Travel Log: Day 87 (9/22), Tokyo Japan

This was our last full day in Japan and we kept it close to home. Part of the reason was just to enjoy our place, but it was also because JC is sick. The timing of that is not good considering we have to travel to Osaka tomorrow.

We ate the pizza place again for dinner. I had an egg plant pizza just to keep with my pattern of something new every time. The pizza was good but I don’t like egg plant by itself I learned.

Travel Log: Day 88 (9/23), Tokyo and Osaka Japan

In Tokyo

In the morning we packed the last of our stuff and went for one last walk on the Sumida River. BC worked on building another boat while JC and I just took in the views. This sweet old Japanese lady approached Braxton and asked through hand motions if he was going to sail it. We gave BC the translate app in conversation mode and she wanted to take a picture of him with the boat. She said she had never seen anyone do that before. BC let it go into the river while she was watching. She patted him on the head and gave him some candy.

After checking out of the condo we had a few hours to kill before our bullet train left. Our plan was to go to a cafe by the Ryoguku train station to relax and eat. The cafe was packed though, so we decided to just go to Tokyo station to find a place to wait. As we tried to catch a train out of Ryogoku, we watched two packed trains arrive that we chose not to get on. It was then that I remembered it was a national holiday, the fall equinox. When the third packed train arrived, we decided to just get on. At Tokyo station finding the Shinkansen (bullet train) was very easy. We went to a waiting area and luckily found some seats to kill about 90 minutes.

Traveling To Osaka

The bullet train was nice and roomy and not nauseating at all to me. The whole process was streamlined and efficient. It really went off without a hitch until the very end where we went to card out of the shinkansen gates with our IC cards and it failed for me. We then went through a domino effect of failures like AC putting her IC card on a thing that wasn’t even a reader, and then putting the seat stub in which got rejected. All of that for a staff member to come rescue us and tell us to use the IC cards. I think what happened is I tried my IC card as someone else was carding through the opposite way. Had that not happened, we would have had a mistake free run.

Two more trains were needed to get near our Airbnb, and then just a short walk. We unpacked everything, set up our charging station, attempted but failed to get the firestick working, and then went to Lawson. The food was familiar and the new cashier was super nice.

Our Airbnb is like a gift from God right now. It’s very spacious, even having an extra bedroom. The lighting is (or can be) low and warm, and we eat at this kitchen bar that feels like a wonderful treat of privacy vs being at a crammed table staring at each-other.

The vibe here is definitely different than Tokyo. Locals were laughing and having fun on the train. A guy laughed at our struggles to get out of the shinkansen gate. I think it’s going to be a good change of pace.