06/13/2013

Last day!    Woke up and did some cleanup/packing (threw out a lot of papers I didn't need).   Japan is very big on "official documents", so each site you visit often gets you a ticket or pass.   Ina told me about this and I kept a few, but mostly I know its just going to get trashed (sorry, I'm not into paper!).

So away they went, along with many maps and little things that I'd picked up and tossed into my bags.

Spoke to a few people on the mainland and prepped to turn off my mifi box and put it back into the shipping package that was sent to me with it.   Will drop it in a Japan Post box somewhere before entering security at the airport so it gets returned.   It really worked well for me!

Checked out of the Ryokan around 9am and walked up Dotonbori and over near the crab restaurant to the left a few blocks to the main escalator for Nankai train line.   Stored everything major in a locker there and then headed walked around Namba Walk (underground area with shops -- most closed this time of morning).     Picked up a nice roll for later and then ended up going upstairs and out to "Royal Host" (kind of like a Denny's) and getting a small breakfast of french toast.   

Here are some pictures of Namba walk and "breakfast"... Oh, the namba walk pictures are why its so hard for me to be here (not that I ate all these for Breakfast, but I would have LIKED to!):

Walked around some more to burn some time.    Saw some nice cats who were sleeping and took a daytime photo near the "alleyway shrine" I'd seen before.   People would pour water onto the statue which is why it is so green and moss covered.   The cats didn't seem to mind!

At 11:00am I walked over to the crab restaurant and went up to the 2nd floor for the sole purpose of having another small bowl of "crab au gratin".    Really really good!    Yum!   Also a great view of the shopping street.

Left there and walked around a little more -- decided to hunt for the dessert place I'd read about -- which said it was on the 8th floor.   Not sure if they moved or if I found a different one, but here's one I found on the 6th floor.    They also served some non-dessert food, which I passed on.   For about $14 it was "all you can eat for an hour an a half".    I only lasted about 15 minutes, but had my fill of desserts. Sadly, while good they were mostly the same (something I'd been warned about), but I still enjoyed it.

Decided that I didn't want to do another "Spaworld" morning, so walked back to Nankai and got my bags out of the locker and bought a 12:30 Rapi:b ticket on an express to the airport.    Asked about a postbox, but directions didn't seem to get me close to one, so I took the train to the airport and figured I'd find a box there.

Train ride was uneventful, other than one guy behind me appeared to be sneezing a bit.   I tried to stay self contained and sure hope I didn't get a parting present from him!     Grrr!

Anyway, got off the train and asked a few people for the Post box -- found one (its orange-red, not blue!).

Dropped my mifi package back in the box and headed to wait in line for United.

Got my boarding pass and headed through the first bit of security.    Then between that bit and customs I managed to LOSE my boarding pass!   Arrrgh!     But they were very nice and about 10 minutes later someone from united came and gave me another one.     Was able to get through customs without incident (other than feeling like an idiot!) and hopped the shuttle to the terminal building.

As noted above, my 4:15pm flight is delayed (will be a late arrival here) until 7:00pm take off time.   Fortunately I qualify to use the code-share lounge for United... am typing this from there right now.    While writeups on the web say its not the best of lounges, its pretty nice by airport standards that I have (not many lounges!).    NIce chairs, lots of computers fee to use, some nice cookies, ramen, wine, beer, soft drinks, fruit juices, yogurt (seems risky!), etc.     Also very nicely air conditioned!

So I'll be here for a while until I board the plane -- now arriving between 12pm and 1pm "today" in SFO (I still get to travel back in time)

It's been a fun trip, but I am ready to head back to the US.

Posted 12th June by John Uhley