Yesterday I spent the afternoon in Ueno, getting a few gifts, walking around, and enjoying seeing all the Christmas decorations that had already been put up.
I also made a detour to the Book Off to check that location for some old CDs and magazines on my list and then when I found none of them decided to search for and ultimately indulge in some PS4 games that I had been wanting to try for a long time instead: the highly-acclaimed ELDEN RING and an intriguing JRPG called Tales of ARISE. It’s more fun to challenge myself to play them in Japanese.
After picking up a few essentials at a grocery shop (玄米茶、茶づけ、かつおぶし) and selecting some bread from a パン屋さん I liked as a treat for later in the evening, I headed back to the hotel just before dusk.
Then packed up my suitcase while watching the Japan/Costa Rica game. But I was pretty distracted. All I could think was,
I don’t want to leave.
Some breads and a beautifully scented bath helped soothe my ruffled feathers before turning in for the night.
The next morning, I got up early after having had plenty of sleep (disturbed by three distinctly weird dreams), and at checkout time, headed for the airport. My first flight had already been delayed by an hour, though thankfully it wouldn’t impact the rest of the journey.
At Tokyo Station, I was just waiting in line to get my N’EX ticket to the airport when a dude came up to me and asked me if I knew the area well, in English, to which I kind of sputtered “yes… and no”. Turns out he and his travelling companions were on a 4 hour layover and wanted to get to Shinjuku for some sightseeing as quickly as possible. He was asking me if it was easy to get there by train, or whether they should just take a taxi. I have to say, I don’t think I’ve ever even been to Shinjuku, so I couldn’t immediately tell him which train to take, and wasn’t sure how costly it’d be to get there by taxi. When I was looking it up for him, he stopped me, thanked me, and said his friend had just texted to say that they’d just take a taxi to make better use of their short time frame. He offered his hand to shake, asked for my name, and then said, “Thanks again, Shenik, I’m Jay.”
Weird coincidence, but kind of funny.
It’s rare that someone hears my name and pronounces it right on the first try — I didn’t see any need to correct him.
And then off he went with his friends on a vite-faite tourism stint.
After that, getting Narita Airport was uneventful. I just stared out the window at the scenery, at the particular way that Japanese houses are constructed, and which I like so well. The airport’s international departure wing was far quieter than the last time I was here, and though I’m sure it will ramp up in activity again before long, it was nice to actually be able to get a seat while I waited for the check in and baggage drop to open… those, too, had been delayed.
While all three of my flights were smooth, I encountered delays between each of them, nearly missing my last flight back to Ottawa by a narrow margin.
I was rather grumpy by the time I landed for good, but actually getting my luggage and being safe on the ground made me feel a lot better, and by the time I got in my front door, despite the sadness at leaving Japan, I was just glad to see Scout.
Not to worry: my suitcase passed his inspection, and yes, he is a tall boy!