Today is my last day in Japan – tomorrow will be spent traveling, and Monday morning I'll arrive in Switzerland. Because my plane will arrive early no train from Basel gets to the airport in time, so I'll have to make my own way home, sadly enough… But enough of this, as I'll have six hours in Singapore tomorrow evening, part of which I'll probably spent online. (Also, I mastered the apostrophe on this keyboard, yay!)
In my last post I was talking about going to Nikko, wasn't I? That was really lovely, and we even had time to drive over to a very impressive waterfall in the mountains. Back in Tokyo in the evening, I quickly checked into the other youth hostel and was then taken to the Katayama family's home, where a wonderful feast was waiting for us three travellers. It was incredible, with an amazing number of dishes, one better than the other – and they had even baked a cake for me, which said 'Welcome Eva!' I did feel a bit self-conscious, though, because apparently my chattiness is quite unusual for Japanese standards, as Mr. Katayama pointed out to me – several times… 😉
But anyway, I don't think anyone's ever done anything like this for me before and can't thank the Katayamas enough for their hospitality.
Yesterday I met up with Mie again (who might be reading this!*waves*) and we went all over Tokyo looking at shops and stores. You wouldn't believe some of the things you can buy here! (Amy – we went to a Chinese place for lunch, because they had chive dumplings like the one we ate in Bugis that day…) Among lots of glitter, impractical winter clothing and fake fur, I found a beautiful skirt (which I'm wearing right now) and some other bits and pieces, including several goodies from 'Snoopy World', where I felt right at home, of course. *g* I wasn't succesful in my quest for a nice pair of boots, but that's okay – I just have to accept that my taste isn't the fashion right now… In any case, I had a lovely time with Mie and ended the day on the 45th floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, looking out over Tokyo by night.
Today I'm meeting Nozomi and her friend Yoko (who I already met at the dinner on Thursday) and we'll go to one of the karaoke places. Definitely looking forward to that, as Sabine hooked me on this Japanese pastime back in Kumamoto… *g* I then plan on getting a last taste of Japanese culture by going to the National Museum, which is supposed to be really good.
Well, I didn't mean to go on like this, but it just happened, as it does… Guess I'll talk to you guys soon – take care of yourselves! *hugs*