourne time, and I had forgotten about this when I set it last night.  So the alarm went off an hour early.  I realised this pretty quickly after it went off, so I re-set it for another hours time.  I had breakfast at Segafredo (surprise) and got some work done.  Mikiko knocked on my door a bit before 9.30, so we went downstairs, and caught a taxi to Konami.

It was a completely different experience to my last time at Konami.  We were in a room (instead of on a table out in the reception area) and the 7 new computers were all set up and ready for me to start with (including Internet access!).  After the formalities were complete, I installed Sportskeep and updated the databases on all 7 computer.  In general it was very smooth.  There was an issue getting data off the USB stick they had (most likely due to the local protection policy), but Oishi-san was able to email the databases to me.  I had arranged the customer.rec’s yesterday (despite being pretty tired) so was well prepared, and the database updates were very smooth.

We went for lunch at the Hummer Cafe (across the road) which was good for a laugh.  The “garage door” (which was just behind me) opened halfway through, which Mikiko saw and smiled at.  After a nice meal we went back and I showed Oishi-san and Takanawa-san the new version of Sportskeep.  They had arranged for a couple of people from the web team to come in and see how results.sportskeepglobal.com works (the things we wanted to demonstrate to them 5.5 years ago, on my first trip here, but it didn’t work).  So in general, everything was going really well, with very positive vibes from them.  It seemed like the same situation we have seen in New Zealand – the people love Brett and I, because we make things happen and provide support, but hate dealing with Mark (Cini in New Zealand, and Davis in Japan) because they hinder things.  Really difficult when you can see how the Japanese make things so hard to achieve things, but also how the person “selling” the product does a crap job because they really don’t understand the business.

We left on a very good note, and Mikiko and I caught a taxi back to the hotel.  We went to TGIF and had a drink.  By complete coincidence we were there for happy hour – 50% off.  Can’t complain with that.  We went back to our rooms and I caught up with emails and had a chat with Kaoru, while Mikiko got ready.  We then went out.

We caught the train to Kawasaki (the same train for Fujisawa) and met Ochi-san at the station.  I hadn’t seen him for 4 years, so it was awesome to have a night out with him.  He had since been married (she didn’t come along unfortunately) and looked really good.  There was another person (forgotten their name) who Mikiko went to Uni with, but is also a writer who has done a lot with the blind soccer in Japan so Ochi knew him already.  In fact Ochi made the comment that “he always gets lost”, while we were making our way to the restaurant.  He had us wait for a minute while he went for a walk and tried to work out where we were going.  I told Ochi that “you’re right – he’s lost!” which had us all laugh.  At the same time Ochi told me the name of the restaurant, I typed it in to Google Maps, and told them all where to go.  I ended up leading the way!

Dinner was the usual enjoyable affair.  Although Ochi didn’t have his harem of girls with him.  He was on a non-drinking time, but “special occasion” so we got in to it.  I was able to practice my Japanese while he practiced his English.  During the meal Mark called Mikiko to say they had arrived, and apparently was quite rude to her.  So when he called again 20 minutes later I answered the phone as I didn’t want her to be upset and stressed out.  We had a great meal, and great drinks, and all too soon it was time to leave.

We walked back to the train station and watched Ochi-san go downstairs to his train.  It’s so scary because he does stairs so quickly – you just hear this “tap tap tap” of his stick. Mikiko, her friend and i went back to Shinagawa and had a drink before calling it a night. We contemplated going to gonpacchi and joining the others but it was already about 11 so decided against it.

Yep. ..that was hard. Not quite feeling 100% this morning. I woke around 730 and was able to get back to sleep. By 10.00 i was hungry so had a shower and made my way to segafredo. It was really warm -a combination of the weather, being hung over, and probably getting some sun yesterday. So i didn’t stay too long.

I skyped Kaoru when i got back, and then laid down for a bit – being vertical was too hard! I popped in to see Mikiko and then packed for the days outing. I caught the train to Shibuya and then had to change to go to Yoga. Kenichi phoned me soon after and i hopped in his car with Minami.

It was about a 20 minute drive to his friends house.  As expected, they treated me well.  I was given the seat at the head of table, and the lady of the house kept putting food on my plate.  The difference between it, and Mio’s bar, was just that I didn’t have 3 full glasses of different drinks in front of me.  But in reality I was still hungover so that was probably a good thing!  Some really lovely people though.  They had a 4 and a 7 year old, and the other friends who were there also had a 4 and a 7 year old.  The kids had all been learning English so they were made to introduce themselves to me, which is always fun.

Several beers later (so my hangover had turned in to drunkenness again :)) the other friends had left, and it was time for Kenichi and I to leave as he had to take Minami to a dance class.  So he dropped me off at a train station, and we exchanged gifts that our wives had given us to pass on to each other (big responsibility for us guys!).  I caught the next train to Shibuya, and went to Bic Camera (this time with my passport!) and picked my duty free alcohol to bring back to Australia (plus a 6-pack of the large Suntory Premium cans to keep me going for the rest of the week).  I picked a bottle that I thought Kaoru might like, plus a couple of whiskies (a given!).  Then I felt an obligation to go back to the craft brewery I had been at yesterday as I had received feedback from both Damon and Michael, about what beers to try.  So the fight between being tired, drunk and hungry was on.  Hungry won, and I found a chinese restaurant to eat dinner at, where I was able to order a set (predefined selection) of rolls, being a steamed but, plus 3 of those small ones I can never remember the name of but taste awesome, plus some salad and dessert, plus a beer of course.

I left the restaurant and had a bit of a walk around Shibuya.  But my backpack was heavy and walking was hard.  So whilst the alleys looked like they would be fun to stop in for a drink, I swallowed my pride and headed back to Shinagawa.  Back at the hotel I had a bath (because that’s what you do in Japan) and called it a (very enjoyable) day.

I woke up quite early… i could have easily gotten up at 730 (which is really 830 body clock time) but thought i should sleep a bit more as it was a late,  long day yesterday and today was going to be a long one.

So i got up around 9, had a shower and went for breakfast. For the true nostalgic experience i went to segafredo for breakfast. There was somebody already having a beer! As tempting as it was to join him i decided against starting this early.

After doing my teeth i came up with a basic plan. Is hard to know what to do when you’ve already done so much! I started by trying to buy a Suica. After waiting in line for 20 minutes and only moving halfway i gave up on that idea and just bought a ticket to Harajuku. There they had the black ticket machines which all Suica cards so that job was complete in about 90 second.

A slow walk down takeshita street to take in the sites, and also see if i could buy a cheap hat as i had left mine back in Melbourne. A south African tried to tell me his hats were cheap so i told him “takai desune” and walked off. After a couple of deep fried cheese sticks i went to togu shrine and saw people getting married in the room we were married in. So that was a bit of a treat.

After praying there i made the customary trip to meiji shrine. There was still a lot of work going on but i prayed there as well. I then thought it would be fun to look at Shibuya and decided to walk there. I had to go through yogi stadium grounds where there were food stalls (i had some takoyaki) and lots of other tents with various things. They seemed to be green energy related. Eventually i reached an area that looked familiar but i was quite warm. ..beer oclock!

It took a while to find somewhere to drink because i was looking for something a little different. And finally i found a craft brewery with 20 taps! And to make things even better they had a tasting paddle so i didn’t have to pick just one. The ocha pale ale was my favorite. I called Kaoru and had a chat for a bit. I was close to leaving when a girl came in and i overheard her ask the girl behind the bar what she recommends (osusume). so i told her juuichi ban wa oishi desu – which she then ordered so I must have said the right thing! I’m enjoying being able to communicate, even if it is just a little.

Just after i left Mikiko called. She had just arrived and wanted to say thank you for the flowers we put in her room. We arranged to meet up at 4. So i made my way back to Shinagawa. I arrived about 3 and was a little hungry so i went to a stand up sushi restaurant in the station. After a few various eats i went back to the room.

Mikiko came about 4 and we went downstairs for a drink and a catch up. She had to leave about 5 to meet her friend and i wanted to leave about then too so we walked to the station and went opposite directions on the yamanote line. I made my way to omote-sando and looked for a good spot to stop for a drink. I managed to find a place called Commune 246 which was a selection of beer stands. I thought it looked a good place to meet up so i sent Gary an email letting him know where i was. I ordered a beer and found a seat next to a couple of Americans who live here so enjoyed hearing their stories (and a couple more drinks) until Gary and his girlfriend Rikuko arrived.

I had never met Gary before in person. He attends Igarashi sensei’s class and i thought he seemed like a fun guy. So i managed to get in touch with him and here we were. I finished my beer and they took me to the first place-a bar called 2 Rooms. It had a beautiful view of Tokyo,  especially with the sun setting, and a nice breeze blowing.

After a nice beer we made our way to a restaurant Gary had booked. It is one they go to regularly and there were some great dishes. I also learnt (but have since forgotten the phrase-just the concept remains) about asking for the sake the venue recommends. So we enjoyed beer, sake and food, and got to know each other.

Rikuko was doing a hike in the mountains tomorrow so she had to go home and get some sleep. Gary and i stayed a bit longer for another drink and then hit town. We caught a train and then taxi to Roppongi Hills, where Gary took me to a bar he regularly drinks at. There was a friend of his there so we said g’day and then proceeded to drink and chat.

We went to a few bars. The black people were constantly trying to take us to their places but we weren’t up for that. The interesting one was Coyote Ugly which was actually quite dead but a good laugh. Something to tick off the bucket list. I lost count of places we visited, as well as time, and by the time i got a taxi home and in bed it was 4.00. Tomorrow was going to be a hard morning. …..

Footnote: for fun, post things like this on Facebook!  Great responses from Aunty Lynette and Andrea who look and immediately think strip club / pole dancing venue, as opposed to what it really is :).  Kaoru just laughed when I told her about it!

I woke up in time to say goodbye and thank you to Yoichi, before he went off to work.  Mio took Arisa to school.  Once we were all ready, Kaoru, Mio and I went to the shopping centre.  It didn’t open until 10, but Mio wanted the good parking spot so we had to get there early.  We went inside and straight downstairs to the food area.  Each stand had a staff member standing next to it, and as we walked past they all bowed and welcomed us.  I guess during the day they are always busy, but this was “the calm before the storm” so they had to greet us all.

We then went upstairs to buy some coffee capsules for Okasan and Ottosan – Kaoru had drank a bit when we were there.  We also made a few other purchases of some food to bring back.  Hope our baggage isn’t over weight!  We showed Kaoru the wine tasting as that was still going from yesterday (but we didn’t sample anything) and then we went in to the “VIP Lounge” which Mio has access to.  We had a tea there, and then Kaoru and I went off for lunch while Mio relaxed before picking up Arisa.

For lunch we went to the sushi train that we had missed yesterday.  Even at 11.15 we had to wait 5 minutes to get a table!  Now this was a different style of sushi train.  The conveyerbelt was going round, but only the ads for what you can get were on it.  You had to place your order through an iPad.

Not sure if I like it this way.  You can view how much you’ve had which is useful, and a running total, but sometimes you want to see the food go past and pick one of them.  With this interface you have to navigate menus to find the food, as there isn’t even a large, laminated picture of their selection.  But we enjoyed some sushi and sake for our last lunch in Japan.

We went to the bus stop to see if we could pre-purchase our ticket to the airport.  It was too late to book it by phone, and you have to sign up to do it online, so we thought this would be easier.  But unfortunately we couldn’t – we just need to be there early enough.  We also found a Lego City display.  Must be a school holiday activity.  So I had a bit of a look at that, and then Kaoru and I caught the train 2 stops, and walked back to Mio’s.

We finished our packing and weighed our suitcases – 60kg, give or take.  Fingers crossed we won’t have any problems at check in.  Kaoru tried to book a taxi to take us to the bus stop but there weren’t going to be any available – and this was for in 1 hours time!  Mio, Yoichi and Arisa were going out to see Yukari and Minami’s dance concert, but Mio thought she would have time to run us down there – it just would have been easier if she didn’t have to.  So we waited around the house for a little longer, until Yoichi came home (I passed the time with a last taste of the Ichiro!) as he rushed off to see us before we left.  But basically as he walked in the door, we said Hello, and then put our bags in the car and left.

The traffic was quite bad.  We have plenty of time, but hopefully Mio gets back in time to get ready for their plans tonight.  We waited for the bus and had no problem getting on.  Traffic was slow getting to the airport but we were in no rush so we had a bit of a sleep and passed the time.  Once at the airport we went to the Business Class check in counter, which had no queue.  Unfortunately the plane is fully booked so I don’t have an upgrade for either of us.  However the girl there still checked us in, which was great, and as we were talking I didn’t see her look at the weight of the suitcases combined, so we took it as a win.  It’s possible we get an upgrade at the gate (if somebody doesn’t show) but not likely.

We were a bit hungry, and I found a great place, called “Beer and Takoyaki”.  By coincidence, I wanted a beer, and we hadn’t had takoyaki yet on this trip, so perfect!  We enjoyed some food and a sit down, and then decided to go through customs and do our last bit of shopping –  we still had a few gifts to get for people.  Once that was done we walked to our gate, stopping at a lounge area for a hot chocolate.

We walked to the gate after a last toilet stop, and heard them make a last call.  We never heard a first call!  The plane was already over half full and it was only just after the scheduled boarding time!  We got on (weren’t the last people) and did the flight to Brisbane for Nanna’s 90th.  But that’s a new adventure…

An early alarm (530) to start an exciting trip. My first trip to Japan where i won’t see Kaoru.

I drove to the airport and had a fantastic run in. Checked in, bought a pair of sunglasses and passed the time before boarding. We were late out of melbourne but eventually took off. I watched a few movies on the flight and finally made it to Narita.

I organized a portable wifi and recharged my Japanese mobile. And then caught the bus to the hotel. I had wanted to buy a Nex/Suica card but they don’t do them as a package anymore. And the bus dropped me at the hotel rather than having to walk from the station so a bit more convenient.

I had some food while waiting for the bus and a beer on the trip. I spoke to Kaoru on Skype for a while. It was quite humid. But eventually we arrived and I checked in.

After a long day i needed to go out for a drink. I decide to cross the train tracks at Shinagawa and see what i could find. I ended up at an izakaya and ordered a beer (Suntory premium, of course! ) and some sashima. I also had a “cover” (some vegetables to eat while drinking) and then they bought me some free food (wedges and sauce). So can’t complain.

So i was happy, well fed and had enjoyed some great beer when i decided to go to the hotel and call it a day. However i decided to take a scenic route back to the hotel, via Shinagawa prince. And i couldn’t help but stop in at the 7-11 (which was as busy as ever) to buy a beer for the room to finish the night off.

How do I make this appear in the right order?

I woke up in time to say goodbye and thank you to Yoichi, before he went off to work.  Mio took Arisa to school.  Once we were all ready, Kaoru, Mio and I went to the shopping centre.  It didn’t open until 10, but Mio wanted the good parking spot so we had to get there early.  We went inside and straight downstairs to the food area.  Each stand had a staff member standing next to it, and as we walked past they all bowed and welcomed us.  I guess during the day they are always busy, but this was “the calm before the storm” so they had to greet us all.

We then went upstairs to buy some coffee capsules for Okasan and Ottosan – Kaoru had drank a bit when we were there.  We also made a few other purchases of some food to bring back.  Hope our baggage isn’t over weight!  We showed Kaoru the wine tasting as that was still going from yesterday (but we didn’t sample anything) and then we went in to the “VIP Lounge” which Mio has access to.  We had a tea there, and then Kaoru and I went off for lunch while Mio relaxed before picking up Arisa.

For lunch we went to the sushi train that we had missed yesterday.  Even at 11.15 we had to wait 5 minutes to get a table!  Now this was a different style of sushi train.  The conveyerbelt was going round, but only the ads for what you can get were on it.  You had to place your order through an iPad.

Not sure if I like it this way.  You can view how much you’ve had which is useful, and a running total, but sometimes you want to see the food go past and pick one of them.  With this interface you have to navigate menus to find the food, as there isn’t even a large, laminated picture of their selection.  But we enjoyed some sushi and sake for our last lunch in Japan.

We went to the bus stop to see if we could pre-purchase our ticket to the airport.  It was too late to book it by phone, and you have to sign up to do it online, so we thought this would be easier.  But unfortunately we couldn’t – we just need to be there early enough.  We also found a Lego City display.  Must be a school holiday activity.  So I had a bit of a look at that, and then Kaoru and I caught the train 2 stops, and walked back to Mio’s.

We finished our packing and weighed our suitcases – 60kg, give or take.  Fingers crossed we won’t have any problems at check in.  Kaoru tried to book a taxi to take us to the bus stop but there weren’t going to be any available – and this was for in 1 hours time!  Mio, Yoichi and Arisa were going out to see Yukari and Minami’s dance concert, but Mio thought she would have time to run us down there – it just would have been easier if she didn’t have to.  So we waited around the house for a little longer, until Yoichi came home (I passed the time with a last taste of the Ichiro!), as he rushed off from work as soon as he could to say goodbye before we left.  But basically as he walked in the door, we said Hello, and then put our bags in the car and left.

The traffic was quite bad.  We have plenty of time, but hopefully Mio gets back in time to get ready for their plans tonight.  We waited for the bus and had no problem getting on.  Traffic was slow getting to the airport but we were in no rush so we had a bit of a sleep and passed the time.  Once at the airport we went to the Business Class check in counter, which had no queue.  Unfortunately the plane is fully booked so I don’t have an upgrade for either of us.  However the girl there still checked us in, which was great, and as we were talking I didn’t see her look at the weight of the suitcases combined, so we took it as a win.  It’s possible we get an upgrade at the gate (if somebody doesn’t show) but not likely.

We were a bit hungry, and I found a great place, called “Beer and Takoyaki”.  By coincidence, I wanted a beer, and we hadn’t had takoyaki yet on this trip, so perfect!  We enjoyed some food and a sit down, and then decided to go through customs and do our last bit of shopping –  we still had a few gifts to get for people.  Once that was done we walked to our gate, stopping at a lounge area for a hot chocolate.

We walked to the gate after a last toilet stop, and heard them make a last call.  We never heard a first call!  The plane was already over half full and it was only just after the scheduled boarding time!  We got on (weren’t the last people) and did the flight to Brisbane for Nanna’s 90th.

A few final photos from the trip:

Kaoru had to leave this morning to get her hair cut.  Arisa was at school so Mio and I had the morning together.  We had to leave the house around 9.30 as the cleaner was around and she wanted to stay out of the way, so we decided to start the day off with a relaxing massage.  We went to the shopping centre and found a place, and got changed into the “trendy” outfits we had to wear.

Our next destination was wine tasting.  The same place that Mio had purchased the whisky from the other day was doing a wine show at the moment.  Mio couldn’t taste any as she was driving, so it was up to me.  Most of the wines were french and Italian, but they also had some “New world” ones, which included New Zealand, South Africa and a number of other countries.  Some were good, some not so.  We also tasted some cheeses.  So it was a nice way to kill another hour or so.

Once she had me “liquored up”, Mio told me my next mission for the day – I had to pick Arisa up from Juku.  Which meant introducing myself as her Uncle (in Japanese).  Surprisingly, it worked!  The 3 of us then went upstairs to the bookshop, where I found a server-down issue back home which I had to take care of.  Not long after, Kaoru arrived from the hair dressers.

I realised I had not yet had a sushi-train this trip, so we went to the one at the shopping centre.  There was quite a long wait for it, so we sat down.  While we were waiting, Arisa started playing up, and eventually we had to leave as punishment.  So we drove her back home and left her there, and Mio, Kaoru and I went to a sushi store for some more delicious food.

We went back to the house and Kaoru and I did our packing (well, mostly Kaoru – I was there for moral support).  I confirmed that our baggage allowance was 30 kg – otherwise we were going to be in trouble!  We then had a drink downstairs, and decided we should go for dinner.  Yoichi wouldn’t be home until late so we weren’t waiting for him.  As it was starting to drizzle Mio wanted to drive instead of walk.  We went to a Texas Steak House, where I had a mixed grill.  Another fantastic meal!

Back at the house, I had a glass of Ichiro, and then Mio decided she wanted one of the other “almost empty” bottles to be completed.  I had had a good crack at it on Saturday night.  So I did my job and finished that off while Mio and Yoicho enjoyed the Ichiro; I then joined them in a couple more before calling it a night.

A couple of photos:

These prices were for tastings. This bottle can be bought for $450 in Australia.

Mio had received *another* delivery today.

I woke early this morning – we had a travel day ahead of us so no time for resting :).  After a shower we walked for about 20 minutes to a place Kaoru wanted to go to for breakfast, which was a bakery so had a collection of pastries, and also dining in.  We grabbed a few and enjoyed our breakfast, but it was only “ordinary” – not as good as Kaoru was expecting.

On the walk back we passed a place, the name of which pretty much describes its purpose…

Back at the room we did our teeth, and packed our bags.  We checked out around 10.30, and made our way to the train station.  From there we got a “super rapid express” service to Shin Osaka.  We decided against the gamble of getting unreserved seats, so booked reserved seats for the Shinkansen back to Tokyo (Shinagawa).  It was free for me anyway with my JR pass, so we just had to buy Kaoru’s.

It was early, but we needed to get some lunch.  Our aim was to get Osaka-style Okonomiyaki in Osaka.  But we still wanted to get back to Tokyo before peak hour.  So we found a restaurant and placed our order.  Because it was lunch time, we didn’t get to cook it ourselves at the table like most places.  But it meant it didn’t get messed up when I attempted to flip it, so there was a good side!  I managed to see the chef’s cooking it.  Amazing seeing how many they were managing at once.

After lunch we browsed around the Shin-Osaka, having a look outside to say we had at least *been* to Osaka (it doesn’t count if you don’t leave the airport / train station).  Then we caught the Shinkansen back to “the big smoke”.   It was about a 2.5 hour ride, so a good chance to catch up on things.

We got off the train at Shinigawa and changed to Shibuya, and then to Sukara Shinmachi. Mio had to pick Arisa up from Juku and it was timed well for her to take us home as well, which saved us having to walk.  Once back at the house we sat down and had a drink and a chat, while we waited for Yoichi to come home.  Mio presented me with a new beer taste.  I never thought I’d find something to equal the Premium Malts, but there it was!

Mio had also done some shopping for us.  There is a whisky brewery called Ichiro’s Malt, which has a very limited number of releases each year.  Kaoru has looked for it in the past and been unable to find it.  Mio found it at her local department store – they only had 12 that they could sell, and only one to each person at a time.  So she went back a few times to get a few.  She also got carried away and bought some other whisky’s, including a bottle of Hibiki.  We had already purchased our duty free allowance (less one bottle), so basically we now have stock for our next couple of trips!

Once Yoichi came home we went out to dinner.  Now when we got to the door and I realised that’s where we were going, I must admit I was a little reluctant at first.  But I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food.  I had the salmon and Kaoru had hamburg steak.  Both were delicious.  They also had “make your own taco rice” at the all you can eat salad bar!  Dessert consisted of profiteroles, jelly and ice cream.  And for once I managed to get in first and pay!

We walked home and decided we needed to sample the Ichiro’s Malt, so cracked one of the bottles open.  Yoichi normally drinks brandy (Henessey) but he actually really enjoyed this and came back for more!  However I was quite tired and struggling to stay awake – still on the tail end of this cold so not the best nights sleep, plus the travelling for the day – so I excused myself and had an early night.  I later found that Mio and Yoichi enjoyed a couple more glasses!

A few more photos from the day:

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!