At last – a sleep in!
I took it really easy this morning as I’m S-O-O-O-O-O tired. I didn’t leave the hotel until about
10.00am. My first task was to walk from
the hotel to the Nankai Railway Station to make sure I don’t stuff it up
tomorrow. There is an intersection near
the hotel, with one road heading for the JR Railway Station, one to the subway
station and one to the Nankai Station.
I’m now familiar with the road that goes to the subway station, so I was
able to take the right road to the Nankai Station. I went as far as the ticket gate and checked
the whole procedure, and felt confident that my sense of direction won’t let me
down in the morning.
I went browsing around the Namba City and Namba Parks
shopping centres and bought a few cute things.
Next stop was Starbucks for a chai latte and a bit of decision
making. As the cinema was nearby, I
decided to go to the movies. I saw Arnie
in ‘Rasuto Sutando’ (that’s Last Stand for those who aren’t familiar with
translating Japanese ‘loan words’). The
film was in English but with Japanese subtitles. I did my best to keep up with reading the
subtitles, but wasn’t 100% successful. I
did learn how to say the word that literally means “crap” but can be used for “dammit”
or any other expression of annoyance or anger.
It’s probably a bit hard to subtitle an Arnie movie in a country where
manners are paramount.
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| Need undies for your horse or zebra - go to Osaka! |
Lunch was a sandwich and cake sitting on a wall while
everyone rushed past.
I then took the subway to Shinsaibashi to visit the Tokyu
Hands shop. This is a shop full of the cool
and cute little things that are always popular in Japan. I must have heard the word “kawaii” (cute) at
least ten times during my visit. Well
justified too. There are loads of really
cute stationery items and I had to buy a few to tuck in the very few spaces
left in my baggage. One of my favourites
is a staple-less stapler made by Harinacks.
I’m not sure what I liked most, the item or the brand name. I did have a silly grin on my face for a
while.
My last night in Osaka and what did I do for dinner? I bought some stuff from the kombini and took
it back to the hotel! I just felt like I’d
had enough of people and I wanted some quiet time.
After my delectable feast, I emptied everything out of all
of my bags and started the process of sorting out – heavy or light, allowed in
cabin or not allowed, needed during transit stop or not needed and what needed
to be accessible to declare when going through customs. Quite a task for a weary traveller! I can’t believe how many Doraemon books I
bought (I think it’s eleven!).
I broke up the task by having a Skype chat with John, but
couldn’t put it off after that. I helped it along with a beer - in a stylish bottle, I might add. Here is the picture to prove it.
I have
no idea how much my baggage weighs and don’t have any scales to check. The check-in baggage won’t be a problem as I
have a 30kg allowance and will only be checking in the backpack. My carry-on bag could be an issue, but I’ll
find that out at the airport.
My last task was to book a wake-up call just to be on the
safe side. I want to fit in my last
Toyoko Inn breakfast (even though this hotel doesn’t do my favourite rice
balls) and then I’m going to the airport earlier than I need to, as I’d rather
stroll around the airport with no stress than worry about making it in time.
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