Day 11 (Aug 14) - One Final Exploration Before Home

 Besides crashing for eight hours when I arrived in Matsuyama, I was able to catch over 6 straight hours of sleep. Feeling somewhat refreshed, I got up, and got ready to go out. My girlfriend booked a service to have my luggage shipped from the hotel to the airport, so I brought my check in bag downstairs. It was a relatively straightforward process. I showed the email to the hotel receptionist, and he got me to fill out a small tag to put onto my bag. Once that was done, he doubled check that the information is correct, before storing it away.

I headed off to find a cafe that my girlfriend recommended for breakfast. It was nearby in the shopping arcade in Asakusa. When I found Cafe Tomorrow Asakusa, there was a small line in front of me, but I was able to enter in about 5 minutes. The cafe had a retro vibe, as I sat down facing a bookshelf of books. I took a look at the menu, and found out that I had to order via a QR code. I was hoping that there would be English when I ordered, but it turned out to be in Japanese only. Lucky for Google Translate (I topped up my eSim yesterday with another gig of data. I ran out using 3 gigs last night), I was able to take snap shots of each screen and proceeded that way. Ironically, I picked the same choice that my girlfriend did when she visited. The corn bread toast I had was relatively tasty, with the scrambled eggs being the main star in my books. Once I was done, I headed to pay via the automated computer/machine, before heading out. Luckily I made it to the cafe early, for there was a relatively long line up after I left.

I went across the street to the 7-11 to grab a few more souvenirs before heading back to the hotel. Once at the hotel, I lounged around for a couple of hours before doing one final pack in my smaller carry on sized bag. After checking out, I left my bag at the hotel. There was a shrine nearby that I travelled to, that specialized in charms for flying. It was a bit difficult to find due to the shrine being enveloped by houses in a residential area. I was able to locate it via the traditional steeped roof, poking through the mostly flatter rooves of the other houses. Due to the secluded nature of the shrine, there was literally no one there. I was able to get the attention of the shrine priest, and purchase a charm. With that done, I headed back to Rox Onsen for one final bath in Japan.

I was expecting it to be quieter on a Thursday morning, at around 11 AM. There was a number of patrons soaking in the various tubs of hot water. I made sure to wash myself before stepping into a few of the different baths. They were too hot for me, so I ended up taking a cold shower right after plunging myself in the coolest bath I could find. Either way, I felt refreshed. My parents and girlfriend were right: you should shower before going onto a flight. It just feels so much better that way.

I got a banana milk to cool down after I got changed, and headed towards the relaxation room to lay on a mat chair for a while. After perusing the internet, I got up and headed back to the change room to find the massage chairs. Earlier on, they were both busy, but I was able to get a chair. I put in my 300 yen and sat back and relaxed for the next 15 minutes. After a relaxing massage, I went back to my assigned locker to change back into my regular clothes (I was wearing their provided yukata). After paying, I left to head back to the hotel to grab my luggage.

I'm not sure why I never relied on Japan's luggage transportation service before, since it was a breeze just wheeling a small bag onto the subway, back to Narita Airport. Once I arrived at the airport (and purchased a few more goods while strolling through the Pokemon Store), I went to go pick up my big check in luggage, which arrived a few hours before I did. With about three hours before boarding, I tried my luck by checking in. Since I was first priority on the standby list, I was able to get a boarding pass. (With the airline I'm travelling with having a small presence in Japan, the staff working were the same as the ones yesterday. It was the same lady that told me to wait a few hours before coming back to check, yesterday.) I then headed off to security, which was a smooth process. After getting through, I purchased a few more items from 7-11 before heading to McDonald's to get my traditional Going-Back-Home meal. I settled for a Samurai Mac Burger set, which included a Samurai Mac (think Big Mac without the middle bun, and using yakiniku sauce instead of the Big Mac sauce), fries and a drink. The Samurai Mac wasn't anything to write home about. The fries tasted like fries back home. I ate while sitting down facing a plane that just parked by a gate. It was interesting to see the gate move towards the plane, and people taking out bags from underneath the cargo area. Once I finished my meal, I headed over to my gate to wait.

I was given an economy seat, but was told that there was a possibility to upgrade if there were some seats available. Not too long before boarding, I heard my name being called out, by the same check-in CSA. With some anticipation built up, I headed over to find out that I was upgraded to premium economy class again! After sitting back down to wait, it was finally time to board. The person to check my boarding pass, was as you guessed it, the same CSA. She laughed and mentioned something about meeting again. I was just glad that I could come back home (turned out if I wasn't able to make this flight, it would have been nearly a week before I can catch a flight back due to this route being full --> AC strike). 

The ride back to Calgary was quite smooth. We departed on time. I was fortunate enough to have a bulkhead seat, with an aisle seat. My seatmate, who had the window, pretty much slept the entire time. I'm not sure if it was just the bulkhead premium economy seats, but there was an attached footrest at the end of the leg rest that made it so much more comfortable. I ended up finishing The Intern, but I was unable to finish any other movie after that. I started Dunkirk, got bored, and swapped onto another movie that wasn't memorable. Or maybe, it was the fact I was getting tired. I stayed up to eat dinner before nodding off to sleep for a while. Upon waking up, there was still 4-5 hours left. I tried watching Night Court (a TV show featuring Melissa Rauch from The Big Bang Theory). After watching a couple of episodes, I ended up falling asleep again for about an hour, before waking up just in time for breakfast. It wasn't soon after that we landed in Calgary. I got off the plane, went through customs and grabbed my luggage. It was also the first time a customs officer pulled me aside near the luggage carousel since I was looking around. He thought I looked confused, in which I was, since I didn't know which baggage carousel would be from Narita. After being grilled, he let me go while telling me which carousel was from Narita.

After getting out, I got a ride from my girlfriend and headed back home. August Japan 2025 was by far the shortest Japan trip I had at 11 days. Despite the lack of sleep, and upset stomach, there were some good parts about visiting Shikoku. Some things I regret not doing, but I doubt I'll head back any time soon to Shikoku. As I grow older, and I think I mentioned this before, I'm starting to appreciate vacations where it's more chill. Going to a bunch of new places in one day can be quite tiring, and I feel I don't get as immersed as if I spend more time at one location. With more opportunities to travel on my own this time (on parts of August 12 and 13, and all of 14), I'm anticipating the opportunity to try a solo trip all on my own. 

As for now, I hope my 13th year of teaching goes well! I definitely need to save up money again for my next trip!

I know it's a side street near Sensoji Temple, but this area is super quiet first thing in the morning. Well I guess most places would be super quiet, first place in the morning. Thank you for taking the time to read my travel journeys this summer! Until I blog about my next adventure! 

Day 10 (Aug 13) - Meeting Relatives and Not Able to Go Back to Canada

 August 13th was supposed to be the day I fly out of Japan. I'll explain more as I blog here.

I started the morning early but getting ready to see some of my relatives. One of my cousins always makes the time to come see me whenever I land in Japan. She met me at the front of the hotel I was staying at, and took me to a nearby cafe for breakfast. There, I also met my aunt and uncle. My Japanese is extremely basic, but this was probably the first time I was able to converse with them without relying on Google Translate. Fortunately, they used simple Japanese, so I was able to understand enough to try and answer in my broken Japanese. The food was pretty good, and it was nice seeing them again. It was a short event, but till we meet again next time!

After breakfast, I headed back to the hotel. My friend and I finished packing items (fortunately he was able to hold onto some stuff for me since my luggage was full) and checked out. We made our way to a nearby pharmacy since I needed to pick up some supplements still. One thing I learned on this trip from my girlfriend is instead of looking for things at a pharmacy, try asking a sales clerk. They'll find your items extremely quickly. Apparently they're used to catering to foreigners, since Japanese supplements tend to be quite popular with them. After finding most of the items, we headed to Akihabara to check out another pharmacy. After getting all the items I needed, we headed to a nearby arcade. I got the chance to sit for a while and relax, while my friend played some games. After some time, it was time to head back to the hotel to collect our luggage and head to the airport.

Once we collected our luggage, we walked towards a subway that will take us to Tokyo Station. From there, we made our way through crowds (which wasn't the easiest to do pushing two luggage around). We eventually found the Narita Express platform, paid for tickets, and made our way through. I'm not sure how it occurred, but we somehow got the Green Car. Fortunately, it was only about $8 CAD more to ride the Green Car, though it didn't seem as special in comparison with the regular cars. The main difference were the seats are made out of leather instead of cloth. Either way, it was a comfortable ride to the airport. I think as well, it was the first time I didn't nap on the NEX, heading back. 

Since I'm flying on standby, I wasn't able to check in right away. There were 13 seats left on the flight back to Calgary, while I was 12th on the priority list. I was told to come back in a few hours to see. My friend on the other hand, had a booked seat, so he headed off through security first. Kindly, he got me some more snacks that I had to get, across security, while I was waiting to see if I could get on. I pretty much found a seat and sat there for an hour and half, while reflecting on the trip thus far. When it was nearly time to go check on the status of the flight, I got back up and headed towards the check in counter. At this time, there must have been at least 25-30 other people flying on standby. As the appointed time came and gone, we were told to wait and see. I nervously checked the app every now and then; seeing that there was 13 seats left gave me some sort of relief.

Until one individual, who tried to go through the check in line (and was asked to wait outside the line), went back in the line with her two children in tow. Unlike the last time they tried, they were allowed to check in and head off to security. With a sinking gut feeling that they probably purchased some tickets, I opened the app and saw that there was only 11 seats left. Soon after, my name was called. With renewed optimism, I headed to the counter for the Customer Service Agent to tell me that the flight is now booked, but she'll (the CSA) will check me in as 1st priority for tomorrow's flight. There was nothing I could do, and granted tickets were super cheap, so I didn't expect much. I made my way out of the check in line and decided on what to do for the night.

I pretty much had two options: book a hotel in Narita (where the airport is located), and see what I could do at night there, or make my way back to Tokyo. My girlfriend booked me a hotel ahead of time (with free cancellation fortunately), so I headed back to Asakusa. I was feeling a bit anxious, for this was really my first time on my own in Japan. I decided to take the Sky Access train back to Asakusa, though it felt super crowded this time around in comparison to just over a week ago. As the crowded train started to thin, that was when my spirits started lifting: it'll be a great opportunity to explore, truly, on my own.

I made my way back to the hotel in Asakusa, carrying my two luggage up stairs (didn't want to take the elevator). After checking in, I dropped off my luggage and started to extract a pair of socks and underwear to wash. I didn't anticipate staying an extra day, so I had to do some laundry. I ate some onigiri that I had in my bag, for the flight, while thinking of what to do. With renewed vigor, I headed back out for dinner. The nice thing about Asakusa, like I mentioned before, it's not very touristy (besides near the temple). I went back to Yakiniku Like (first visited in 2023) and had my first and only yakiniku meal. After filling up on meat, I went to a 24 hour pharmacy (Seims) to purchase some items that I wasn't able to find earlier in the morning. With my stomach full, and pretty much all shopping done, I headed back to the hotel to retire for the night.

Despite feeling anxious about not being able to fly home, it was exciting to truly travel on my own. Yes, I'm relatively familiar with Asakusa and Tokyo, and it's not truly exploring a new place by myself, but it felt somewhat liberating. I remember being able to fall asleep rather quickly, after showering, due to all the events that took place during the day.

Hopefully, I thought (and in retrospect, I was able to fly back) that I would be able to fly back tomorrow on the 14th. 

Don't mind the dirty window, but similar views to my first night in Japan! Somewhat ironic in my opinion. 

Day 9 (Aug 12) - Shopping in Tokyo

 With really only a day to shop, we got up super early to get started. I first headed off to a nearby supermarket called Peacock. There were a number of items I was told to get, and with the help of my friend, we were able to get most of them in about 30-40 minutes. We went back to our hotel to drop it off before heading to our next location.

In Akihabara, our first stop was Yodabashi. There's a subway line that connects to the front, which made it super convenient to enter. My dad was looking for a santoku knife, mentioned that Yodabashi would sell these. I always thought of Yodabashi as a giant electronic department store, but lo and behold, we were able to find the kitchen supplies section. After looking at the variety of knives they had in stock, I managed to pick up one for him, while getting myself a santoku knife as well. (Hopefully this will encourage me to cook more at home... which kinda worked so far). 

After making a few more purchases throughout the different floors, we headed back towards a Gundam store near the JR station that my brother mentioned. He was looking for a few Gundam to add to his collection. I don't recall the exact name of this store, but it was quite busy. There were a whole bunch of p-Bandai stuff (limited edition kits), which I can see why it was a huge draw for mecha fans. If I were still into building Gundam, this would be a paradise for me. I did enjoy looking at the variety of kits they had for sale, but thought either they marked up the prices by a large margin, or Gundam kits are just super expensive now.  

Once purchases were done, we then headed to a bookstore, so that my friend can purchase some books. Unlike the other regions of Akihabara, this store wasn't full of tourists. There were literally floors and floors of different books, with all sorts of genres. Once he was done with his purchases, we headed back to the station. He was off to meet a friend of his, while I had a bunch of items to look for in different parts of Tokyo.

I first headed back to the hotel to drop off all the shopping before heading back to Akihabara via the subway. This was the easiest way for me to head off to Nakano Broadway (instead of taking a bus, I opted to take the Chuo line). Nakano Broadway wasn't as busy as I recalled, but there wasn't anything that I was looking for in the various stores I checked. Slightly dejected, it was off to Odaiba. It wasn't quite rush hour yet, so I was able to find a seat on the train for the hour ride. At Odaiba, my first stop was to check out Gundam Front (the large Gundam store on the 7th floor). It's gotten to be so busy that you need a reservation to enter the store. Unfortunately, all tickets were sold out (according to the person holding an English sign). With some time to spare, I took the time to wander around Diver City (the mall which Gundam Front is located). Out of all the times I've been here, I never really gave it a good look. Nothing did catch my eye however, so I headed outside to take a picture of the full size Unicorn Gundam. I was waiting in Odaiba for a while, since I had to check in for my flight the next day. (Being a standby passenger meant the sooner I checked in, the better the chance of getting onto the flight).

With about an hour to check in, I decided to walk around the artificial island for a while before heading back into Diver City to find a spot to sit. I ended up back at the cafeteria (after getting some rice balls, since that was all I ate throughout the day) and waited to check in. When it was time, I quickly went through the steps, taking about 2 minutes to complete. I guess I was too slow, for I ended up being 12th in line for the flight back to YYC.

With everything done, I messaged my friend to meet up for dinner. Deciding to go on the Yurikamome (instead of the Rinkai line that I took to Odaiba), I walked off to Daiba station. The ride was relatively quick, and I met up my friend and his friend at Nippori station. We walked off to an Izakaya through the various streets that make up Nippori. I've never been to Nippori before, but it was relatively tourist free. Once we found an Izakaya that could fit us three, we got in and sat down. It was a tiny bar, with perhaps enough seats for 7 people. There was an inner room that could fit a few more tables, but it looked relatively cramped too. Despite the lack of room, the food was good, and I was quite satisfied (despite not eating all day). 

After dinner, which my friend's friend graciously paid for us (it was cash only and I didn't carry enough cash on me), we headed back to the hotel. Lots of travelling within Tokyo for me that wasn't as fruitful as I wanted it to be. 

I wasn't able to find what I wanted from Odaiba, but it's always a nice sight to find Unicorn Gundam. 

Day 8 (Aug 11) - Almost Didn't Make it Back to Tokyo

Our flight was scheduled at 8:30 PM; we wanted as much time as possible if we were doing the cycle, to make it to Hiroshima. With that not being an issue (with the rain), we were able to wake up later than usual. Feeling a bit hungry, I headed downstairs to grab some snacks from the vending machine, and a milk tea. After eating, we cleaned up and checked out of our room.

After leaving our luggage at the hotel, we headed to another mall that was connected to a shopping street. There was some reprieve from the rain as it lightened down a bit. After exploring the mall for a while, we stumbled across a variety of different shops like a pop up Chiikawa store, Snoopy store and various other famous characters. After spending some time purchasing some small goods, we left the mall to find lunch. After walking around for a bit, we found a curry place that wasn't a Coco Ichibanya. We entered at the right time, for people were finishing up their meals, hence we were able to grab a table. Both of us decided to settle for a katsu curry, which they prepared quite quickly. The curry was different than other Japanese curry I've had, though it was quite good. After completing our meals, we paid and left for another mall.

Like the other malls, there wasn't anything in particular that was unique, save for the top floor vending machine. We've noticed a special Tully's Fizzpresso drink. Tully is known for making coffee drinks, but this one is special. It was a carbonated espresso drink, flavoured with lime. It was as bad as it sounded.

With nothing else to do, we decided to head early to the airport. We went back to the hotel to grab our luggage and made our way towards the bus stop to catch a bus to the airport. With the rain coming back, and harder than it was in the morning, we were fortunate enough to flag down a taxi. Instead of asking to take us to the bus stop, we asked the driver to make the 1 hour drive to the airport. 

Luckily we decided to leave early. There was an insane amount of traffic everywhere. What should have taken 10-15 minutes to leave the city took over 70 minutes. As we approach the toll road that would lead us straight to the airport, it turned out that it was temporarily blocked. Further down the road, a landslide (or some other natural disaster), or maybe the possibility of one (since I'm unable to find news of a landslide that took place recently) prevented all traffic from going through, and you had to go through a longer path to reach the airport. With time running out, we had to make a decision on what to do. The taxi driver mentioned to us that it would be very difficult (muzukashii) to make it to the airport in time. If you ever hear someone say muzukashii, it literally means it's impossible. With that in mind, the only other ways I could think of to getting to Tokyo were to take a bus or the shinkansen (bullet train). Frantically, I downloaded the Shinkansen app, made an account and tried purchasing tickets. It seemed like other people were getting the same idea, for it was difficult to get tickets. Fortunately, we were able to secure two seats with luggage access on a train that was leaving in about an hour and 40 minutes. The taxi driver then took us to the station in about 30-40 minutes. All in all, for two hours in the taxi, it was only about $70 CAD. A lot better than I expected for a ride that long.

Since we had a bit of time to spare, we shopped for ekiben (train station bento) for the nearly 3 hour and 30 minute ride back to Tokyo. Despite it being difficult to book seats, the Nozomi 62 shinkansen was only about 70% full. As we made it back to Tokyo station, we got out of the station and started heading towards our last hotel for the trip. Unfortunately, there were two hotels in the area we were in (Nihombashi) that had the same name, with only the ending being different. Going to the wrong hotel, we had to take another 10 minutes to walk towards the right hotel. We finally made it after midnight. Our rooms were located in the annex building behind the main building, so we went out and walked a small distance to the door leading us to the elevator. Being Tokyo, this was by far the smallest room we had throughout this trip. It was good to finally relax. After taking a shower, I got ready for bed.

The next day will be full of shopping. Almost done! 

A Chiikawa ramen shop near the Chiikawa store. 

EDIT: I forgot to mention that they ended up delaying our plane departure time from around 8:30 PM to nearly 12 AM. If we stuck it out with the taxi, we might have been able to make it. 

Day 7 (Aug 10) - Onto Rainy Hiroshima

Before heading off, we walked to a nearby kissaten for breakfast. The atmosphere was cozy and the food was alright. After breakfast, we headed back to the hotel to do a final pack before checking out. Our time was done in Shikoku so we headed back to the bus terminal/stop that was near the train station. With about 15 minutes to spare, we stood and waited for the bus. It seemed like a lot of other people were heading to Hiroshima from Imabari, for the amount of people waiting at the stop continued to increase until the bus arrived. After storing our luggage underneath the cargo hold, we boarded the bus.

Due to waking up early on a daily basis, I was getting quite sleepy. I was drifting to sleep every now and then. With the cloudy skies and eventual rain, the scenery wasn't the most pleasing. Our bus essentially took the road version of the Shimanami Kaido. There were open expanses of the Seto Inland Sea, though the lighting didn't do it justice. Can I claim that I "did" the cycle now, due to seeing most of the sights that I would have if I were able to cycle? 

After we arrived at the JR Hiroshima station, the rain was starting to really come down. Not wanting to walk or take the tram to our hotel, we opted to get a taxi to our hotel. The rain and high humidity made the glass doors all fogged up at the hotel entrance. We were able to check in and drop our luggage into our room. With limited choices, we settled on heading to a nearby mall to spend the rest of the afternoon/early evening. Fortunately, we had ponchos so we donned them on before heading out.

The mall nearby had a large supermarket on the main floor, while there were other smaller stores throughout the store. After wandering for a while, we decided to settle for dinner at the okonomiyaki restaurant on the main floor. Hiroshima has their own style of okonomiyaki where the different ingredients are layered instead of mixed. After waiting for a while, our meals came out. The okonomiyaki was decent, though a bit dry for my tastes. After eating, we headed back to the supermarket to grab some more food. A sushi platter looked quite good, thus we grabbed one and a few rice balls. I also got to try a bag of Kyushu soy sauce Calbee chips. There was also a different mint ice cream, in which you had to squeeze the cup before eating to crush the chocolate layer. 

We headed back to the hotel to eat and just chill for the rest of the evening. There was a variety show which showcased different people (really Japanese people vs foreigners) in an arm wrestling competition. That entertained us for a while, before heading off to sleep. Just a few more days to go! 

The arm wrestling tournament variety show. This was the final match between a foreigner and a Japanese guy. Turns out Bobby Ologun is a variety star in Japan. Hard to believe he's 59 years old! They kept taunting him, calling him an old guy during the tournament. 

Day 6 (Aug 9) - Staying in the tallest building in Ehime and most memorable meal!

 With our stay over in Matsuyama, it was time to set off to our next city: Imabari. Originally, we wanted to cycle the Shimanami Kaido on the 10th and 11th. However, according to the forecast and greying skies, there was going to be a whole lot of rain hitting the region. Either way, we made our way back to the JR station to catch the limited express train that will take us to Imabari.

The ride was only about an hour. Upon arrival, my initial impressions of Imabari was a quiet countryside city. As we were making our way to our hotel, we noticed a bus stop nearby that was selling tickets that we needed to head back to Honshu (since we weren't doing the cycle anymore). After getting our tickets, we continued looking for our hotel. Skies were quite overcast, and it started to rain ever so slightly. As we were navigating, it seemed we were getting further and further away from hotels. The buildings we were passing by seemed to only be a few stories high. About 400 m away, we noticed a huge tower standing, what seemed to be, in the middle of no where. It turned out that building was our hotel: Imabari Kokusai Hotel.

Normally, I would stay in a business hotel due to them being the most economically friendly. Imabari Kokusai was only about $10-20 more, so we decided to book it back in  July. I had to say I didn't expect the hotel to be that grand for only that much extra money. It certainly hits the point that the further away you stay, the more you get for your money. The main lobby was extravagant and the service was by far the best we received during the trip. After dropping off our luggage, since it was too early to check in, we headed out to look for lunch.

Our first destination was the Imabari Towel Head Store. As we walked towards the store, we stumbled across a small restaurant. Despite it being noon, there was not a single soul inside besides an elderly couple watching TV. The man seemed well into his 70-80s with hyper kyphosis (bent back), while the woman seemed to suffer a similar fate. A bit startled, the woman greeted us and led us to a table. We ordered off the menu and waited for our food. In the meanwhile, the woman came back with a bottle of freshly made cold green tea (not typical tea you get at other restaurants). Drinking the tea reminded me of all the time my dad used to brew tea at home. I took in the scenery of the restaurant, which seemed to be molded after a Japanese home. It kind of reminded me of the dining room in the homestay at Yufuin - a homey vibe unlike a commercial restaurant. The decor seemed to be based on the mid 80s or so (or more like my grandparents place in Yamanashi). 

Soon after, we received our meals. I got a regular oyakodon (mother and child rice bowl) which consists of tender chicken mixed with egg. I don't think I ever had oyakodon before, but the taste was unimaginably good. Granted, it may have been a bit of bias due to setting, pity for the elderly couple who still need to work at their age  (I'm assuming they need to work... could be they just enjoy running a business still), and hunger, but it was by far the best meal I had throughout this trip. I'm not much of a foodie; most meals I had would be classified as bad or good. However, this oyakodon evoked such emotions, with the last event being the oyster and large intestine noodles I had at the night market in Taiwan. I can't really describe it, but it tasted like a home cooked meal. (Which it was.)

After eating, paying and giving our thanks on how good the food was, we headed back on a trek to the head store. The streets were quiet, as we walked through residential areas to get to the store. When we arrived, we were greeted with at least a hundred different varieties of towels. Pricing wasn't too bad either, and I ended up getting towels for my relatives, close family and for my own house. There was a small demonstration in a glass building outside, so we went to check that out after paying. Once we got our fill, we walked across the street to the mall/arcade. We spent some time exploring, while playing some games at the arcade. The mall itself wasn't super modern inside; reminded me of the mall close to my girlfriend's house in Hong Kong with the aesthetics. After spending a few hours there to kill some time, we headed back towards our hotel to go visit the castle.

Being the third castle this trip, I didn't have high hopes for anything remarkably different. I was proven to be wrong as we entered, for they turned the entire castle (or at least the main keep) into a museum with art and artifacts. With nothing else to do, we spend time going over the various exhibits (there was also a mini science centre inside), before heading back to the hotel to check in. Our bags were brought up into our room ahead of time. Sitting down in the plush chairs, we sat and talked for a bit before thinking of what to eat for dinner. In the end, we decided to head back to the elderly couple's restaurant for dinner. As we approached, one patron left. We both ordered an omurice, in which the elderly man got to work. His wife was no where in sight, so he was left to watch the restaurant on his own. 

The omurice was good, but not as spectacular as the oyakodon from lunch. For about $5 though, it was a fulfilling meal. I say this now, but if I was living in Imabari, I would stop by more often at this restaurant. As we made our way back, we stopped by a dessert place to pick up some cake and pudding. Feeling that it wasn't "enough", we went to a nearby convenience store to purchase more monaka ice cream. 

Compared to the first and third day in Shikoku, it was a relatively laid back day. As I grow older, I'm starting to appreciate days on vacation where I don't try and fit in as many sights/sites as possible.

At Imabari castle - this reminded me of Fushimi Inari in Kyoto (the place with a 1000 Torii gates). 

Day 5 (Aug 8) - Takamatsu

We started the day by sampling the three orange jellies that were purchased the day before. Each of the jellies had a distinct taste, with one being considerably stronger than the other two. After filling up with more fluids, it was off to Takamatsu. 

There was a bit of confusion on which tram to take to the Matsuyama station, and we did end up taking the wrong one. We ended up a bit further away from the station than anticipated, but close enough for us to walk the last half. With the cloudy conditions, it was not a sweaty walk to the station. Once we arrived, we waited at the platform that would take us all the way to the east side of Shikoku. The train rails were right against the coast, but everything did appear to be gloomy outside. 

Upon arrival Takamatsu Smile station (famous for having a emoji like smile at the front... or was it called Shikoku Smile Station... can't recall), we ventured to a restaurant inside the station for lunch. Kagawa prefecture is known for sanuki udon, so we both ended up getting an udon dish. I wanted some additional protein, so I ordered a set that had tuna sashimi on the side. I didn’t anticipate it would be a sashimi rice bowl, thus eating more than I normally would eat in one meal. Fuelled by carbs, I was ready to head off to our first destination: Ritsurin garden.

I’ve been to the gardens 10 years ago, yet I was eagerly anticipating seeing it again. To date, it is my favorite garden in Japan. The sun was starting to creep out a bit, so we ensured that we were adequately covered in sunscreen after we reached the right station. The walk to the garden was reminiscent; so was the price of entrance into the museum! I couldn't recall the walk through the garden 10 years ago, so everything did feel relatively new. There was a large museum that I didn't get a chance to explore (or I don't think I did) 10 years back. Going through the museum, it explained what Ritsurin garden was all about. Right after leaving the museum, we continued along the recommended path till we reached the scenic spot known as Hirai-ho. After snapping a few pictures, it was back to the train station to head off to the next location.

We took a train that led us near Mount Yashima. For the next 10-15 minutes or so, we made our way towards Shikoku Mura - an open air museum dedicated to various buildings throughout Shikoku. If I recall correctly, the creator (and others) wanted to preserve traditional homes/buildings/small factories throughout Shikoku and relocate them onto a large plot of land. We initially thought that the 1600 yen entrance fee was steep for a Japanese museum, but we soon realized why it was so expensive. This entire area was massive! Unfortunately, we only had about two hours to venture throughout the entire 50,000 square meters meaning that we sped through the various exhibits. There were various houses, a soy sauce brewing factory (where you can actually still faintly smell the soy sauce embedded into the wooden barrels), light house, and a modern mini museum housing art. I highly doubt I'll be back in Shikoku in the near future, but I wouldn't mind spending a whole day to explore the various exhibits if I ever get the opportunity to do so. 

With Shikoku Mura complete, we headed back to Takamatsu Station so we can head to our final destination for the day: a shopping arcade. Apparently, it's the largest in all of Japan. We probably walked a good km or so, before deciding to head back near the entrance (closest to the station) to stop for dinner. Another specialty, besides sanuki udon, is their Awaodori chicken. How I think of it, whether I'm accurate or not, is their version of Kobe beef (or high end wagyu). We found a restaurant that served just Awaodori chicken, but it had a relatively long line. Not wanting to miss the last train back to Matsuyama, we ventured across the street to an udon restaurant that also served Awaodori. After sitting down and placing our orders, we eagerly awaited our food. When the chicken came out with the udon, it smelled quite good - a nice mixture of seasoning plus the chicken grease pooling at the bottom of the drumstick. The Awaodori chicken was quite tender, though I'm not sure if I can classify it as being better than a regular well done chicken. Either way, it was delicious, and something that I would get again if I'm ever in Takamatsu.

With our stomachs full, we headed back to Takamatsu station to catch the train back to Matsuyama. After arriving back in Matsuyama, we grabbed a late ice cream snack before heading back to the hotel. I have yet to find the mint chocolate ice cream that I usually get in the convenience stores, but I managed to find a popsicle styled mint chocolate ice cream. It was pretty good, though I'm not sure if it is as good as the one I usually get. With that said, I'm more than halfway through my trip to Japan this summer. (Or so I thought... but that's for another post!)

The arch bridge at Ritsurin garden. I was lucky enough to catch a boat tour!

Day 4 (Aug 7) - Exploring more of Matsuyama, including Dogo Onsen!

 After not getting proper sleep for a while, it was great to get in a full 8 hours in. With the impending rain, we swapped exploring Matsuyama with Ozu the day before. The weather forecast held true, for quite soon after I awoken, it started to rain. It didn't seem to bad, so we got dressed and headed out to see if we can grab breakfast nearby. Our room was located in the annex, meaning there was an open bridge connecting us to the main building. As we crossed the bridge, we noticed how heavy the rain has gotten. Not wanting to get drenched, we headed back to the room to wait out the rain.

Fortunately, it only was about an hour before the rain subsided enough for us to venture out. We decided to head by to the nearby Coco Ichibanya - a chain of Japanese curry restaurants. Since it just opened, we were the first customers in the door. Not wanting a regular rice curry, I opted for a curry udon. Besides the curry udon that my girlfriend cooked from time to time, the last time I had a curry udon was probably university. My bowl of curry udon (with a side of katsu on top and seasonal vegetables), along with a side salad came out quite quickly. It may be a chain restaurant, but they make a mean, and consistent curry dish. Satisfied, we headed back to the hotel for a bit before venturing out for the day. At this time, there was nearly no more rain.

Our first stop was to Matsuyama castle. To reach the castle, that was high up on a mountain, we took a cable car up. The ride was unremarkable and short. Upon reaching the top, instead of going straight to inside the castle, we decided to walk around first. We stumbled across a park/garden nearby. It didn't seem to be on the radar for most tourists, for the park/garden was quite empty. With most gardens (and parks as well) that I've been to, most of them tend to have curved sides/shapes throughout. This particular one was very angular and square/rectangular like. It gave a different vibe in comparison with the others, which was a nice sight. After getting our fill of the park/garden, we went back up to the castle. Unlike Ozu castle, there were more tourists inside exploring, but not as busy as some of the other castles like Osaka or Himeji. Once we finished exploring, we headed to refresh ourselves with some mikan shaved ice at the nearby cafeteria. I wasn't really impressed for it seems like they threw on marmalade on top of some ice. The flavor was complex enough with both the flesh and rind included. 

After eating, we headed back down the mountain. Instead of going back in the cable car, we opted to try the chair lift instead. Once we got back to the bottom, we walked to our next destination: Bansuiso. Bansuiso is a historical mansion based on French architecture. According to the official tourism site, Bansuiso is the oldest reinforced concrete building in Ehime. The rooms were mostly bare with videos set up to talk about the life of the Count who had the house built. The thing I did notice the most was the amount of black mold on the vents... which did make me a bit queasy. Luckily we didn't spend too much time before heading out and back to our hotel. We did make a quick stop at a souvenir shop between Bansuiso and the hotel so that I could buy some omiyage (souvenirs in Japanese) for some relatives. We also got different flavored orange jellies to try out later.

Once I dropped off my shopping at the hotel, we headed to the last destination for the day: Dogo Onsen. According to lore, it is the oldest onsen in Japan, especially the main building: Dogo Onsen Honkan. Being about 3000 years old meant it was super busy. I took a few pictures of the outside, but didn't get a chance to go inside. Based on the pictures I've seen online on the onsen itself (along with the rooms that you could rent), it didn't seem I was missing much. Instead, we went to another nearby souvenir shop to get more gifts and omiyage. The older I get, the more I feel like I rather spend time at souvenir shops sadly. After purchasing our goods, we headed back to the hotel on the tram, in which we started to get used to navigating. Dropping off more shopping, we headed back to Okaido to a shop that caught our eye yesterday.

Dinner was mazemen - ramen without the broth, but substituted with a whole whack of flavors and sauce. I think I prefer tsukemen over mazemen, but the mixture of different flavors hits harder than tsukemen. At times, thinking back now, it felt a bit overwhelming, but I enjoyed it all the same. I'm not sure if it is at all mazemen restaurants, but once you're done eating noodles, you can ask for some plain rice to mix with the left over sauce. Once we finished eating, we headed back to the hotel for the night. With dessert waiting, the Botchan dumplings (named after the titular character written by the famous Natsume Soseki. Botchan was a bit of a rogue child growing up, but grew up with high morale as he ventured in life) was apparently a delicacy. Maybe we bought the wrong type of Botchan dumplings, but they were mediocre at best. Apparently the three colored dango should have different flavors, but they tasted nearly identical to me. The souvenir box also contained Taruto - a roll, sponge cake containing sweet bean paste. Once again, it was mediocre. Perhaps if we gotten these fresh, and not from a souvenir store but one that specialized in making these sweets, it would be a lot better.

That marked the end of the second day in Matsuyama. One more day left in this city before moving on. 

A picture of the park/garden. You can barely make out the castle at the top. Good thing it was cloudy, but I was still sweating quite a bit from the climb down and up. 

Day 3 (Aug 6) - Off to Ehime! The last of the 4 prefectures I have to visit in Shikoku!

 Little did I know, this trip would be marked by a lack of sleep. I got in around 3 hours of sleep after managing to pass out just after 1 AM. I guess the nerves of missing my early morning flight, along with the excitement of travelling to a new city, made it difficult to fall asleep.

After getting up at 4 AM, I got ready to leave the hotel. My girlfriend helped me with some last minute packing before we said goodbye to one another. She stayed back for a few more days in Tokyo before heading back to Calgary, while I had a week left in Japan. This also was my first time travelling solo on Japanese transit. Fortunately, or so I thought, armed with Google maps, I headed with my luggage to the nearby entrance to the subway. I had about 10-15 minutes to spare before the subway made its way to my station. I wanted to contact my girlfriend telling her I made it, while also telling my friend which whom I would be meeting up soon, but I had no cellular data. I knew my esim was working the day before, but somehow, a VPN was installed onto my phone. For a split second, I was able to get a message from my friend asking which train car I would be on, but I wasn't able to respond back. Fortunately, I had a screenshot of the subway I needed to take. I boarded the train and made my way to Haneda airport.

After getting off at Haneda's subway station, I made my way up the escalator. With free wi-fi, I quickly connected and made messages I meant to make during my ride. Very soon, I met up my friend and we headed towards JAL's check in to drop off our luggage. We made it through security and had nearly an hour before our flight to Matsuyama, a city in Ehime (Shikoku). Ehime was the only prefecture that I wasn't able to visit back in 2015. Little did I know back then that I would make a trip 10 years later to say I've completed going to all the prefectures in Shikoku. We soon boarded the plane. At the entrance, they offered some hard candy. I took an apple candy and headed towards my seat. With free wi-fi available on the plane, I had some things to kept me company as we travelled, but we ended up just chatting throughout the flight. It took about 50 minutes to get to Matsuyama, for after we took off, it felt that we were getting prepared to land.

After arrival, we quickly gathered our luggage and headed straight to the nearest bus that would take us to the city. It wasn't a super long trip, but I enjoyed looking at this new city from the window. Once we arrived at the JR Matsuyama station, we went to purchase an All Shikoku pass, that would allow us to travel all throughout Shikoku (on JR lines) for the next 3 days. For about $100 CAD, it was well worth the price, especially if you plan on travelling to different prefectures. After that, it was off to find Matsuyama Eki-mae Eki. I was confused by the name, since Eki means station. I thought we were already at the station that we needed to be, in order to get to the city center. However, we soon realized (and how I forgotten) that "mae" means in front. We were looking for the Matsuyama station in front of the [Matsuyama JR] station. Once we found it, we waited for the tram to take us to the city center...

Or so we thought, but we picked the wrong one it seemed. It's hard to explain, but the tram station had 5 different lines, while some of the lines did not loop around the town while one of the lines did. After getting off at a terminal station, we had to cross the street to the other station, to catch the same train that was eventually going to where we wanted to go. As we finally made it to Okaido (relatively large shopping street), we got off and headed to our hotel to drop off our luggage. It was way too early to check in, so we headed off to the shopping street to look for a place to eat. We ended up in front of a ramen shop that specialized in tsukemen. If you never had tsukemen before, think ramen, but with the noodles separated from the broth. Noodles also tend to be cold, while the broth is typically a lot richer than regular ramen broth. What struck out to me, and I'm not being sexist, is that the entire restaurant was operated by women (or at least at that time it was all women). This is the first time I've seen a female ramen chef, in which I whole heartedly was glad to see. The tsukemen came out glistening, with the first initial bites being incredibly tasty. With the super rich broth, you could taste the pork as it coated the noodles. After finishing our meal, we headed back to the tram so that we can head back to the station. 

But on second hand, we decided to walk from Okaido station back to Matsuyama station (JR - anytime I talk about Matsuyama station, it's the JR one). It wasn't too hot yet since it was still relatively early. We saw their prefectural government building (Matsuyama should be the capital of Ehime) and walked through a park (not sure what this area is called). Once we arrived at the station, we had some time to kill before catching the train to our destination. After strolling around their souvenir store, grabbing a mikan flavored (Ehime is known for their oranges) Match drink, we stopped at their resting room. When the train nearly arrived, we headed to the platform to wait. 

The ride to Ozu wasn't terribly long. I saw online that people called Ozu a little Kyoto. As we arrived at the station, it was sweltering hot. The humidity and clear skies did not help at all. Not wanting to increase our chances of skin cancer, we lathered up on sunscreen before heading off to Ozu castle. The streets were quiet, and there weren't too many people out and about. That is one nice thing about small cities and towns. As we approach the castle, drenched with sweat to the point that it started beading on my arms, we noticed that it was notably quiet. We paid the entrance fee and took the time to explore. Like in 2019 when we visited Nagoya Castle, it was nice to take our time to see the different parts and not worrying about moving along. The stairs though, seemed awfully steeper than what I remembered from other castles. It almost felt like I was climbing a ladder instead of going up stairs. They were so steep that I had to climb down backwards, for fear of slipping down. After visiting the castle, we tried locating Ozu's Old Town, a preserved street of old architecture. Perhaps it was due to Obon, but the entire street was shut down. Not seeing much, and being dejected, we had plans to go back to the station. However, there was still a lot of time left before the train would come, so we took some time to cool off at various convenience stores along the way.

I purchased a new pair of runners (Asics Nimbus 26 that were on sale) before Japan, which really helped keep my feet comfortable as we walked back to the station. As a side note, I often had sore heels/feet (or back pain back in 2023) from walking. As we made it back to the station, I took the opportunity to capture some railway photos (which is a strange passion of mine) before boarding the train back to Matsuyama station. After heading back to Matsuyama, and taking the tram to Okaido, we stopped by a nearby food hall in a department store to stock up for dinner. With our purchases in hand, we went back to the hotel to check in and settle down for the night. Dinner included sushi and sashimi. It was also the first time I had a monaka (or so I think...) which is a ice cream dessert surrounded by wafers and had a chocolate center. Quite tasty and relatively cheap!

With the lack of sleep catching up to me, I managed to pass out the moment I laid down in my bed. 

A panorama I took outside of Ozu castle. 

Day 1&2 - Back to Japan! (Aug 4-5)

 After travelling to Japan seven times over my life, it has lost it's luster. As much as I enjoy travelling, and juxtaposed in the sense that I want to travel to new places, nothing can compare to Japan for me at this moment. I have no interest, yet, in travelling to Europe (I've been in 2007, though it just wasn't for me at that time). I've travelled a bit in North America, in which I cannot appreciate the minute differences that each city has (Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, St. John's, Seattle [though I really enjoyed this trip back in 2023], and Las Vegas) to offer. I also have no interest in visiting South America, Africa or Australia at the moment as well. Within Asia, I've only been to, besides Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong. With all this said, after a lunch time conversation with a friend, we decided to travel to Japan together.

He travelled a few days earlier since I had some plans on the 2nd and 3rd of August (Camping!). With last minute tickets booked, my girlfriend, who managed to swap some schedules, and I were on our way to Narita Airport. We were blessed to be upgraded to premium economy, though sitting in different rows. We got the middle seat in the middle section, with her being one row in front of me. I had no idea how things operated, such as the tray table, storage space, leg rest, etc. Fortunately, the person sitting to my right was able to explain to me how things worked. We sat on the tarmac for two hours (after boarding), since there was a thunderstorm advisory. Service was top notch though, as the flight attendants offered us sparkling wine and snacks. After we got the all clear, we took off. During take off, I was halfway through watching Joker - which I thought was an interesting take of the origins of Batman's arch nemesis (I believe Joker was Batman's arch nemesis). The film was certainly dark and disturbing, which I credit to Joaquin Phoenix for his excellent portrayal of a mentally insane comedian as he became nihilistic with the social structure of Gotham. After finishing the film, I had to watch something a bit light hearted, so I ended up watching Mickey 17. As a side note, I noticed my girlfriend watching Mickey 17 at almost the same time -- it was definitely not planned! The movie wasn't as good as  I hoped, after reading the premise, but it was a nice mood lifter after Joker. Of course, I had to shift back gears by starting Parasite (the Korean movie) after finishing Mickey 17. Metaphorically speaking, I can see the title being named after the protagonist's family. Despite not being my type of film, I can appreciate what the director was going for in terms of class divide and the ignorance that the rich has for the poor (as how I interpreted the film). Finally, I had time for a fourth movie: The Intern. I couldn't finish it all since I was getting sleepy near the halfway point the movie.

But enough about the entertainment. The food served in premium economy was indeed better than economy. Like my meal on flights in Asia, we were able to use metal cutlery. Supper consisted of chicken breast, salad and... cheese cake if I remember correctly. Breakfast was a simpler affair of cucumber on top of a... baked rice dish? Either way, the meals were definitely an upgrade.

Due to starting the flight late, we did end up arriving an hour late into Narita. Luckily, by being in the front, we were one of the first to deboard. I believe it was my first time being inside an aircraft for 12 hours, and I can start feeling a bit anxious. With our QR codes ready, it was a straightforward process through immigrations and customs. Unlike 2023, it was just one QR code this time. Heading down to the baggage carousel, I noticed that there weren't any staff with cushions to soften the blow when bags came out. There were people readjusting the luggage to make it easier for passengers to pick up though. Unlike last time, our luggage were part of the first batch, so we quickly grabbed them and headed to the Keisei platform to catch the Sky Access train to Asakusa station. Everything was timed perfectly incidentally, in that we had 3 minutes to catch the train after getting our luggage. That means I wasn't able to get my routine first tea and onigiri. =(

The ride to Asakusa station was relatively chill, though being part of the last batch of passengers, no seats were available. With a ride time of over an hour, it wasn't too bad standing, especially after sitting down for almost 12 hours on a plane! After getting to the hotel, we dropped off our luggage and quickly headed to a seafood restaurant chain (which I first experienced in Nagoya). Time was of the essence since I had to get up at 4 AM the next day. At the seafood restaurant, I got the same chirashi don, which really hit the spot. Something about the fish in Japan that cannot be compared elsewhere (disclaimer: I may/am really biased). Once we got our fill of food, it was back to Rox Onsen to relax for a few hours. I needed a shower and the ability to kick back and relax. After spending some time in the onsen, we opted for the traditional milk drink. To cap off the night, we went to the nearby Don Quixote to make our first purchases on the trip. Unfortunately, this was the only night my girlfriend and I would have together on this trip since I'll be meeting my friend on the 6th, while she has a friend on the way as well.

 If I recall correctly, we got back to the hotel by around 11:30 PM. After getting changed, and repacking, it was time to take a "nap" before waking up at around 4 AM the next day. A jampacked first day that helped me get in as much sleep as possible. 

I want to say I first noticed this in 2019? 

Day Trip to Vancouver! (July 3)

 I didn't even bother writing a blog post for my 36th birthday. As I grow older, each and every birthday seem less and less important. With summer break coming to a close, it's time to blog about the trips I took this summer!

We started off with a day trip to Vancouver on Thursday July 3rd. Tickets were relatively affordable going to and from, while hotel prices were not so much. Since it's not our first time being in Vancouver, we decided to settle for a single day trip. 

After catching the first flight that WestJet had from Calgary to Vancouver, we quickly departed to Granville Island to get clam chowder from A La Mode. I think I've gotten it every time we went, and perhaps it was due to hunger, but it tasted better than I've ever had it. We continued exploring the public market, and ended up getting two canelé. I had a matcha version while my girlfriend got a lemon. I didn't expect the matcha to match well with the canelé, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well it did. After taking in the sights of False Creek, and purchasing some lavender essential oils, we ventured to the next spot.

I can't recall the name of this cafe, but we stopped here to grab some blue colored matcha latte. Besides the color, I didn't find it remarkable. Not wanting to spend too much time here, since time was of the essence, we headed to the downtown area to quickly revisit the steam clock. Nothing spectacular, but we did manage to see it whistle/blow steam. This part of the trip is a bit foggy, but I believe we stopped at another cafe to grab a croissant. It must have been unremarkable for me to vaguely remember what happened. 

The new site this time around was Lavenderland. We took a bus from downtown to Richmond. Upon first arrival at Lavenderland, it brought back memories from Furano in Hokkaido. It's no where near as big as Furano, but the different varieties of lavender were displayed nicely. It was relatively sunny, so I took off my jacket as I wandered through the rows of lavender... and bees. I have a slight fear of stinging insects, but fortunately the bees didn't seem to care about me as they went about their job collecting nectar and spreading pollen (I'm assuming they were still pollenating at this time). 

After a few hours at Lavenderland, we were starting to feel hungry. Hai Di Lao never disappoints, so we headed via bus to said location. Not wanting to overly stuff myself, we ordered a few favorite dishes while taking the time to recharge both ourselves and our phones. With time running out before we need to catch our plane, we hurried off to a nearby arcade to try and get some Bishi Bashi in. I first tried it in South Korea, and I have to say it's pretty fun. We weren't able to go all the way this time, so we ended our journey once we both ran out of lives. 

The ending of this trip was a bit of a blur, and I can't recall the exact sequence. I believe we headed to the airport first, but after finding out that the flight we wanted to catch was quite full (luckily we had the ability to change our tickets without penalty) due to a lot of cancelled flights back to Calgary, we opted to a later flight. With a bit more time to spare, we headed back to Richmond to purchase some souvenirs from Kam Do Bakery (pretty good bakery) and a new spot: Car's Dessert. From my understanding, Car's Dessert is a Hong Kong based sweet shop that focuses on mochi and pudding. All I can say is that there mochi is undeniably soft. I can't recall having a mochi as soft as Car's (perhaps a few places in Japan), that I regret not buying and eating more.

After getting back to the airport, we were able to get seats on one of the last flights back to Calgary. At this point, there was no guaranteed we were able to board, and we even looked up flights to other places in Canada where hotel prices were cheaper (assuming we couldn't come back home). 

All's well that ends well! We made it back just after midnight. About 15 hours in Vancouver, which I never expected to be possible to do in a day. I would definitely do it again if given the chance!

Lavenderland's lone house/mansion.