Sumoto & Chiba

Made it to Japan about 7pm Sunday after 8 hr flight from Cairns. Nice
uneventful flight meaning I had a good chance to get some "vertical"
rest, but, so happenned I got a seat next to a uni student from, of
all places, Hiroshima! She ws return back home to Japan after studying
a year studying abroad. So spent a good chunk of the time in the air
talking in a mixture of English and Japanese (which is often the case)
reducing the apparent flight time.

Didn't make the connection to get the bus to Sumoto to catch up with
my Jamaican friend, so went back to Osaka and grabbed some yakisoba.
Was soooo tired, hungry and just wanted to lie down!!! Found some
accommodation for 4 hours near Osaka station. Bathroom was pretty
fancy with all the gadgets: spa, tv, number different control panels
etc.

Just managed to get up at 5:15am to train to Sannomiya and bus to
Sumoto. Was really worth it, even though only 4 hours.

Then bullet trained up to Tokyo to see Ryuichi, great friend from
Hiroshima but now in Chiba. Had really nice teishoku meal, walked
around Chiba port and enjoyed hanging out with Ryuichi. Slept over at
his place, up at 8:30, and now on a crowded train to Tokyo where I'll
transfer to go to Maebashi in Gunma to see some good family friends!

Even though I'd lived in Japan 2 years, still a few firsts: fly into
Kansai Airport, go to Sumoto on Awajishima, travel on world's longest
central span (~2km) bridge to Awajishima, use JR Pass with unlimited
shinkansen use for a week, sleep horizontal on non crowded bullet
train, go in non-Nozomi and non-Tokaido shinkansen, stop over in Chiba
city, and today, go to Gunma prefecture.

All the things about Japan are coming back to my mind. Humid rainy
season, cheap convenience store food, very ordered society, cleanness,
systems and industry, road markings, little things, fashion, high
quality and standards, non-emotive public interaction, real genuine
kindness, and I could go on and on.

I'm really enjoying being back, have plenty of opportunity to practice
Japanese. Well, it's now time for some brekky on the Shinkansen.