2011 - NZ To SF - Day 114

Day 114: (4 September 2011):
- Sleep in a lot & pack. Take photo of possible housing location maps & map of Yokohama.
- Take subway with my stuff to Osaka station & store there.
- Walk to Fukushima: remember the alleys we stayed at on our last trip here.
- Go to a tskemen place from magazine. Passed another place with ume tskemen Ben also been meaning to try.
- Apparently, he got a free oyako don last time ordering the set.
- I got the set: this is my shot at a classic tsekemen.
- Very solid, delicious.
- When done, pour in the hot soup to remaining sauce.
- Ben told me how, but due to awkward Asian thing, I was still not confident in asking for rock.
- Rock was a dense piece of metal shaped like an eggplant, presented on a spoon in a bowl. Under directions from Ben, pushed bowl away & dropped rock in. Sizzling & sputtering. Delicious hot soup. As usual, cartoon & instruction of entire process.
- Yuzu sprinkle also quite good.
- Leg seems to be a bit better today, but not sure if I’m just getting used to it. A bit worried as i read if a cyst abcesses, surgury is the only way it will get better.
- Walk to Umeda Sky bld for Octoberfest. Meet up with some Apple house people. Sky starting to darken. Can hear music as enter grounds.
- A few beer tents, with diff. beer. Pay deposit for glass, get back when return glass.
- Had a dark beer (forget which) & 1L Bitburger.
- Amusing to see Jap. ppl in german costumes playing german music on stage. Bow at end of songs.
- See Jap. businessmen doing funky chicken.
- ppl. sing, dance.
- When rain starts, everyone seems to pull out their umbrellas, seemingly in unison. Forms a solid canopy (mostly clear) where everyone is sitting.
- After the event, walk to Osaka station together, there was time for dinner, at an izakaya - again, a good (real) last dinner before I leave.
- One of the cheap places in an “izakaya tower.”
- Basashi: chunks of horse meat & fat.
- Go to Osaka station, get my stuff, & Ben see me on the bus.
- Tell luggage handler I will get off at Shinjuku instead of Tokyo stn. as on ticket.
- Settle in upstairs, lucky no one sit beside me, so have some room.
- Peek out closed blinds to lights zooming past.
- Soon, on less populated highway.
- Stopped a couple of times, once at some highway-stop like place. Some people get on/off.
- Eventually, drift in / out of uneasy sleep.
- Wet towel drying beside me.