Osaka Day 5 (Valentine's Day and Departure)!!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Hope you all have fun with your significant other ! :)

I was sick today (like sore throat, coughing, runny nose, the whole deal) :( But I didn't let it spoil my fun! When I woke up this morning I felt like shit and asked Rana what time is was. And she was like "It's almost 8. And it's snowing."

And I was like "fuuuuck", but when I opened the window to check it out it looked so pretty!! I was just a little worried about our bus not being able to leave and us getting stranded in Osaka!

I mean, it's been real Osaka, but I'm kind of ready to get out of here and get home to an actual bed not on the floor and a free, 24 hour shower and home cooked meals and my heated carpet and wifi and the list goes on...

(The blizzard I awoke to)

While Rana was in the shower, I turned on the tv to see the news because I was worried about our bus not being able to run. But they weren't saying much.

So I got dressed and then left to brave the elements and go to the grocery store.

(Snow graffiti by Japanese people)

I bought sushi rolls for lunch and two cartons of OJ. When I got back, we finished getting ready and ate and then headed down to check out. In the elevator, I said to Rana "If our bus doesn't come because of the snow, I'm going to cry."

We turned in our keys and got back our 1000 yen deposit, yes! I had about 5 bucks left (not counting the 100 dollars I got from my travelers check yesterday) so this was nice!

Ugh the walk to the station was sooo hard. We were slipping and sliding in the snow and slush and I was carrying my heavy bag with no shoulder strap. :(

(Look at all that snow we had to walk through)

(And my poor bag!)

Then we met everyone at the station and rode the train to Umeda. At Umeda, we had four hours till the bus came, so we were free to roam around. Everyone split up. Heather, Rashaa, Jose, and I went over to the coin lockers so Heather and I could put away our huge ass, heavy bags. I put my lunch in there too. Then we all set off. 

(I found this sign incredibly hilarious for some reason)

We walked around a bit and then I decided I wanted to walk around in the beautiful snow that was still falling outside, but no one else did, so I headed off on my own. Heather and Rashaa went to Krispy Kreme and Jose ended up following me anyway.

(Happy Winter!)

Then Jose and I went into this department store to look around.

We went up to the Jump store on the 5th floor to look around. I took pictures of the Naruto stuff and cute stuff.

(Cute)

(Naruto)

(Naruto and cute)

(Weird motorcycle thing Jose told me to take a picture on)

Then Jose wanted to go downstairs and I wanted to go up to the clothing stores, so we separated.

(I found an Austin sweatshirt!)

(Cute piggy)

And then I got bored, so I went downstairs. There I found the cutest store in the entire world!!

There was soooo much Rilakkuma stuff!!! Ahhhhh I was in Heaven! I had to buy this super cute Rilakkuma folder because it's the first one I've ever found for 100 yen (they're always WAY more! Even all the others in this store were more) and it was cute too!

Other cool things:

(Crepe and pancake playing cards! There were also bento and onigiri ones!)

(A DUMPLING COIN POUCH!!! HOLY CRAP BEST IDEA EVER, WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF IT?!? I woulda bought it too if it hadn't have been so expensive!)

(Mameshiba!)

(Sooo many Pokemon figures)

(There were also Barbies and Polly Pockets. Who knew? The Polly Pockets looked like they were high, though...)

Okay, now I'm going to give you all a lesson on Japanese characters because these things are everywhere and some of them really scare me.

(This is Rilakkuma. Easily the cutest. There's a white and a brown one. I like the white one better. If you ever say anything bad about Rilakkuma, I will eat you)

(This mushroom guy. Nameko. He's sooo freaking popular and I have no idea why...)

(All I can say is wtf. This is one of the ones that scares the crap out of me. I don't even want to know)

(The Line characters! I like them all except for the blonde one. Hence why he's not in this picture.)

(This one scares me too. It was on the News once and like talking and shit and Miya was freaking out, saying how cute it was and I was just like, "no not kawaii, kowai." She told me it's name but I forgot.)

(The black bear thing. Called Kumamon or something I think)

(Anpan man. He's creepy too, but I really like anpan (red bean buns), soooo...)

That's all for now! Hope you enjoyed that venture into Japan's weird side.

So after I bought my Rilakkuma folder, I went into the bathroom and it was one of the ones where the toilet seats rise up to greet you when you walk in. So I walked into the stall and freaked out when the toilet seat like magically opened and then closed again. I almost dropped all my stuff in shock. Like I've heard they existed and wanted to see one, but completely wasn't expecting to find it here! 

So here's a movie I took of it, lol.

Then I left the department store, and walked around outside some more.

(Accumulation so far)

(So cute!)

I found this store called "2nd Street Jumble Shop" that had clothes from a bunch of different clothing stores all mixed together and all for really cheap too! I found some cute blouses but didn't feel like trying them on because I didn't have too much time left and in Japan trying clothes on is such an involved process, especially when you wear lace up boots like me (you have to take your shoes off even if you're only trying on a shirt).

(These shorts...)

(These stockings...)

So I continued walking until I saw the huge Ferris Wheel and took a picture of that.

I also found a temple!

So pretty!

Then I headed back to the station because it was getting to be the time when we said we'd meet (12:30, and hour before the bus came). I found I had wifi and got on to text everyone and ask what exit we'd come out of because I forgot where I locked up my bag lol. I saw an email from the bus company that was all in Japanese, and figured it was just a confirmation email, so I disregarded it. 

No one remembered, but thankfully I had the brilliant idea to pull out my key and look at the number and ask the security guard where the lockers with that number was. They were super nice and told me and I was able to find it easily after that!

Then I went to the exit we were meeting at. Rafa came shortly after. We walked around a bit and then went back and met up with Heather and Rashaa at 12:30. It took everyone else almost 10 minutes to get there, but eventually we were all back together.

So we looked at the map and figured out where the bus stop was and headed for it. We ended up turning the wrong way once we got outside, though, but Cameron (who's basically fluent in Japanese) asked a guard for directions and we found it after that. My arms hurt from carrying my heavy bag and I was wet and cold because it was still snowing. Everyone else was in the same boat. So we went into the cafe next to the stop to wait the thirty minutes for the bus. Cameron got on his phone and was like "guys..."

And then shit hit the fan.

Remember that email all in Japanese that I had ignored? Well Cam could read it. And it had a list of buses that had been suspended and ours was on there. There was another bus of our company's headed for Hiroshima stopped at the stop and Cam went to talk to them. They said that all the rest of the buses bound for Nagoya today were cancelled and they'd email us about getting a refund.

He came back and was like "we're fucked."

My suspicions had come true. I was wet and cold and I had been looking forward to the warm bus and watching a movie and everything else, but now I just wanted to cry. And if my friends hadn't been there, I would have. I had no wifi, so I couldn't contact anyone either.

But we all remained calm and made plans for the next step. I gave everyone Valentine's chocolate hearts that my mom had sent me and that cheered them up! :)

Then we decided we'd take the train home. Cam wanted to go to Shin-Osaka to catch the train to Maibara, but I was like, "wait that's the train we caught here at Umeda when we went to Kyoto!"

And we ended up being able to catch it at Umeda like I thought!

Also, when we made the long walk in the snow with our heavy bags back to the station, I found a shortcut we could all take back so we were out in the cold less. :)

So yeah. We ended up having to buy a 33 dollar JR ticket to Maibara. But at least the ride was really pretty! And we were able to catch the 2pm train, so we didn't have to wait! Also, the train stayed pretty empty the whole way, so Heather and I sat stretches out in two seats each, facing each other.

(From Heather's Facebook)

(So much snow!!)

But it was pretty cold on the train. And no movies. :( Ugh I like the bus better even though it's cheaper.

But there was no way I wanted to spend another night in Osaka. We all wanted to get out of there as fast as possible!

(Me being emo on the train)

It poured snow the entire way to Maibara. My socks were soaked and my feet were cold and all I could think about were my Uggs and heated carpet waiting for me in Nagoya.

I had to pee sooo bad on the train to Maibara, so I figured I could go when we got off at the last stop, Maibara. But we got there at 4 and the train to Ogaki that we switched onto was already there and leaving in a couple of minutes, so I didn't have enough time. *Cries* 

Also, both times we took the freaking local train that stopped at every stop. 

The way to Ogaki looked like a freaking ski resort! Sooooo much snow blanketing everything outside and lots of mountains and evergreens and just white everywhere.

Also the train broke down on the way to Ogaki. It just like chilled in the middle of nowhere for a few minutes and there was an announcement saying they were having problems with the train and then it started up again and continued on its way.

When we got Ogaki, no one had any idea  what train to get on next, but I saw a sign for Toyohashi, which is the line I take to school every morning, so I knew for a fact that goes past Nagoya. So I told everyone. Then the girls all used the bathroom and we caught the train six minutes later!

I realized right after we got on the first train to Maibara that I probably would have saved a dollar maybe if I had asked for my ticket to go to Ichinomiya instead of Nagoya like everyone else, but I hadn't been thinking straight when we were all buying them. Rawr. Oh well.

So I got to get off the train four stops before everyone else (since I was going to Owari-Ichinomiya) and I didn't have to worry about having to pay to get back home since my card was expired and I didn't have enough money to buy the route again (and I'd forgotten my bank card so I couldn't use the money in my bank). So that was awesome!

I just got dropped off right at my station and only had to pay $5 for keeping my bike parked five days and then ride my bike home through the snow. Rana's host family was coming to get her from the station. I was jealous. She said I could go home with her, but I assured her I'd be fine on my bike!

Except it was raining when I got off at Ichinomiya. But I got on my bike and paid my 500 yen. On the way home at one point I sped up the little metal ramp I always go up, but it was covered in snow, so my bike slid and fell sideways due to the weight of my duffel in the basket. Thankfully I caught myself before I fell with it! But it was scary. So I took it slow after that.

Also, because I got off at Ichinomiya, I got to keep my ticket! And it's good for 2 days! So maybe tomorrow I'll go to Nagoya for free and update my card.

Finally I arrived home and parked my bike!

(Look how deep the snow I biked through was!)

When I got in, Miyabi told me in Japanese that it snowed a lot today haha. I talked to Yuko and Miya and then asked to take a shower. I took a nice hot shower. FINALLY!!

Then I studied with Miya a bit until dinner. Ken came home for dinner, so I gave everyone the omiyage I bought and gave Miya candy hearts I'd brought for her for Valentine's Day. 

We had hot pot for dinner. We used it for veggies first and them put ramen in after that. So good!

Then we had dessert! The neighbors had given us mamedaifuku (like ichigodaifuku except with beans and anko instead of a strawberry). That was awesome! The we had my omiyage. Yuko told me they're called "yuko" because that's triangle (and they're triangles), so she always likes to buy them when she's in Kyoto (since they are a Kyoto specialty, good!).

Miya gave me a chocate gold coin too and Yuko gave me a chocolate muffin she'd made the other night. I also gave everyone a chocolate Dove heart and they all read the English message inside. Ken pronounced "firmly" like "family" and Yuko laughed at him. :(

Then Miya and I played a bit until she had to take her bath.

I'll upload all the pictures from my camera to these posts tomorrow so make sure you look at them all again then! 

Good night! Time to go sleep in an actual bed again!!

PS my bonsai did awesome while I was gone!

(Look at all dose flowers!)


~*~ PICTURES ~*~

Snow pix from Osaka: