On the road again....

Well, it has been a while since I did a blog post! Jerome here. You can expect the content of the following blog post to be concerned with our recent jaunt to Osaka.

We boarded the above Bullet Train at Tokyo station on Saturday feeling slightly worse for wear due the the previous night's heavy drinking and singing. Heads spinning and throats hoarse, we walked down 9 carriages of the Shinkansen until we reached the unreserved section. I say walked, we were wobbling all over the place making quite a spectacle of ourselves. When we finally reached the carriage we could actually sit in we sat down next to a sleeping Japanese man in a suit. Absolutely starving, we decided to crack open some noodle/ rice-based-is-it-chicken-is-it-pork food item with a dollop of mayo. Instantly regret the decision to buy it. As the Shinkansen wove its way through the Japanese countryside, this food was jiggling like a jelly at a garden party. And we're sat there almost chundering. Excellent start. The Snickers and Oreos definitely served the hangovers better.

We get to Shin Osaka station roughly 2 hours 45 mins later, and make our way to Osaka station on the underground. At Osaka station we found Robson's friend's hotel (Lucy and Patrick) for future reference, then decided to hop in a taxi and go to our own hotel. Our hotel was just lovely. Had a boutique feel to it, and was very clean and comfortable. Already at this point we were looking forward to sleeping in a proper bed as both of ours in Tokyo are futons and leave a lot to be desired when it comes to comfort.

After showers and getting changed, we headed outside to a building called Breezé Breezé, feeling slightly less fragile. At this point we were unsure whether we'd actually be able to meet up with Robson's Norfolk neighbours Lucy and Patrick, but as we were crossing the road low and behold Lucy calls Robson. After calling Lucy Tracy about 5 times, it finally sank in that they were in Osaka and wanted to meet for dinner. Sex and the City style, Robson throws out her arm and we jump into a taxi to their hotel.

We met them in the lobby and decided to head back to Breezé Breezé to try and find somewhere nice to eat. The building is fantastic, we ended up eating on the 33rd floor in an Alain Ducasse restaurant with spectacular views and wonderful staff. The food was excellent, but the best thing about the evening had to be the company. I'd already heard about Lucy and Patrick from Robson, and had seen some of Lucy's work which I just adore. After we had eaten and chatted for hours, we realised that the evening was drawing to a close and that we had yet to meet our friend Jack from SOAS. We said night night to Lucy and Patrick, met Jack and went for a drink in our hotel. Best Mojitos we've had in Japan so far! It was great to catch up with Jack, we ended up staying out until about 2am!

Well, there's something to be said about sleeping in a comfy bed. Feeling just about back to normal, Sunday morning we check out and walk to the department store where Lucy was exhibiting her work as part of a British Fair. We walk into the fair to the tune of classical covers of songs by The Beatles. Weird. We spotted Lucy's stand a mile off due to the glitter, so headed over to see her and Patrick. Lucy had made some artwork for me and Robson! One for each of us, and then one for Robson and Jerome :) I was so so chuffed because I'd seen her work at Robson's house and never thought I'd have one of my own, I love it so much. Very special presents indeed.

After having a nose around the fair, we said our goodbyes and went off to meet our mate from SOAS Chrissy G. It was so good to see him, think the last time was the infamous Hillbilly party in June...again, slightly worse for wear would be an understatement on our part. Then Sarah turned up with her host family sister and we got to have some time with them in a coffee shop. It was nice to hear how they're getting on and get all the gossip. Kijun (standard). Only thing is, now we've left we really miss them. We both love Tokyo, but seeing our friends in Osaka makes us think what a great time we'd have if we were all together. But, they all said they will come to Tokyo soon! Looking forward to that already. 


So we rushed off to the station and jumped back on the Shinkansen. Some Japanese men who were old enough to be our Grandfathers tried it on, we pretended to be Spanish. Bad move. They could speak some Spanish. It worked well last time with the German!! We just ignored them until we got off at our stop and they shouted 'Adios!!' at us. Adios indeed.


So, this is where Jerome signs off! Overall an excellent weekend right? I think so. How long will it be until I sit at my computer and blog again? Who bloody knows. I'll leave ya'll with some pictures to make up for it :)