We made it! After 15 hours of travel by plane and train we arrived in Shounandai exhausted and starving.
The plane ride was nothing out of the ordinary. If anything it seemed to be quicker than usual. I only managed to watch 2 movies (Ice Age 3, and some US Army thing.) a few episodes of Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men, have an hour nap and eat 2 meals, then we were landing! Oh and I watched next Sundays episode of the new Top Gear. I recommend watching it!
It was a short 30 minute wait at the Airport for the Narita express train to Shounandai. Somehow I didn’t fall asleep and read a good chunk of the novel I had got for reading on the plane. After checking in quickly and freshening up a little we went across to the side of the station where I used to live and had a small dinner at the little Izakaya just round the corner from my old apartment.
The Izakaya is a family business, the dad is behind the counter slicing and dicing fresh fish and other foods. The mum is taking orders and delivering the food and drink to customers while either one of their sons or the grandmother does all the cooked food out the back. This is the kind of place you only go if you are a local working man of a certain age usually or a bunch of foreigners that don’t know any better and keep coming back!
After Uncle Nev had polished off a jug of beer bigger than his head and we had all had a good feed on fresh fish and deep fried stuff we came back to the hotel and they promptly went to bed. I waited up until my girlfriend had finished work and come to stay in the hotel then I too fell fast asleep and didn’t even move until morning.
Today (Thursday) has been a busy day looking around the ancient capital of Kamakura, and taking a drive down to Enoshima Island. All this was followed up by a massive feast with my girlfriends family at another restaurant near my old apartment.
I am now too full and too tired to tell you all about what we did today but I thought I’d finish writing about yesterday at least! It seems I am doomed to stay a day behind with this writing!
I’ll try and catch up tomorrow!