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Because we had talked about waffles the night before, Matthew and I were determined to find waffles for breakfast this morning. Our plans for the day were light, since my bus left at 3pm. We looked up a couple breakfast places and hopped in the car to try our luck, but the first restaurant ended up being a bust. It was in a really strange building with absolutely no one around, and the signs outside said it was open... But when we walked in, a sign at the internal door said closed... It slid open anyway and we popped our head in because there were a few people inside, but no staff at the door? Or anywhere, apparently? So we stood around for a minute or so and decided to just give up because the vibes were so off. Oh well. Off we went to a different place, this time a cafe/restaurant in a hotel in Takayama that Matthew had been to before for a staff event, called Green Hotel.

The vibes here were much more welcoming! The staff were nice and assured us we could eat there even though we weren't staying in the hotel. They sat us in a lounge area with low tables and comfortable armchairs all in outdated colours with floral carpets and wood decor, but it was outdated in a way that positively reminded me of my nana and granddad's house. Like, a small step away from mid century modern (if only the wood was a bit darker). We were right by the window and could look out into a Japanese style garden in the courtyard, with pines and a pond with some koi swimming around. The sky was starting to clear too, the beginnings of a great day!

The waffles really hit the spot, and the coffee was delicious. Small portion, but it was kind of a fancy place, so maybe that's to be expected. In any case it was a way better experience than the weird first restaurant we went to! We even walked around the souvenir shop attached to the hotel, it was very extensive. A lot of just same old junk, but some cute things too, so I picked up a few sarubobo things for some people.

After that, we bopped around doing some shopping. I wanted to hit up Muji in search of pen ink refills for a multicolour pen I've had for years but you can't get the refills for anymore, at least in Canada. I was wondering if I would be more successful in Japan. The answer was no, but I did get another new pen, some skincare (! I don't do skincare, this is new for me), and a few makeup items. It's hard to enter Muji without spending money... I looked at some of the clothes there too but thankfully the size of my suitcase is restricting me from going ham on clothes shopping. There was a thrift store around the corner, a chain called Santanosoko Okamototen, and indeed their logo is Santa. I had seen him around other cities but didn't know that's what the store was! We went in and I was determined to search for old kpop albums in the music section. Success!! Finally!! They weren't organized by kpop and not, so I had to spend time searching and digging through some boxes, but it was totally worth it. I got an Epik High album from 2014 (Shoebox), an EXO-CBX album (subgroup of exo with Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin) from 2018 (Magic, and Chen version, my favourite from exo-cbx!), and two SHINee albums - not as old as I'd like, but a single album from 2018 (Sunny Side, 3 Japanese songs), and one from 2021 (Don't Call Me, Key version). They were all just jewel case versions, so photobooks but no photocards or posters or anything special. But all 4 cds together cost me $8!!! Are you kidding me!!! And they're pretty small to pack :D it was a great haul! We finished up at a bookstore in the shopping complex too, where I looked for Fruits Basket, my favourite manga, just in case. It's been out of print for so many years but I thought maybe it had had a reprint when the anime got reanimated in 2020. No luck. I should have checked the thrift store, I guess. I did however get another pen from the stationary section of the bookstore. They had a music shop within the bookstore and I really considered getting an otomatone (if you don't know what that is, please check this, they're very hard to describe). They're pretty large though, so I decided if I have space in my bags by the end of my time in Osaka I could consider one.

Shopping spree over, it was time for lunch. We went for curry sets at a Nepalese place (always a safe bet for vegetarian food). I wanted to try their momos (dumplings) but wanted a curry set more, so got salad and garlic naan and mixed vegetable curry with an iced chai.

The restaurant inexplicably had Christmas decorations still up (it's nearly March?) which we had a laugh about.

Before long, it was time for Matthew to drop me off at the bus station. I was headed first from Takayama to Nagoya, and then getting a connecting train from Nagoya to Osaka. I was a bit antsy about the connection, I had given myself 30 minutes but I had to go to a machine in Nagoya to receive my ticket that I had reserved online, and knowing how poorly me and machines have gotten along this trip... I was a little concerned, what with navigating the station too. So, when I got on the bus I switched my train reservation to be half an hour later, to give me a full hour for my connection. Well. So I thought.

Our bus got stuck in some absolutely brutal traffic just outside of Nagoya. I thought at first that it was my foolish decision to book a bus that was supposed to get in at 5:30 on a weekday, prime rush hour. But actually the delays were because of at least 2 car accidents, if not more (probably in addition to regular rush hour delays). It took us more than 1 hour to crawl forward through what should have been less than 10 minutes of driving. After all that angsting about my connection, I simply wasn't going to make it at all! I wasn't that stressed about it, because it's not like I could do anything, I was stuck on a bus with no other options. I made peace with it. However I wished I had a snack. When I was on the bus I was checking on the train website about what my options were, and found out that even though I missed my train I could take a later train on the same route at no additional cost, I just wasn't guaranteed the seat. The trains have a non-reserved section where it's first come first serve (cheaper, but I don't really want to risk having to stand, hence why I went for the reserved tickets on all my trains). By the time we got to the bus station in Nagoya, it was 7:15, fully 1hr45mins later than intended. Rip.

Once I got to the station I waited in the ticket line to verify with a staff that indeed I could get on a train no problem. I also didn't want to try and use a machine to receive my ticket in case there were issues since it was past my departure time. The staff assured me that I was good to sit in the non-reserved cars, and away I went to get a much needed snack (onigiri, of course, and a warm tea). By the time I got on my train, it was nearly 7:45, almost 2 hours later than intended! Thankfully the ride to Osaka was less than an hour, and I was on the highest speed train. I checked my hostel booking for check-in information, and realized their latest check in time was 8pm! Ahh! The site said to message them if we were arriving later than that, and I sent a panicked message at 7:45, apologizing profusely and asking for any instructions. As I was waiting for a reply I was frantically checking Booking.com for any last minute options in the area just in case, and found some cheap capsule hotels, so I had a back up plan. Thankfully, the hostel messaged me back with detailed self-check in instructions, just before 8. Phew! This day was a fucking rollercoaster.

The train from Shin-Osaka station to my hostel took less than half an hour, and I stopped at a FamilyMart after I got out of the subway for a couple beers and snacks, since I knew I would not be willing to go to a restaurant after arriving. I ended up arriving to the hostel just before 9. I had no idea when I booked it but it's located in an arcade (the covered shopping street kind, not the games kind), and on the short the walk from the subway station to the hostel I was surrounded by little karaoke bars with middle aged men drunkenly belting out their tunes, and restaurants selling varieties of fried foods. I was single mindedly determined to get to Cocoroom. The instructions were very clear, and I made it in no problem.

As it turns out, there was still an employee working there (he explained that he stays there, when I asked). He told me how to use the keycard and directed me towards my room, on the 3rd floor. I booked a private room because I'm too sleep-sensitive to share dorms in hostels, but wanted a cool (and cheap) vibe to end my trip on. I should have taken a picture of my room before I exploded my stuff all over it, but it's nice and simple and a perfect size for my home base for a few days. I was so relieved to have finally made it!!

The hotel is run (or was started by? unsure) Kawasaki University of Arts, and the place has an incredible vibe. There's artwork scattered absolutely everywhere, in all the hallways and rooms, and the first floor lounge area is so cool. I haven't taken photos because it's always full of people and that seems inconsiderate, but it's really interesting. I set my stuff down, changed out of my sweaty shirt, and headed back downstairs to drink my much-needed and well-earned beers while I caught up on my Takayama blog posts, since eating and drinking in the rooms isn't permitted.

The lounge area has a big rectangular communal table with tatami mats around it, and a bunch of pillows to sit on, with the part under the table open to put your legs under. The employee was still there, and I realized in my hectic state I hadn't introduced myself, and learned his name was David. He was also sitting doing something on his laptop, and it was a comfortable silence as I was writing. At some point, another guest came back, and started picking away at a guitar in the lounge, out of sight from me. It was a really lovely vibe, this unseen musician offering soft and exploratory tunes, they were truly just having fun and playing for the sake of playing, dancing through various melodies with no familiar songs (to me at least), just quiet gentle sounds. After a bit, the player came around the corner and I chatted with him a bit about music, but never actually got his name. By the sounds of his accent I think he might be from Germany or Belgium, unsure. After a bit David joined in playing music as well, picking the guitar while the nameless man moved to piano. With this soundtrack I managed to get two blog posts up in relatively quick succession (it usually takes me around an hour per post, maybe 1.5 if it was a full day). I wrapped up and headed back upstairs to finally go to bed, around 11:30. I caught up on my chats after getting to bed so didn't sleep until a bit after midnight, being on this time difference from my friends in EST and PST is really hard!! I'm glad it's only temporary.