Japan visit #6 (cont.)

（どうせ眠れないからブログをアップデートすることにした。日本にいる最後の日にちょっと風邪気味かなと思いながら、夜飛行機に乗ったら急にひどくなった。隣の席が空いてて、横に慣れたのにまったく眠れなくてちょっと大変でした。この二日間しばらく横になると鼻痛・鼻づまりがひどくなってちょっときついな...(>.<) 日曜日に新しい一人暮らしの生活が始まるから元気になるようにがんばります！それでは、この前の続き...）

Day 6:

I had a relaxing lunch with D at Umie, then walked around Kitahama Alley and up the shoutengai (covered shopping street). After afternoon tea, D headed back across the Seto Inland Sea and I went back to LL's. My stomach was still not feeling 100% so I made a light dinner (mushroom omelette) and had an early night.

Day 7:

I packed my bags once again and moved to LY's place in Tak city for my final 2 nights in Kagawa. After a quick chat, I visited my old office, IPAL, had udon lunch with a former workmate, visited the kencho (my 2nd old office) and collected my tax refund in cash(!). I then met up with some old friends for coffee at Sunport and walked around for a while until my dinner appointment with my former supervisor and 2 other colleagues.

Day 8:

The Ymji's took me and their Singaporean guest, Dmc, for udon at Ymagoe. The queue was unbelievable! People had come from throughout Japan. In the carpark, we saw cars with number plates from as far as Tohoku and Western Japan! The udon was indeed fantastic, as was the sweet potato tempura and yakimochi on a stick. After lunch, we then spent an hour at the new shopping centre in Tak before going back to the Ymji's place.

I met up with M and R in the late afternoon and watched the sunset from a spot on Yashima before a scrumptious dinner at an Italian restaurant in Kmachi. I had a wonderful time catching up with you both - thanks a bunch! Miss you dearly...please come to visit!^^

Day 9:

After farewelling and thanking the Ymji's for their kind hospitality, I met up with the Kim's for lunch at a fresh pasta restaurant - it was delicious! Afterwards, we had ice-cream and walked around the shopping centre. Their 15 month (?) old daughter Trn is absolutely adorable and very well-behaved. The Kim's were going to give me a lift to Tak station but as we were about to leave, the car would not start so we hurried to the taxi stand and I caught a cab to the train station. I trust the Kims made it home ok...

I arrived in Osaka earlier than expected so I checked out the souvenir shop and waited for Ysko's phonecall. She took me to a cozy little okonomiyaki restaurant for dinner. It was busy but we didn't have to wait too long for a table. The food was definitely worth the wait. We tried the tofu & cheese okonomiyaki - sooooo good!! The Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki was also tasty. On full stomachs, we made our way to Ysko's place - a rather nice, new apartment near a river about 5 or 6 stops from Osaka.

Day 10:

I had planned on going to Kyoto, but seeing as rain was predicted and the cherryblossoms were not yet in bloom, we decided to visit the aquarium instead. We took it easy and slept in til around 9 or 10am. The aquarium was great fun. We stayed there for hours just watching the amazing creatures. I never realised otters were so big! Think I still liked the penguins best though we did see some pretty spectacular jellyfish and other funny-looking fish. I tried taking photos of them but mostly failed. I took way too many photos! Thank goodness for digital cameras. ^^

After tea and a quick tour of the souvenir shops, we went back to Ysko's place and cooked dinner. It was great! And thanks for letting me stay at your place and for spending one of your days off with me. I had a wonderful time. Let me know when you're ready to plan our trip around southern Austrlia. Mri - wanna join?^^

Day 11:

The last day (or rather, half a day) of my trip was spent shopping. And eating. Ysko treated me to breakfast at a bakery near the station exit. The matcha latte and the matcha cream bun were so tasty...thanks Ysko! For lunch, I went to a nice little cafe and ordered a pasta set that came with salad, unlimited bread, drink and dessert...all for 1050yen. Bargain!

Once I got to the airport, I picked up the bag I had posted there from Tak and repacked my luggage. I still had plenty of time to grab dinner and walk around. Thinking that I'd had quite a few western-style meals during my stay, I settled for a traditional Japanese home-style cooked meal for dinner. I gotta learn how to make this tamagoyaki...

The flight was ok and I was glad that there was no one sitting in the seat beside me. Even so, I was not able to sleep during the evening flight due to the most uncomfortable nasal congestion I've ever experienced. Lying down just makes it worse. (Which is also why I'm updating my blog at 5am in the morning and took my first sick leave on Thursday. The poor people suffering from insomnia and chronic sinus problems!)

And that's it. My 6th visit to Japan. All in all it was a rather exhausting trip (most probably enhanced by the fact that I was tired before I left) but it was lovely to catch up with so many old friends. Thank you all for a wonderful time, and thank you Mri for inviting me to your wedding and giving me the excuse to go to there in the first place.^^
Click here for photos!

Next time I think I'd like to explore Kyushu or go to those famous festivals up in northern Jpn or maybe just go to onsen or see the 紅葉.^^

（鼻がちょっと楽になったからもう少し寝てみようかな...）