In Japan (again)

We got to the airport in Cairns exactly three hours before the departure time. We also got there at about the same time as several bus loads of young people's groups arrived. Fortunately,  the group leaders and the Jetstar staff kept everyone organised and we all managed to get through checkin, immigration and security with plenty of time to make our flight.

The flight left on time.

It arrived in Osaka 30 minutes ahead of schedule!!!

The QR code system they have for entry into Japan works remarkably efficiently.

By 8:00 we were in our room in the airport hotel, having checked in and raided the nearby Lawsons, with the required onigiri, wine and snacks.

Sparkling water, wine, onigiri.
First night supplies in. Japan

All was good.

We had breakfast in the hotel. It is not cheap but it is a well-provisioned all you can eat buffet. So we ate as much was we possibly could. Steamed vegetables to start, because our diet the previous day had been light on real food. I had mackerel with mine. Lindsey had scrambled eggs and a few other tasty things. She was very miffed that the bacon was stewed rather than fried. On the other hand - she did have chips on her plate. I went back for seconds. Rice and curried beef this time. Lindsey and I both finished up with apple custard, yoghurt and blueberries.  

I was a bit miffed that there wasn't any corn soup. Onion and miso were on offer but no corn. In fact, I have failed to find corn soup anywhere. Not in any of the variety of convenience stores I have looked in, not in either of the supermarkets I've checked. I wondered if I was on the wrong side of a Corn Soup Demilitarised Zone. Austin thinks it might be because Japan is moving into summer, which tends to be hot and humid. If there is no corn soup in Gifu next weekend, I shall be forced to return in the (northern) winter.

My Suica card, which wasn't working last time I was here, has been fixed by a helpful gentleman in the Osaka Airport station.

We boarded the train to Kyoto.

I tried to add my travel bankcard to my apple wallet. Computer said no. Lindsey asked why I didn't have a Wise card. I used to have one but never used it so closed it. I decided to open a new one. Tried to transfer money from my bank account onto it. Bank said no - and froze my card for suspected fraud. Nothing for it but to call the bank. From a train. In Japan. Bank person was very helpful but confused by why I would be wanting to open an account with a different institution while on a train in Japan. Because YOUR travel card won 't integrate with MY digital wallet. And I prefer to make contactless payments when I can. This seemed to make sense to her.

She unfroze my card although warned me that if it was a scam I wouldn't get my money back. This is good. I probably won't need to use that card while I'm here but it would be annoying not to be able to if I did need it

We arrived at the next hotel too early to checkin so dropped our bags in their care and went back to the Kyoto station to look at some shops. Lindsey wanted to check out a 3 Coins store and also to visit the electronics store. My Suica card worked beautifully on the trains. We found our way around. Navigated the subway successfully. Even managed to find our way back after playing with the shops.

We had dinner in an Italian restaurant and are now whiling away a peaceful evening. 

We are staying in the Oakwood hotel in Oike, about 3km from the Kyoto main station. We are here purely because of the brand. It's part of the same family as the Lyf hotels, under the ASR umbrella. Oike is not really part of the main tourist drag, although there are, of course, tourists and visitors. I like it. The hotel is comfortable and has a proper Kyoto feel about it. And the area has lots of little laneways, some shrines, lots of eating places, shops. I haven't seen many tourist "gift" shops. We are heading off on a day tour tomorrow and then we are moving on on Monday. I am hoping to find time on Monday morning before we go to have a look at a little shrine just down the road from here. 

I found this in one of the shops

It was very tempting to buy it. But I know I would never have built it, so I didn't succumb

Cairns

You find me by the pool at the Coral Tree  Inn in Cairns. We have just had breakfast. Lindsey has gone for a morning walk. I have not 😃

This little table is just outside our room

My "office" view

We usually come to Cairns the evening before our lunchtime flight to Japan. Yesterday, however, the only direct flights were at 6 am or 7:30 pm. The daytime flights had long lay overs either in Sydney or in the Gold Coast.  I had no intention of catching a 6 am flight, didn't particularly want to arrive at the hotel in Cairns at close to midnight and definitely didn't want to spend the better part of the day kicking around in an airport terminal. So I came up on Wednesday afternoon and Lindsey took an evening flight after work.

That gave us a whole day to play in Cairns yesterday.  So, of course, we escaped.

Not far, though. We took the Skyrail to Kuranda. Lindsey has done it several times before. I've done it once, with Lindsey and Jim. And it rained. Which I guess is reasonable in a rainforest.

It did not rain yesterday. It was not too hot. It was not humid. It was a perfect day for wandering around in a rainforest. We went on a short, ranger guided tour where he told us about the trees and the insects and the animals and the local history. We inspected the Barron Falls. We saw the train. We had lunch in an old style cafe and wandered around the shops in Kuranda. We could have come back on the train but instead came back on the Skyrail. It was a lovely day.

We wandered down to the seafront for dinner and went back to Little Sister where we ate the last time we were both in Cairns. We considered having the Moreton Bay bugs and a large salad to share but then saw that they have a degustation menu, which, of course, we had to have! (They also offer a vegan degustation menu, which I must remember should I ever come to Cairns with Freyja and Simon)

To start:

Kingfish sashimi in a chilli sauce

Duck spring rolls

Pulled short rib beef on betel leaves

And then:

Pork belly lettuce wrap

Followed by

the best butter chicken I've had 
in a long, long while

Jasmine rice

There was also a chocolate panna cotta but I completely forgot to record it for posterity.

It is tempting to stay here by the pool. But we need to head to the airport in 40 minutes or so. I had better make sure I am ready (I am pretty much ready but no need for unnecessary rushing.)

Weekend

So I got my quiet weekend, more or less. 

I spent Saturday building my Ikea step ladder (only small, I have no wish to be running up and down a full sized ladder; also - have nowhere to store one) and drinking tea and watching the harbour and generally pottering around.

Sunday saw the return of the Docklands Farmers' Market. It was unfortunate that it was quite a rainy morning but that didn't seem to deter people. The market ran from 10 to 3 and the stalls were set up along Harbour Esplanade between the ferry port and the Central Pier tram stop. There was a free ferry running between Yarra's Edge and the market. There was also a floating bar from midday. Some of the stall holders who go to Alphington had sent a stall. There were lots of fish stalls, vegetables, fruit, meat, small goods, cheese, other food related stalls. Not much in the way of craft stalls. I couldn't buy much because I am heading to Cairns tomorrow and then on to Japan for two weeks. I did buy some apples, mandarins and limes. I bought a few vegetables and potatoes, some hummus and pitta.

I hope it keeps the number of stalls and the number of buyers. It was a fun and useful market

I was very excited to find these. For those who don't know, Bramleys are a cooking apple which turn to snow when they are cooked. They are readily bought in the UK and we had a couple of Bramley trees in Tupton (along with a couple of eating apple trees). I haven't seen them in Australia. I did plant a miniature Bramley tree in Eilish Court but wasn't there long enough after I planted it to get any fruit. I bought a few at the market, which I have cooked and put in the freezer.

Fruit bowl on the dining table

 

I wandered over to Spencer Street in the afternoon to pick up a couple of things to take to Japan and for a wander around. I might have bought a couple of pairs of tracksuit pants from Kathmandu. They were, of course, reduced from their usual price. I would not pay full price for Kathmandu tracksuit pants!

They have been tarting up the area around the ferry port

These had been small, grassy knolls. They look better now.

I wish they would put some park benches and picnic tables along here. There aren't many places you can just sit and watch the water along Harbour Esplanade. There are lots along the Newquay promenade and the Victoria Harbour walk.

Whiskey was again showing signs of constipation over the weekend. This was something of a worry, given that I am going away tomorrow for two weeks. I really didn't want to go back to Lort Smith, if it could be avoided. So I checked the Your Home Vet website and found they had an appointment for 3:15 yesterday afternoon. I had an appointment in Fitzroy with my podiatrist at 1pm but I thought I had time to do both. And I did! My feet are now ready for a trip to Japan. And I was easily back home in time for the vet to arrive.

Your Home Vet is a small enterprise, with one vet and one nurse. They cover most of inner metropolitan Melbourne. And they were lovely. Brandy relocated under the bed, just in case they had designs on him. They did not. Whiskey just sat and let them poke him, prod him and inject him. They were, it must be said, very gentle with him. The drugs they gave him appeared to help. About 30 minutes after they had left he was chomping into his bowl of biscuits like there was no tomorrow. And he didn't cry once while they were here. No need of the cat carrier. No need for Ubers or taxis. No stress.  I will definitely use them again.

What I've Been Doing This Week

Monday was Lindsey's birthday. I went to The Fox for a birthday dinner. After dinner, instead of walking to the tram stop, I walked in the opposite direction to the Victoria Park railway station and came home by train. I hadn't done very much during the day and thought a bit of a walk would be a Good Thing.

On Tuesday I met Wendy for lunch. There was a bit of confusion about where we were meeting. At the Food Hall on Collins Street near my place. Alas - Wendy thought I meant that food hall over there. I meant this food hall over here. Fortunately, we worked it out and eventually managed to have lunch.

We went into town, intending to visit Daiso and Kmart. Alas - the Daiso next to Kmart was closed for stocktaking. So we went to Kmart anyway. I had something to pick up. Then Wendy went home to her place and I came home to mine. I went to the supermarket for a few supplies and then took the opportunity of a lovely afternoon to sit by the harbour for a few minutes to watch the water and the boats.

On Wednesday I went into work for the morning to cover someone who was sick. While I was there I bought a small tool kit in Kmart, which has a pair of pliers, some Allen keys, some screw driver bits to attach to the screwdriver handle - and some other things that I am not sure what to do with. In the evening I went to my Japanese class.

On Thursday I took the tram out to Ikea to collect a small step ladder, stopping on the way at Bunnings for some screws. I am struggling to shorten the screws which came with the cupboard door handles, which themselves have holes which are almost infinitesimally too small for the existing holes in the doors. This "small" project is starting to become rather troublesome!

I met Lindsey, Ian, Freyja and Simon in Henry and the Fox in the evening. I have to say that my burger wasn't as good as my steak frittes had been the week before. The chips were good but the burger was a bit - uninteresting. It was just a patty with cheese on a bun with a couple of bits of pickle and some salsa. Australian burgers nearly always come with lettuce, tomato, cucumber and onion included. Without them, the burger was a bit bland and dry. I'll order salad on the side if I go again.

Friday saw me borrowing Lindsey's car from the flat and then driving to Ballarat. It was a glorious day for an adventure. I met Pat at Eclectic Tastes for brunch. I had not heard of this place before and it was rather nice. It's by the old cemetery, near the lake and the food was lovely. Pat had an enormous waffle with ice cream and toffee banana. I had corn and zucchini fritters which were delicious.

Then Pat went off for her afternoon activities. I visited the Wendouree Bunnings in search of more pliers and more screws, drove around the lake which we hadn't visited last weekend, and then went to Mount Clear to visit Amanda, my Hairdresser. Then I took the car back to the flat and came home.

So I have been busy this week. I am quite looking forward to a quiet weekend.

In the meantime, this is what my housemates have been doing:

Very busy, as you see!

Docklands, at sunset on Thursday:

Tuesday Morning Musings

I went into work on Friday, after my online Japanese class and a quick tidy of the flat. I needed to do the June rosters. Also, I was heading to Ballarat with Lindsey after she finished work.

It's a while since I've been in Ballarat, apart from a quick visit to see my hairdresser, which doesn't really count since all I did was take the train up, have my hair cut and take the train home again.   Lindsey said she was going, so I hitched a ride.

We stayed at Hill House overnight and on Saturday morning we: did another Japanese class; went to the Farmers' Market; had brunch at Tim's Toasties; visited the former Mushroom Farm in it's new location and under it's new name, the Ballarat Farmgate Shop; went to Bunnings; went back to Hill House to pack the car; came home.

The tomato man at the market, Tim at Tim's Toasties and Tania at the Farmgate shop remembered us. We remembered them too.

So, Ballarat Farmers' Market, we meet again:

Likewise, Tim's Toasties:

It was a good day. I enjoyed my visit. 

I'm going back on Friday, but that will be another smash and grab haircut raid.

We came back via the surgery, where it proved unexpectedly difficult to park. Early last week someone had randomly stolen the surgery's wheelchair. An odd thing to steal, in my view, although they are quite expensive to buy.  Lindsey still had Stella's wheelchair in her shed so we took it down with us and dropped it off at the surgery. It's tucked away in my office for now.

It was quite difficult to park around my place as well. There was a football match at the stadium but that shouldn't account for all the one and two hour spaces being full. Lindsey dropped me off in a 10 minute spot and I took as much as I could carry up to my place. Lindsey then found a space and followed me up with the rest of my stuff. She had a cup of tea and then, foolishly but unwittingly, left to go home just as the football finished 😂

I went out to the Collingwood Bunnings on Sunday on the tram. The Port Melbourne one is closer but not as easy to get to, especially on a Sunday when the buses don't run as often. I want to replace my cupboard door handles, which are rusty and a bit tatty. While I was there, I bought a sausage from the sausage sizzle. I tell you what, you get a better class of sausage at the Collingwood sausage sizzle than you do in Wendouree or Delacombe. Big and juicy and tasty.  I need to get some pliers to adjust the size of the screws before I can fit the handles. I did not know that this was a thing, but apparently it is! I came back via the Spencer Outlet Centre so I could get some stuff to take to Japan. Lindsey was there, having gone for a hair cut. We had a quick lunch in the food hall while we were there.

One of the things that has interested me is that, when I moved into my flat, I brought with me stuff I already had, or I bought new, smaller things, all of which would replicate the house in Eilish Court, but on a small scale.  This has not gone entirely well. The Docklands flat has its own energy, vibe, ambience. It isn't a smaller version of Eilish Court. It doesn't want to be. So, for example, my parents' blue lamp, which fitted quite well in Eilish Court, doesn't fit here. It is too tall to sit on a table, too small to sit on the floor as a standard lamp and doesn't fit the style. I have bought a wooden standard lamp and a plant to go where the blue lamp was. It is moving to Freyja's place.

I brought Tony's electric piano with me, with the intention of learning to play it as a retirement activity. I even made sure that there would be room for it in the bedroom. I have been here 9 months. It has not once been plugged in. I didn't use it much in Eilish Court either. I really want to put a comfy chair in its place so I can sit and read, or watch the harbour while drinking tea and maybe eating biscuits. The piano is going to Wendy's place, as soon as we can work out a way of getting it there.

There were things I bought as I arrived that have quietly moved out again and been replaced with new things that seem to fit better.

My flat is taking on a personality all of its own although some of the things that I brought or bought are still here and have settled in comfortably, such as my oak dining table and the free standing kitchen island that I bought just before I arrived.  

I think we are settling in well together.

Clouds at Sunset

Wednesday (and a look at Thursday)

Wendy came around on Wednesday so we could sort out who is going to look after Brandy and Whiskey during my forthcoming return to Japan.

We were going to go to the food hall in the Collins Square tower for lunch, but as we walked out of Victoria Point I noticed that Rana's Bakery was open.

I have been watching that shop, next to Dokutoku, for some time. It had advertising saying that a bakery was coming for months. Nothing happened. Then I noticed that it was being fitted out, then that it looked nearly ready. Turns out it opened for a soft launch on Monday. Once they get themselves sorted out it will have a proper opening and they will offer more menu choices.

It serves, at the moment, Middle Eastern calzone style sandwiches, pizzas pastries. I very much enjoyed my "meat pie" flavoured toasted "calzone".

I will definitely go there again.

Obviously, we didn't make it to the food hall. Next time!

Lindsey and I had been discussing recently that since I moved to Docklands Brandy hasn't been as vomitty as he was in Mount Helen and Whiskey hasn't been as constipated. This meant, of course, that Whiskey promptly became VERY constipated. I had to take him to the vet. But which vet? There isn't a vet clinic in Docklands. People seem to go to Lort Smith in North Melbourne,  to a vet in Port Melbourne, or they use the Your Home Vet facility. Which I might have done except they didn't have an appointment available until Monday. That seemed a little long to wait. So I booked him in to Lort Smith for Thursday. But they rang and said it should probably be an emergency consultation on Wednesday afternoon.

I put him in the cat carrier, which I sat on a dining chair. I turned around to pick up my keys - there was a BANG. And the cat carrier was now upside down on the floor. This was a bit disconcerting. He seemed to be ok.

I summoned an Uber and off we went to the animal hospital. A couple of hours and over $300 later he was restored to health, none the worse for his fall from the dining chair. We came home in another Uber.

I did not go to my Japanese class on Wednesday evening.

Thursday cats, apparently in sound health:

This was the chair the cat carrier fell from.
He doesn't seem to hold a grudge against it :D

Lindsey contacted me on Thursday. She was doing a flu vaccine clinic. Did I fancy meeting in a pub somewhere  early in the evening for dinner?  I thought that could probably be arranged and suggested we try Henry and the Fox, which I had never been to but whose name I had noticed on a map at some stage.  Following last Thursday's visit to The Builder's Arms which was very busy, I took the precaution of booking a table.

Henry and the Fox is less than a 15 minute stroll from my place and it's rather nice. Also, rather busy

Drinks menu

Remarkably tasty steak and frites

Walking back home across the Bourke Street footbridge

Somewhere else to add to my Places to Eat list. Not everywhere that I go makes it onto that list. There are some places that I simply do not feel the need to go to ever again. And other places which were ok, but there are other, better places to go so they don't make the cut.  Henry and his fox are definitely on the list. I would put The Builder's Arms on it but Lindsey isn't as keen. It can go on the substitute list for now.