NAOSHIMA > OSAKA
Slept better, aside form K farting.
Breakfast was a wide array of octopus (had to), seaweed, ham (plastic), marinated mushrooms, boiled gristle sausage, cold wet scrambled egg and hard beans. Surprisingly tasty.
Then croissant, fruit salad, orange juice and coffee. There was plenty more on offer including noodle soups, coleslaw, salad, omelette…
Lazy morning, wander around Benesse House Museum, purchased in Beach Store (cement planter, postcards and scarf plus Emmas butterfly).
Were let into Oval area to explore for ourselves – private monorail.
Ran face first through a cobweb!!!
Oval = amazing spaces etc but did feel an old (albeit once amazing) public swimming pool. Plus midges galore means I reckon we got the best deal all round.
Currently writing on Nojoumi Shinkansen to Osaka after a series of fortunate travel connections including bus to port the second we collected bags, straight on ferry and trains. Shinkansen was 11,000Y mind…
Eventually found hotel after getting off subway too soon. First appearances were upmarket for a Premier Inn.
Got our separate passes for rooftop Onsen.
Looked up where to go and Dotombon was 20mins train.
Then K found the aquarium…perporting to be worlds best according to TripAdvisor although the rest of the internet didn’t agree.
[fat fuck count = 3]
Anyhoo, a short train and little walk got us there just in time for last admission at 7pm.
It’s set out as a massive spiral taking you rom top to bottom through regions but lasting impression was that all display cages/tanks were far too small…
The uber giant ferris wheel was shut when we got out but I was dying with back pain and all shopkeepers were useless.
We also got lost with no wifi but old man parking attendant tried his best in lots of Japanese to explain how to get to Festival Hall. Luckily later a lovely young business man spoke English and took us out of his way to the end of festival road.
We just made it home having failed to find food but this turned out to be a blessing. The restaurant under the hotel was super posh, super traditional ( curtained cubicles and traditional robes) with crazy menu.
Having witnessed a show from our at-the-touch-of-a-button waitress lady, miming various body parts we were ordering, we shared sashimi horse, whale (cartilage), Yakitori (pork libs and crotch!), gyoza, squid dumplings and plate of raw body parts (kidney, tongue, heart, lung). It was amazing. Then came the bill… less than £50?! (with 2 beers each)
Hakatarou restaurant = thumbs up.
Now, with dead back and feet, its nearly midnight. Fi is on a plane so to sleep and meet her a demain.
wecantakethisboat.com 