early to rise as needed to check out of hostel. sniff. but fortunately they were able to store our luggage for us so that we could at least have a few hours to explore before we needed to leave. being monday, the famed tsukiji fish market would normally be open. but it being a holiday, the usual 'wake up a 4am' wasn't happening. though we knew it was closed, we still wanted to see it, hoping that we'd at least get an idea of what must go on during those early hours. unfortunately everything was closed. like, there was barely any life to be found. boo. on the bright side (trying here!) it gives me a very valid reason to go back.
decided to skip the hama-rikyu-teien, apparently the "loveliest" garden, b/c frankly its just a garden and we didn't feel like spending Y300 for a stroll. so headed back towards the hostel to attempt a walking tour of the kagurazaka-dori canal area. the first attempt didn't go so well, as the map was oriented in the wrong direction (my bad) so had to back track and start over. wandered in and out of shops. saw another shrine - zenkoku-ji and some ceremonial event. got lost again so missed out on the other shrines along the tour. oh well. i'm sure we've seen enough this trip! we did, however, manage to come across a hole-in-the-wall dumpling restaurant that had just opened for lunch. score! filled our bellies for the last time in japan. one final stop in family mart (i'm gonna miss that place) and picked up some sake for me, jeff and my dad. it was super cheap, but how can you resist dollar sake from a convenience store?
back at the hostel, got our bags. reorganized a bit and then it was off to narita airport. once again, despite seemingly easy directions, we managed to get lost. most of japan is very well labeled with english translations, especially for things like transportation. however, from our particular station this was not the case. so confusing! couldn't tell which direction we were supposed to go in, so had to ask a random stranger. then we had to switch lines but couldn't find the correct track, so had to ask the ticket guy. he told us 4 and then said 124. we found track 4 and boarded the next train, but fortunately realized just in time it said nothing about narita and jumped off. finally figured out 124 was the time for the next narita train (and, no, this was not apparent in the beginning), so waited an hour. got my milk tea one last time. so yummy. got some more flip video. finally our train arrived. it was super crowded initially, but enough people eventually got off that we were able to get seats. or, jos got a seat and napped. i choose to keep standing as knew would be sitting for a while soon.
arrived at narita and found our way to the check in counter. for Y105 i was able to upgrade to not only an aisle seat, but one in economy plus. major score. i had been so irritated to have been originally placed in the middle seat of a 5 seat middle row in the middle of the plane (38E). so while some might think Y105 was a bit much, it was worth every penny for me. i just love my aisles. got through customs and security. was standing in line for immigration when this airport guard came walking very briskly towards me. and i noticed immediately he was carrying my bag of souvenirs. OMG. i have no idea how i did that - must have managed to leave it at security somehow. i would have been devastated if i lost all of my souvenirs. so so so grateful! he must have followed me for quite a while. positive thoughts!!! after immigration, wandered narita a bit more and spent the rest of my yen change. finally boarded the plane to my nice large aisle seat.
sayonara japan. and, i should add, arigato. for everything.
until next time..
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