NSun's 2025 Adventures in Asia

[NSun]

I checked out of the hotel and went to the train station - well, at least the one I thought was right. I ended up going to the wrong one so had to get a whole new ticket - one of the stupidest mistakes I made in my life. Basically it was from Shin-Osaka rather than Osaka station...or it could've been the other way around. Anyway, enough whinging and self-resentment.

I got an ice coffee from a cafe chain called Doutor.



I went on to have dumplings for lunch before boarding the delayed train.



I then went on a walk around nearby department stores. I almost wish I would've bought a thing or two but the power plugs would make it not worth the effort.

 

[NSun]

Then when I knew I was at the right station, the train ended up being delayed by an hour. Ah well, I got to see some of the other trains.





This is the one that'd take me to Tottori.









And onward we went. We passed through Kobe.





Akashi - a city where Mitsubishi has a major factory.



This bridge was I believe the line for the Shinkansen.

 

[NSun]

The last hour or so saw us go through some rural areas that honestly reminded me of Switzerland.









Coming into the city.



And finally made it - 4 hours later than expected. Took me about a minute to find old mate.



Unfortunately old mate took a couple of days off work to see me and the first of those two was 'wasted' if you know what I mean. Oh well, he was still happy to see me as he hadn't had many visitors lately and he was looking forward to seeing me. We did get to spend the rest of that afternoon and all day the next day together.

He is someone who always knew he wanted to do something involving Japan as he studied it at uni and is fluent. He was a lifesaver to me as no one spoke English here - he helped me check into my hotel. My hotel was the Green Rich.





The view from my room.

 

[NSun]

Old mate took me on a walk around town and then took me to dinner. This prefecture is the smallest in Japan and didn't look like somewhere you'd go as a tourist unless sand dunes were your thing. But I did enjoy catching up with him at all that had happened in our lives in the past year or so.























That night, we had dinner at this fast food chain - Sukiya.



My order - was about A$10 all up.

 

[NSun]

The first photo from the next morning I took at 5.30am but hadn't looked at it until now and just remembered something else going on in Tottori at that time. A track and field team from Jamaica were either in Tottori or about to be in Tottori as part of a training camp for the forthcoming world championships. I saw many places with various welcoming signs.



More of the early morning In Tottori.















It was spooky - how quiet everything was. Even the station was deserted.

 

[NSun]

I met up with old mate about 11am and we had lunch at a food court that was by that time busy, but didn't take pictures. We then got on a regional train to a station 5 minutes west called Tottoridaigaku-mae. The plan was to walk to the coast and then to the airport from where we'd split up, I'd fly back to Tokyo from there.



This was the station we got off at. We essentially walked to the turn-off where you'd go to the airport, but went the other way to the beach.






















Here we are - at Karo-Minato beach. It was 28 degrees so I was in the mood for swimming but was told I couldn't because it was jellyfish season.

 

[NSun]

Then we walked back to the airport, had a bite to eat and said our farewells. With ANA the only airline from here, I had no choice about who to fly back to Tokyo with.







We need more of these back home - airside watching spots of the runway.









Was a standard 1 hour domestic flight. Had a spare seat next to me and declined the meal.



It was very interesting getting back to Tokyo as I thought we had a proper terminal gate as we got off - it was not just aircraft stairs, we were greeted with air conditioning and flooring consistent with a terminal, but it was only a passage down to the tarmac and to catch a bus which seemed to take 3 times the distance back to the terminal than necessary.

 

[NSun]

My hotel for 2 nights was the Haneda Airport Mercure. I took the train 2 stops rather than the bus as I couldn't be bothered searching for the shuttle at this time of night. Was pretty good in my view.











I got these for being a Gold member when I only got it due to getting a 'match' from Qantas. This'll be good while it lasts.





The view from my room the next morning.