Day 18, April 18th: Homeward Bound

It was going to be a long day.  We would be going from southern Japan to Tokyo's Narita Airport.

Our last Toyoko Inn breakfast!  Loved the miso soup!

The Toyoko Inn does not give out free shampoo, conditioner or soap.  You get it from that dispenser on the wall which is very convenient.  They do give you a free toothbrush and toothpaste though and free tea.

Walked to the Takamatsu station where train staff were waiting for us to arrive.

I'm holding our bento lunches that we bought at the train station.

They notified all the stations where we would be making transfers to make sure we would complete our trip to Narita Airport.

And yes, we could still see some cherry blossom trees blooming on our way north.

We were keeping our fingers crossed that the two suitcases we sent that first week from Tokyo and the two suitcases we sent from Matsuyama would be waiting for us at the Yamato Takkyubin delivery counter.

They were!

Sigh... what a relief!

Mom called her brother and sister to thank them for all their kindness, generosity and hospitality.

We would be talking to our friend, Sam on Skype when we returned to Hawaii.  I really wish the relatives could get on Skype.

When Art was making reservations for seats on China Airlines from Hawaii, people were not helpful.  Expedia said we couldn't make reservations until 24 hours before flight time and we would not be able to sit together.

I was finally able to get help from someone at the Honolulu Airport China Airlines who got us seat reservations together.  Otherwise, we would all have been separated which would have been upsetting for Mom.

At Narita, one of the China Airlines personnel came and told us they thought we'd be more comfortable together in seats that were closer to the front of the airplane so they moved us.  They also assigned someone to help us get to the gate.  What a difference from calling Expedia in the states!

With four hours to kill at Narita Airport, we had time for a last soft serve.  Would you believe it was at McDonalds?  And no, it was not as good as those we had during our trip.

It was so much fun to see the same attendant we met when we arrived in Tokyo take us to the gate to leave.

The meals returning from Japan to Hawaii were a whole lot better than the ones we got going.

We really loved our time in Japan, but it was wonderful to be back in Hawaii again.

Because of the wheelchair, our bags were ready quickly and we got through customs efficiently.

John's Taxi came to take us all home.

My sister-in-law, Nancy and nephew, Cody sent us a fruit basket bouquet to thank us for bringing home their husband and father safely.

And now....

I've got those 25 GB of photos to get through to make that (detailed) travel photo album for Mom so that she can remember all the good times we had.

Wish me luck!

Day 17, April 17th, Takamatsu

7:00 Breakfast at the Hotel Los Kochi

I took a pass on the raw egg and the natto (fermented soy beans).  Mom chided me saying the natto is very, very, VERY healthy for me and would help me get well.

Ummmmm....

No... maybe next time.

It was an easier morning.  We caught the 9:15 train for Takamatsu.

It was hard to believe that we would be leaving for Hawaii the following day!

Train staff provided ramps for our wheelchair.




We arrived at the Takamatsu JR train station.  Dennis and Art took our luggage and backpacks to the Toyoko Inn while mom and I talked to the train staff to make sure our transportation would all go smoothy the following day with all our train transfers to Narita.

When the guys returned we grabbed lunch at the Tsuya Tsuya restaurant and enjoyed sanuki udon noodles again.  Then we were on our way to the Ritsurin Garden.

Young Japanese often put up the V sign when they take photos.  We decided to try it for fun.

This was supposed to be the matsu (pine) tree with the best form in the garden.

There were the biggest koi we've ever seen at that garden.

It was amazing to see how many different kinds of matsu there were.

Mom loves matsu and she had a great time seeing the beauty of each new shape.

I must have been feeling better.

These two matsus were called husband and wife trees so Dennis had us pose in front of them.

So what are we taking at least 50 photos of?

It was a bird.  We still don't know what kind of bird it is. Do you know?

It must have thought we were pretty incompetent bird photographers because it stayed there for the longest time without moving.

And yes!  We did have a soft serve.  It was the matcha tea flavor that Dennis had earlier and it really was very good... even though it cost 400 yen.  That's about $4.80 a cone!

This blue heron was on his way  to finding his lunch in the pond.

What is it about bridges that make you want to go over them?  There were no railings.  Aren't they afraid somebody will fall in?

In the U.S. they'd be afraid of a law suit.

Loved the light on these iris.

As we were leaving we saw this grove of double petaled cherry blossom trees.

I couldn't get over how pretty they were.

We also saw the remains of all the cherry blossoms who had given their all for this spring season.

There was a little stand where you could brush the dust off your shoes.  Or maybe it's to dust off the flower petals.

It was time to walk back to the hotel.

Mom wanted to walk so I sat on the wheelchair and let Dennis push me so I could see what it was like.

However, before we started walking, Art and Dennis thought it would be fun to take this photo.

I discovered that:

#1:  Riding on the wheelchair is very bumpy and not all that comfortable.

#2:  That loss of control over where you're going is not pleasant.

It's something to think about as we age.

We grabbed our last sanuki udon for dinner at the Hyogomachi Arcade shopping area.

There's the Toyoko Inn right next to the Hyogomachi Arcade. 

We uploaded our photos to our laptop and the flash drives.  Would you believe we had about 25 GB of photos between our three cameras?

Tomorrow:  Time to go home

Day 16, April 16th: Sakamoto, Ryoma Museum

We woke up to a gray, cloudy, rainy looking day.

But it was OK.

We were going to a museum.

Art will tell you he planned it that way.

I do love the Japanese bathrooms.  I won't talk about those squat toilets here.  The sit down toilets are just wonderful.  See that handle on the right?   The Japanese character on the handle points to small and big.... meaning small or big flush.

On the arm of the toilet you've got dials that enable you to have a jet of water for a bidet to clean... well... never mind.  It's for women.

Then there's the dial for your other end and it all allows you to be as clean as can be with minimum toilet paper use.

The breakfast (included) at the Hotel Los Kochi was wonderful, but with my shaky system... I decided not to put the raw egg onto my rice.  Art and Dennis?  They never let anything go to waste.

You can see I'm looking a little tired here.

The rain let up just enough for us to walk briskly to the bus station to catch the Ryoma decorated bus to the Ryoma Sakamoto Museum.

By the way, one of those statues is of Ryoma Sakamoto.

It was a short walk to the museum from the My Yu bus stop.

We saw a Japanese Taiga drama about Ryoma Sakamoto last year and became interested in this brilliant man who rose from obscurity to change Japan.

The sign here said to shake hands with Ryoma.

While Mom looked at Ryoma's letters, watched a video about his life, and learned even more about this amazing man... we... ummmm... had just a teeny bit of fun.

If a sister can't have fun with her baby brother, wouldn't it be a sad world?

Ryoma wanted us all to be equally happy... equality being the operative word.

There is a famous photo of Ryoma with his mouth a little down turned and hand in his kimono... sort of like Napoleon.  Art just couldn't resist.  This wax mannequin was really realistic!

Unfortunately, not everyone agreed with Ryoma... particularly the shogun in power.  Ryoma was assassinated on his 33rd birthday at the Omiya Inn in Kyoto.  This is what the room looked like down to the blood splatters on the wall.

The museum hotel restaurant was great; we really enjoyed the meal.

Everything was delicious and at the top right hand corner is tataki which is seared sashimi, another delicacy my cousin in Sendai, Norio recommended we try.

We did also have a mango soft serve for dessert at the museum.  Actually, Dennis had to be different and tried the matcha soft serve which is a bitter tea.  He liked it.  We sure enjoyed the mango soft serve.

When we got back to the Hotel Los Kochi, mom and I were pretty exhausted.  However, we needed to find dinner.

Searching for a restaurant was the last thing she and I wanted to do.

What a surprise to find the Han no Ren restaurant on the first floor below the hotel registration desk!

On top of that, all the teishoku meals were delicious... or maybe it was the beer that again provided that extra flavor enhancement.

We almost NEVER drink beer at home.  Honest!  Cross my heart...  But, somehow... in Japan we did have our beer. 

We also rarely have pastry type desserts at home.

But in Japan... somehow... the calories didn't count.

Dennis and Art went out and got some desserts for us.

And they were good!