Sayonara Japan, G'day Australia

Today is goodbye to Japan. Already yesterday, we parted with Bernard, who headed off by train to Tokyo, for his inward journey to Zurich today.
We leave late in the day at 9 pm from Osaka, which is 90 minutes away by bus .
Since we check out if our rented house at 10 am, we have time on our hands till the bus leaves at 4 pm.
The first hour goes by because it takes time to get from the house to the bus station, where we will store our bags. That's not because it's far, but rather because it takes time to get a cab ordered. What is the name of where we want to go in Japanese? Even with the address, it takes another 10 minutes to clarify the destination with the driver and then the short journey itself. Flo's driver ( we need 2 cars) helps at the station in typical Japanese style by carrying luggage whilst leaving his car running. That kind of help is something that I remember well from my earliest visits in the 80s.
We then have a slow breakfast in a cafe, $30 for all of us. It's slow because we are slow, and the Japanese perfectionist approach to coffee and sandwiches.
Finally, around midday, we get going with a 30 min walk to the railway museum. This was planned as a bit of a time filler, but wow, was this place well done. Lot's of actual trains, including of course 2 bullet trains, lots of models, Lot's of good explanations of track, signaling and power technology, and to add to the fun , train driving simulators. It's really a superb place for the kids, and plenty to interest adults too.
The walk back to the station, the bus ride, send check in are all smooth. At the check-in, the kids experience something they missed the last three weeks, namely other kids they could talk to, even better they are bug pokemon fans.
On the plane at 2020, Depart on-time at 2100, plane Osaka barely 1/3 full so everyone but me has a 3 seat bed. So they are sleeping and I am writing.
I added some pictures of our little house. The main differences to houses back in Switzerland are that houses are very small, gardens, if they exist, are very tiny, walls are thin, as are the sliding doors, and bedrooms have dual purpose. I shouldn't forget the oddities like high tech, heated seat toilets, and the complete lack of bins. I'm not sure where the locals hide all their rubbish, which they create a lot of with a lot of packaging and similar materials.Læs mere