I slept in until 9am today. Then went downstairs for some breakfast. There I met Hsiao Ling and Hiro. Niels had already left for the airport.
We sat at the breakfast table and chatted about the event and other stuff. Just time to chill basically. Then Hiro took his leave to go home for some well deserved R&R. He will be back in the evening to take me out for dinner. Hsiao Ling has a plane to catch in the evening and will be leaving for the airport around 3:45pm by train.
Meanwhile, she & I went to the shopping complex at Omori station and also browsed the small shops outside the station. She picked up some items at the 300 yen shop for friends back home. Next we went to another shopping outlet which opens 24 hours. There's a supermarket on the ground floor where I bought some sweets. And there were departmental stores on the floors above. Hsiao Ling picked up a very fashionable-looking raincoat. I was looking at a pair of pyjamas (made in Japan) and thought of buying for my mom. After conversion, the pyjamas would cost approximately RM120! I know my mom would balk at the price....so I hung it back on the rack :(
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| Self checkout counters |
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| Barcode scanner on the right...cash deposit slots and plastic bags on the left. Great system, but need honesty in people to work. Here's hoping that one day, perhaps this would be feasible in Malaysia. Here's hoping la.... |
Hsiao Ling and I stopped by a Ramen shop for lunch. You place your orders by inserting money into the vending machine and pressing on the button showing the meal you desire. A ticket would then pop out. You give this to the shop assistant and they will prepare the meal for you. Thank goodness I had Hsiao Ling to decipher the words on the vending machine as the Japanese characters (in Kanji) is somewhat similar to chinese words. The shop assistant was also very helpful and could understand some English. We made a few mistakes, pressed on the wrong button, but she quickly helped us correct it. :)
Thank you Hsiao Ling for the lunch. It was delicious. So delicious that I forgot to take photos of it and the vending machine...lol.
Our last stop was Ito Yokado, right opposite the ramen shop. Hsiao Ling headed straight for the supermarket where she picked out several varieties of 'mochi' to take home, to be shared with her colleagues. I bought more chocolates... (grin)
Then it was time to head back to the hotel and say goodbye to Hsiao Ling. I shall miss her. She was a great room mate. Very considerate, thoughtful and helpful. Although she didn't speak English well (but well enough in my opinion) and I can hardly string a full sentence together in Mandarin, we got along great and could understand each other perfectly well! :D I look forward to meeting her again in September at WOW Taiwan hosted by Judy Chen. Bye for now....
I rested a bit, packed my luggage as I'd be checking out the next morning at 10am (that's the hotel's stipulated check-out time) and then started to get ready for dinner. Hiro called and said he'd be by the hotel to pick me up at 6-ish.
I waited for him at the hotel lobby and saw him drive up in a taxi. I was curious... Why didn't you drive I asked him. He said he wanted to consume beer during dinner, that's why :) Very prudent of him.
We went to Omori station (again), walked into the departmental store, and took a lift to the eateries floor. Hiro showed me all the eateries there and asked me to choose. He highly recommended the tempura shop, so I said, let's go for it.
Chawanmushi
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| Tuna sashimi |
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| Prawn sashimi....fresh and sweet. |
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| Tempura, served in basket |
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| Bamboo shoot and crabs claw tempura |
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| Vegetable tempura |
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| Prawn and bean tempura |
We had a good conversation over dinner talking about line dancing, his health and general topics. But mainly about line dancing... :D
As my plane leaves at only 10:30pm tomorrow night, Hiro will be taking me sight-seeing. He hasn't decided yet where to go, as the weather has been acting up lately, with light showers throughout the day.
Turning in early tonight, ready for a full and exciting day tomorrow before I bid farewell to Tokyo.
Next: ?? :D
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