Japan 2013: Mata ne!*

On every trip I take, I make it a point to save the best meals on the last day so I can have a good memory to hold on to when I go back home. So for our last dinner, we headed to Aqua City in search for a yakiniku restaurant. We've been craving yakiniku since we landed in KIX but our sked is always hectic so we kept putting if off.

Food is always a serious business.

Since Ariel is a vegetarian, he decided to have more tamago sushi at the nearby food court while we headed to Heijouen and got down to business. Heijouen serves the best of both worlds where Korean and Japanese barbecue meet - or should I say meat? Hihi

As usual, Nee-chan and I were in charge of picking out the food. It was pretty tough looking at all the yummy-looking choices but it's a job we enjoy doing. Just look at our serious faces! Haha

Melt in your mouth goodness.

We settled for their best-selling platters where you can sample their best-selling cuts. And can I just say, BEST YAKINIKU EVER! Sure, it's a bit pricey (at least for Pinoy standards) but melt-in-your-mouth goodness don't come cheap. I promise you, it's so worth it! It was actually pretty sulit. We were reluctant to order rice since we want to savor the meat but Pinoys will always be Pinoys. We just can't live without rice, eh?

Happy tummies!

We were all stuffed by the end of our meal. And good thing we were because we sure needed energy for the upcoming (mis)adventure we're about to experience. Oh I forgot to mention that the booths in Heijoen have wooden blinds to separate the customers so you can have all the privacy you want while enjoying your meal.

Oishiikatta!

After billing out, we met up with Ariel and walked back to the station. Remember how full we were? Well, Dad was so full, he had to stop for a bathroom break which made us miss the train by just a couple of minutes! And now we're pressed for time as we have to wait for the next train to arrive.

We'll be going back to Osaka that night and our bus leaves at exactly 10:40 PM so we had to make up for lost time by running all the way to the Willer Bus Terminal in Shinjuku West! And by running, I mean Amazing Race levels of running!!! I couldn't even breathe properly from running too fast out in the cold. But we did reach one of their staff just before the clock struck 10:40 PM. I talked to/distracted him while the rest of our party went to fetch our luggage from the lockers downstairs. Since I was still trying to catch my breath, I got a little confused so our conversation went something like this:

Staff: Can I see your ticket please?
Me: *Hands over the reservation confirmation print-out*
Staff: Do you have a picture card?
Me: *Does he mean a commuter pass?* No, I bought our tickets online. I only have this print-out as our tickets.
Staff: Yes, but can I see your picture card?
Me: *Does he mean a membership card?* Sorry, what card?
Staff: Any picture card. Card with picture.
Me: You mean an ID? *shows driver's license*
Staff: Yes, thank you.
Me: *Ay jusko ID lang pala!*

So when all that was settled, he led me towards the loading area where I reminded him that we have to wait a bit for my companions who were still taking care of our luggage. He kept pointing to random people and asking me if they were my companions. I kept saying no and in an attempt to buy more time, I told him that I think I can see them running up the escalator. As if on cue, my family did appear running up the escalator as soon as the staff turned to look. Haha Talk about perfect timing!

So yeah, we caused a bit of delay and we apologized multiple times but thank goodness we made it to the bus back to Osaka! Thanks to our fatigue, we easily fell asleep for the entire journey. By the time I woke up, our bus was already starting to park at the terminal. Amazing! Last night felt so surreal.

Live life in full color.

After freshening up at the terminal (yes, at the terminal!!! Thank God everything's nice in Japan haha), we went to the nearest station to once again leave our luggage in coin lockers. After multiple attempts in trying to fit all our stuff in the least number of lockers (this takes some serious skill >.<), we're off to DonQi for last minute KitKat hoarding. And by KitKat hoarding, I mean Kitty-chan merch + several other chocolates kind of hoarding. You can never step out of a Japanese store with only what you intended to buy. Nope. You'll never know you want/need it unless you see it in a Japanese store. T^T

"KitKat hoarding"

After our little shopping, we went back to the station and hopped on the airport line which will conveniently take us back to Kansai International Airport. I love how airports in most SEA countries are conveniently connected to the train line. So hassle free! The Philippines should catch up!

Okonomiyaki

Of course, we can't leave Osaka without having some okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake). Oh how I've missed the taste of authentic okonomiyaki~! I waited 4 years for this! Nothing back home comes even close to the taste of the real thing. :( Again, with their huge servings, 2 okonomiyaki and an order of yakisoba is more than enough for the four of us. We were so full by the end of lunch!

And since it's still a bit early for our check-in time, Karly, Ayel and I decided to walk around the airport which was kind of a bad idea. We ended up buying more stuff like Starbucks tumblers, KitKat Sakura Matcha, Daiichi Choco Mini Pan (these are addictive I'm telling you!!! I can probably finish all 7 pieces in one sitting teehee), Uniqlo limited One Piece shirts, etc. Hence, a re-packing was in order!

Last minute packing!

This was us by the time we came back to Nee-chan and Dad. Good thing, no one packs like my Daddy does! He successfully repacked our stuff so they'll all fit without us having to go out and buy more reusable bags. In retrospect, I think they just wanted to prevent us from roaming around lest we end up buying more stuff. Again. Haha

After all that packing, we're ready to check in! Well, technically, we're already checked-in thanks to Cebu Pacific's web check-in feature. But since we checked in while we were at the Willer Bus Terminal, we were not able to print our boarding passes. Thank goodness, the Japanese crew were understanding and practical, they let us through even without our printed boarding passes. Take note, this was even before e-tickets were generally accepted in NAIA. I love how the crew can think for themselves instead of just (blindly) "following the procedure." As usual, check-in was easy breezy so we decided to grab some food before heading to immigration. Since we were first in line, we still had plenty of time before boarding. Amazing! And because it's our last meal (totoo na 'to promise haha) in Japan, I just had to have one more bowl of gyudon before I leave. This time, I had a gyudon from Sukiya which surprisingly came with a little Shin-chan toy! Kawaii~ *u*

Finally, we boarded our plane and snoozed all the way to Manila. I can't believe 2 weeks have already passed. Time sure flies when you're in Japan, having fun. *sigh*

* Mata ne! - roughly translates to "See you later." It can never be goodbye when it comes to Japan. In fact, I'll be back this spring thanks to Cebu Pacific's piso sale so yay! ♥

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Traveling party: Daddy, Karly, Nee-chan (organizer), Sera, and Ariel
Travel date: April 17, 2013 [Day 8]
Photo credits: Karl