[Note: Just in case anyone notices, I need to put the record straight. My issue with the overcrowded elevator was when I was leaving Hamamatsu, not when I was leaving Kyoto. Just in case you wonder why I wrote the same thing again!)
Another early train trip today to go to back to Osaka where the journey began. How quickly it has all gone but it's been such an amazing experience.
I planned my timing very carefully this morning, but failed to allow for the fact that this hotel has only one elevator, and I needed to get down to the ground floor during the very busy breakfast/checking out time. When the elevator arrived, it was packed full of people. Not even Twiggy with a small handbag would have squeezed in, let alone me with two pieces of luggage. I waved them on, and waited for the next run. After descending to the ground floor, the elevator went right back up to the 12th floor, dropping off the people who were returning from breakfast and then came back down picking up more people to go down. By the time it got back to me on the 7th floor it was full again! ‘Hotel California’ came to mind. I decided to give it one more try, but on the third occasion, I gave up and lugged my bags down seven flights of stairs.
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| From the train window - a mix of agriculture and industry |
The journey was very uneventful and very fast! I got off the shinkansen in Shin Osaka and took the subway to Namba. I had no trouble finding the hotel this time - it's just like coming home! After dropping off my bags, it was time to hit the shops. I had a lot of fun in the 100 yen store. One of my purchases was a bag of dried peaches which were really nice. I realised afterwards that I'd eaten the equivalent of about 12 peaches which probably wasn't a very smart idea, but all was well. I could have stayed in the shop all day, but I have to fit whatever I buy into my bags, so I've got to be careful. I did buy a tote bag from another store, but want to try to stick to my handbag if possible. The tote bag says "Girl is made of sweets and spices. Therefore, also the highest one for your fashionable life." Well, who could resist that!
The crowds in Osaka were unbelievable. As everyone is on holiday, it felt like everyone in Japan was in Dotonbori. Walking up the shopping street was like walking through the Tokyo Railway Station in peak hour! I walked along the riverside to see if I could find the cool little restaurant that we visited on a previous visit, but I couldn't find it. It could be that it's no longer there, but it could also be that I wasn't looking in the right place.
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| Shopping - lot's of shopping |
I bought a scrumptious banana parfait for lunch. I intended it to be a snack, but I didn't need anything more after that. I sat and ate it by the river and just watched the world go by feeling very relaxed.
I browsed through so many shops it made my head spin and my ankles swell again but I had a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon. The weather was quite humid but it was fine in the shops where I spent most of my time.
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| Koinobori flying in Dotonbori in readiness for Children's Day on May 5th |
I'd made my way to the Shinsaibashi area by dinner time, so I stopped in at a little restaurant for dinner. There was a family, perhaps German, who got there just before me. The husband/father seemed quite annoyed that there wasn't an English menu and he disappeared leaving the wife and daughter to eat while he went somewhere else (McDonald's maybe?). No sense of adventure!
I made it painfully back to the hotel and sorted out the spoils of the day, then chatted with John for a while before bed.
Last day tomorrow - I hope my feet make it through another day.
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