Itaniya Sakurai

... listata maailman hienoimpien junareittien listalle...

Takaisin Osakassa oltiin viimein kello 20.30 aikoihin ja käytiin vielä nopeasti pyörähtämässä Osakan-aseman lähellä olevissa valtavissa kaupoissa, etsimässä hiukan kaikenlaista tavaraa jatkoa varten. Nyt on pakko alkaa latautua jo tulevaan...

Jaahas ja tästä alkaa nyt todellinen humuviikonloppu! Tiedossa on kolme päivää silkkaa juhlaa, joten päivityksissä saattaa esiintyä pieniä viivästyksiä... :-)

... Tunti ainakin meni ihan vaan pyöriessä ja ihastellessa tunnelmia.Harmi vaan, että ehdittiin syödä nopeasti juuri ennen lähtöä, koska täällä olisi ollut jos jonkinmoista ruokakojua ja kunnon Japanilaisia markkinaherkkuja tarjolla.

Käveltiin lopulta samaa reittiä takaisin Shin-Koben asemalle ja nyt alkoi jo jalat pyytämään armoa! Tälle päivälle alkoi kävelyt nyt todellakin olla tässä. Ei kun takaisin hotellille ja huomenna sitten lisää löylyä...

... the city for a while more, enjoying the incredible lights of the central downtown area. It felt nothing like Chicago, but was still a lovely city. We eventually began searching for a restaurant for dinner, having given up on finding a respectable place to sleep that night. We stumbled upon a quaint little alley lined with restaurants, and found a great place to dine, conveniently with room for the 8 of us on a Saturday night. Our chance discovery of this restaurant may ...

... thank god I'd lost my apetite at that point. Just you wait til you see what I have lined up for you when you come to Ayr, missy! I can't promise I'll feed you to the deer but I'm sure I'll think of something equally interesting, wait til you see the locals that roam my town.

Atsushi tooks us for a farewell dinner to their favourite place, a place where the owner ...

... chiunque ha tutto il tempo che vuole, basta prenderselo! E se proprio hai solo una settimana, cerca di vedere un posto solo non dodici! Scusate l'amaro sfogo, sto diventando un po' intollerante verso questo tipo di turismo. Purtroppo non solo i giapponesi sono fatti cosi': ho incontrato anche molta gente in ostello che sembra fare a gara a chi riesce a vedere piu' templi in un giorno. Solitamente sono anche quelli che si portano in giro cellulare, portatile e ...

... smoking indoors. Then we wandered around in the snow for a while before we found a different bookstore. It was in a department store-ish building so we attempted to use their bathrooms as well, but my bad luck continued. As it turned out the only working women's toilet in the entire store was one of the squatty potties that none of us could figure out how to use. I don't know if it was a good thing or not that no Japanese women were waiting ...

... had a cell phone and asked for my number, but I still can't get one, so I took his and I'll give him a call when I get one. It was so amazing to talk to him, admittedly I was far from perfect with my Japanese, and a lot of it was over my head, but it was great nonetheless. I couldn't have asked for a nicer person to run into here, and it's really encouraging to know someone. There really were a lot of gaijin at ...

... large bowl of a soy-teriyaki-worstershire sauce for dipping that is obviously used (and reused) for all diners who sit at the table. We were also brought a large bowl of coarsely chopped green cabbage which seems to be the status quo for heavily deep fried foods. We loved the energy of the place and the warm welcome we received from the staff in their Rasta wigs. Able to finally stretch out, we slept very comfortably.

... and there was an event going on, so we stopped to watch. It was actually kind of creepy and was the Ceremony of Dispelling Ogres in which the goal is to ward off evil fortune and welcome happiness. In this ceremony, Bishamonten drives away six ogres (people dressed in costumes). After these ogres were driven away, a bean-throwing ceremony was held. While the ceremony was really creepy, I really enjoyed looking at all the lanterns.

... Tokion ja Osakan sisalla olemme myos voineet liikkua junilla, Kiotossa jouduimme maksamaan busseista, mutta nekin maksoi 1,50 per matka per nuppi. Jos vahan katselee mita syo niin taalla kaksi ihmista kuluttaa noin 100 euroa per paiva, jos syo monipuolisemmin ja kay nahtavyyksissa niin 150 euroa per paiva riittaa enemman kuin hyvin. Japani on tosi siisti maa. Joka paikassa on todella siistia, mika on hammastyttavaa, silla roskiskia ei tunnu olevan yhtaan missaan. Junat on valtavan ...