Tuesday 9th April 2019

Last morning in Hiroshima, and onto my next and last destination in Japan. I was already in Japan for over a week, and it felt like I was in Japan for months already. LOL. Becoming accustomed to Japanese life even though I didn’t speak much.

Had my breakfast in the hotel like the day before… Then went to my room to finish packing and to finish the big bottle of cold coffee I bought the day before. Hah!

Checked out, then took the short route to Hiroshima Station!! I wished Google Maps had shown me this route before. It was a much easier route than walking through all those back passages… but if I didn’t, I think I would have missed a lot on the way to the hotel.

This time I was able to reserve a seat going to Shin-Osaka. 

My train wasn’t available for a while, so I walked from one end of the station to the next…

Was still waiting for my 11.54am train! Long wait! But if I didn’t arrive early, I would have missed the opportunity to reserve my seat.

In Hiroshima, you have t be careful where the carriage signs are… so it depends on which train you take is where the carriages will stop.

There were actually many seats available in the reserved carriage… so they could have given me a three seater… nevermind! This was the last time I was going to use the Shinkansen… At first I liked it, but after using it for the third time now, I felt a bit sick of it. LOL… My lunch on the train consisted of a beef and horseradish sandwich and a Thunder chocolate biscuit. 😊

And hello again to the Hello Kitty Shinkansen! I was destined to see this again!! Amazing opportunity… Thank you Hiroshima for putting me on this train!!

After getting off at Shin-Osaka, I had to get another local train to Osaka. There is a difference with the two stations…. just be aware of that! Then when I got to Osaka, I got lost again when using Google Maps… it took me a while to get to the hotel – and I was so desperate for the toilet…. 

Arrived at the hotel, in the middle of checking in, I had to desperately go to the loo… The check in time was too slow…

Then I got my room card for the 10th Floor… I got the train track view. I was wondering whether I would be able to sleep there for 3 nights.

After settling in, it was again time to go and explore the city… Got on a local train and then got off at Dotombori.

It was mid-afternoon, so I had a lot of time to explore…

This area is filled with shops…

When I had arrived in Japan, they had announced the new era of Japan, the Reiwa Era (令和), so I had already seen a weeks worth of these signs in Japan…

Lots of shopping arcades in Osaka!! But what I wanted to see is Glico Man…

In the midst of waiting for nightfall to come, I went to eat in Lotteria which is right next door to Glico Man. I bought the Kobe Beef Burger meal. The beef melts in your mouth… It’s really smooth. Think this was a limited edition burger because I can’t find it on their website.  The fries were too salty… and I think I liked their fried chicken! 

Address: Japan, 542-0071 Osaka, Chuo Ward, Dotonbori, 1 Chome−10−1

Website: https://www.lotteria.jp/

As I sat eating my meal… there were a couple of models doing a fashion shoot of the suits they were wearing… Not sure which brand they were posing for.

After eating, it was back to see Glico man again… He wasn’t ready to be lit up.

So back into the shopping areas for an hour or so… Reminded me of Piccadily at night.

Finally nightfall came, but Glico Man didn’t light up… I was so disappointed… Hmmm… Another time in the future, I hope…

Time to eat a small dinner… 7Eleven food!

End of Day 11.