Today, after the excitement of yesterday we decided to have a quiet day. Matt did an internet search in the area for another onsen to visit, but couldn't find any near a train station so we decided to visit our local one again. After a leisurely breakfast we got the bus down to Port Park, walked along the promenade to the Onsen.
I had Tom with me this time, which was nice as we had the ladies' side pretty much to ourselves. Tom had a shower with me during which he actually shampooed his hair and was giggling at the end wanting to play more in the water stream. It looks like we have showers cracked - big tick for this holiday, we will need to make sure we give him regular showers at home now - I so wish we had a wet room bathroom at home - would make bath time so much more fun.
We then played in the baths - Tom didn't stay for long in any of the baths, but he did play in all of them and was quite happy dipping in and out of them all. After about 40 minutes we were both red in the face and ready to come out which we did. He got to use his new Dr Yellow towel (one of the many purchases from yesterday) to dry himself, he was very excited to see it and then we had a session using the hair dryers - I wasn't allowed to use one on my hair, Tom enjoyed having it done so much, as soon as I moved the hair dryer away from him he would say that his hair was wet again and needed drying again.
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| My lunch - a sushi set meal |
After the Onsen, our plan was to get a take away lunch from the nearby supermarket and go and eat it in the park, however it had started to rain so our plans were scuppered. Instead we went to a neighbourhood diner for lunch which was very very good - it was quite full when we arrived, always a good sign. I had a sushi set (we haven't had much sushi since getting here) which came with some udon noodles and tempora - most of which Tom ate, whilst Matt had ebi fry, Japanese hamburger and croquette set - all of which was delicious. We then headed out into the rain across the car park to the supermarket to buy some provisions and then got the bus home.
When we got home, Tom had his afternoon nap. Tom has been napping every day since getting here, but he is having much longer days, the weather is hot and humid and of course we have been packing each day with lots of new experiences - he has a lot to process and as a result seems to need a nap everyday - he doesn't fight it at all, in fact he is quite happy to admit he is tired (or as he says it 'towered'), which is the reverse at home.
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| Would you let this boy drive your train? |
Once he was up again we set off for the 4.13 shinkansen to Osaka. This is the blue train in which we came back on from Iwakuni (we discovered there was a children's play area at the front of the train just as we stepped off). We promised ourselves another ride on it - but they are very few and far between making it difficult. We decided to take this one for a ride to Shin Osaka, have dinner at Shin Osaka and then get another train home. We are so glad that we did. The children's play area was brilliant - it was a mock up of the driver's cab, it had all the necessary levers, and even an electronic display showing the kilometres per hour, buttons to raise and lower the pantograph and more. It was brilliant and it wasn't just Tom that was excited, we were too. Luckily there were no other children in the carriage meaning we had it to ourselves (and of course we had an expert driver in out midst - well that's how Matt now regards himself after his simulator experience yesterday) I can't say Tom's driving was at all steady, (and we had an incident when he trapped his finger in the brake, which the other passengers in the carriage must have really enjoyed) but once again his hand signals were very good. The hour to Shin Osaka flew by. Oh AND guess what, when we were stopped at Nishi Akashi, DR YELLOW came zooming past - we had no idea he was due. Luckily, all 3 of us saw him (we are all obsessed with him now) for the 5 or so seconds it took for him to pass by.
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| We've reached 300 kph and no hands on the controls!!!! |
Once at Shin Osaka, we tried to hunt out a curry restaurant we visited 5 years ago. The layout of the station has changed considerably since, so we couldn't find it but we did find a restaurant that did just curry and went in. We had an ebi fry curry and a Katsu curry between the 3 of us. It was fantastic - the best ebi fry and Katsu we have had since being here. I would quite happily have had two portions - just for the ebis and katsus. It was run by one guy who was working his socks off, he cooked everything to order and you could tell - one of the best meals since we got here and I forgot to take a photo - poo!
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| Superb hand signals |
We got the next shinkansen back - a "boring" white train and then Tom went straight to bed after his milk - no need for baths after this morning.
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| What a fantastic mural |
We think rainy season may have arrived today. Japan has a month of rain around May/June time, we have been incredibly lucky with the weather to date - it's been pretty hot and muggy but nothing excessive. Tom and I have worn t-shirt and shorts everyday since arriving which is so nice. We will see what happens, but we have a horrible feeling it will rain now until we leave, however, it is still warm so hopefully we will carry on wearing shorts.
Oh, and Tom managed a tiny poo in the loo today which was good - he soiled his nappy during nap time which was a shame, but I guess we can't blame him for that.
Oh and we got another postcard from Granma and Pop Pop today - thanks.
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