Today is the last day of our trip in the Kansai region and we are scheduled to travel to Tokyo via the overnight bus to continue on the second part of our trip.
My friend has already left for the airport and we checked out in the morning as we were going on a day trip to the ninja museum which was nearly two hours away.
We had breakfast at at Matsuya, a Jap fastfood restaurant near our hotel. The food was surprisingly good and we were very happy to have a traditional Jap-style breakfast before we start our day. The adventurous dear seemed to take a liking towards natto.
My rice bowl with mentaiko sauce drizzled all over it. Super yummy.
We set off for the train station and I couldn't resist buying a waffle on the way there on the excuse of being prepared in case we got hungry during the journey. Hehe. Of cos I ate the waffle immediately buying it. Oops.
After many change of trains, we arrived at the train station that will take us into the town. As ninjas are a selling point of the small town, the trains are themed accordingly to enhance the visitor's experience. Such a cute train right! I really love how the Japs bother to pay attention to details.
Arriving at the town and stepping out of the train station.
Cuteness on the pavements as well.
Arriving at the musuem. The museum was about a 15 walk from the station. We took our time to take a stroll in the cold weather.
The first exhibit of the museum: a guide will take you through the ninja traps laid in a traditional Jap house in the old days.
Detailed explanations of the daily habits and training of a ninja along the way in the museum.
Different flying weapons used by the ninja.
It was a pity that the outdoor area where ninja performances are held was closed because of the cold weather. So after we finished the tour of the museum, we walked out to explore other parts of the town.
We stopped at a little cafe for desserts for lunch. We had a bit of communication problems with the staff- part of the experience of visiting towns that are less cosmopolitan.
After lunch, we strolled back to the train station for the trip back. Our train on the return journey is über cute too!
Bun vending machine at the train station for the hungry traveller.
We were a little lost on how to walk to the bus station after getting out from the train. We tried asking for directions from the locals but they were either unfriendly, don't understand us, or claimed they don't know the way. The worst was one of the ah beng uncles calling Dear "baka".
Wah lau, don't want to help then don't help lor. Still must try and be funny. And it was so obvious that we were only tourists as we have our luggage with us. We are contributing to your economy ok. It was a disappointing end to our Osaka trip- the people are really brash like their reputation goes. We were pretty shocked after having been on the receiving end of the kind help of many Japanese that we have sought directions from.
We eventually found our way to the bus station, all thanks to Dear's good sense of direction. We had dinner at a random restaurant before checking in for the overnight bus.
Dear is always craving for ramen.
After dinner, we went back to the waiting area of the bus station. Computer terminals with Internet access were provided at the waiting area. We learnt the shocking news of Michael Palmer resigning from politics here. What a twist of events and it became a topic of discussion between us for the next few days haha.
Our overnight bus. The seats were bigger and more comfortable than i thought. It even comes with a blanket and a hood on the seat which you can lower onto your head to shut out the lights and sounds to sleep better.
I was reluctant initially to book an overnight bus as I was afraid I cannot rest properly. But I slept pretty well. Probably because I was tried from the previous days of traveling so falling asleep wasn't too difficult. And the bus was really quite comfortable enough. It was also a pretty good experience on hindsight to try this mode of transport.
So good night everybody!
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