Morning Tour of Tokyo and Conclusion to our Holiday

Yesterday, we travelled from central Kyushu all the way to Tokyo. We began by coming down the narrow mountain roads by car with Kiyoshi and Toshiko. We caught the little red diesel train from Hita to Kurume, where we picked up the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) to Tokyo (one change at Osaka).

The next morning we did a tourist tour so Rob could have an overview of Tokyo. Rob is in front of the Meiji Shrine and we are both in the Imperial Palace gardens (the part you are allowed in on Thursdays!)

After our tour, we took a taxi back to our hotel and shuttle bus to Narita Airport.

Our lovely holiday had come to an end. We have come a long way and done so many exciting things. Cardiff and the grandparents' houses, the Narrow boat in South Wales, the eisteddfod in Llangollen, the walk in North Wales - all unbelievable UK experiences. Then to finish it off with our special time with Toshiko and Kiyoshi in the central mountains of Kyushu Island. Our hosts kept us busy ensuring especially that Robyn had a wonderful first time in Japan. We were also very grateful that Michihiko and Chieko came all the way from Moji to Nakatsue to be with us.

I want to finish this off on a light note. First, to three not so serious blunders (or near blunders) we made in Japan.

We caught a train in Tokyo subway which was going the wrong way.

We almost didn't get off our little red diesel train at Kurume. We couldn't see any name on the station so we quickly asked the Japanese people on the train. "Kurume? Kurume?" They all just looked at us blankly as if we were mad. The whistle went and Rob made a decision to throw the bags off. The very nice guard on our 3-carriage train jumped off and I got off and asked him. "Kurume? Kurume?" With much bowing, he said "Hai hai, so desu!" or something like that. Our hearts were beating very fast as we hopped off.

Ordering breakfast in a Tokyo Macca's, we pointed to 2 plastic egg and bacon muffins, 1 hot Caffe Latte and 1 cold Caffe Latte and sat down to enjoy. I opened my coffee to see there was no milk in it. I took it to the counter and pointed and said "milk". He obliged and I sat down, put the milk in and started drinking. It did look a little strange, but remember, it was very early in the morning. My coffee was actually lemonade, now with milk!

Secondly, some bricks and bouquets.
  

1. Cheryl, landlady at Llangollen, who although very helpful, drove us mad at times with incessant chatter and denial that her WiFi was crap. It was the fault of the Australian laptops! 
2. While on the narrow boat tour across the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, the galley man told me that Wales was full of foreigners who ought to be euthanised.
3. When trying to bring our 56 ft long narrow boat around a tight turn, the owner of a boat moored right in the corner yelled at us saying "our boat is plastic - you can't bump it. I'd like to give you some hints on driving the oat". Allan held his tongue instead of giving hime a hint something like "don't park your boat in the middle of an elbow of a narrow canal, you .........".
4. Qantas baggage retrieval organisation. Get real! Over an hour waiting for our bags

  

1. At the eisteddfod we had entry passes to the VIP Lounge. Matthew was a Welsh school boy who was so attentive to our every need.
2. Rita in an eisteddfod tuckshop raising money for international competitors spent all day every day making cheese and ham toasties. To have one -  a donation! We had one every day, so Rita became our friend.
3. Helen, a mobile podiatrist in Llangollen came to our house to prepare our feet for our big walk. She fitted into our busy eisteddfod schedule.
4. While on the narrow boat, we hopped off twice to have a meal at the Spice Lounge (Indian) at Llanfoist. The staff knocked us over with attentiveness and kindness, and the food was delicious.
5. Eirlys at the Llandrillo B & B drove us to Ruthin for the day.
6. Ivor and Debbie, owners of the Berwyn Restaurant, already appearing on the blog, were outstanding restauranteurs.
7. Lastly, the "Duty Manager" and an elderly porter (wish I knew his name) at Shiba Park Hotel in Tokyo treated us as though we were royalty. When we returned to this hotel after our week in Nakatsue, the Duty Manager recognised us. "Ah, you been here before - sisters - where been?" They were  both gentle, kind, and obliging in every way. What a lovely way to finish our holiday.