Japan day 15

At 08:00 I was down for breakfast, some were there allready and others came a bit later.

Now it is time for everyone to go their separate ways. Very sad. Said goodbye to the group, everyone hugged each other and said goodbye, you become close when you live, eat and sleep next to each other, so very sad. They were also a very pleasant group. I don't know if you will see everyone again as most of them live in different countries.

I left quite early from the hotel to Hiroshima Train Station by tram as I thought it would take me longer to find my way around. I think I left around 09, can't remember the exact time.

When I arrived at the train/tram station, I said goodbye to those who took the tram at the same time as me, then I started on my solo journey in Japan. The first thing I did at the train station was go into the JR Ticket office, as I had bought this in advance and had to go to the office to get the ticket physically. JR is Japan Rail Line, this ticket works on all JR lines together in Japan. I had a paper with the ticket and passport in order that I had to show, so it went well. At the ticket booth, he helped me book a ticket on the Shinkansen, which is a high-speed train in Japan. Yes, you have a JR pass, but you have to buy a seat reservation to sit on this train. It really helped that he helped me book this ticket.

A bit about the JR Pass (Japan Rail Pass)

The JR Pass is a ticket that gives you unlimited access to Japan's rail network, including the Shinkansen high-speed train and the Narita Express. You can choose between 7, 14 or 21 day validity periods and between standard and Green Pass (1st class) 123. Prices start from $340.00 for 7 days 1. You can order your JR Pass online and have it delivered to you before you travel to Japan On this website you can find and order JR Pass, The website is called JRPASS: https://www.jrpass.com 

The journey to the hotel began:

I took the shinkansen from Hiroshima station to shin osaka station, and a couple of trains from there again. The two trains I was supposed to change from arrived at the same time and ran from one platform to the next, i.e. directly across the road from each other.

Since I left so early, I arrived at the hotel at 11. Ugh, check-in at the hotel wasn't until 15. Asked if I could put the luggage there and it was perfectly fine as they had luggage storage. There were few or no shops nearby apart from familymart and another grocery store where I bought food and some sweets, i.e. crisps.

Today I was really tired so I didn't feel like doing anything. Considered going somewhere else while I had to wait but couldn't take it, so sat outside familymart and ate and relaxed, before walking around the area and looking. Then called my mum and we chatted for a while, then went to the shop again and bought some lunch for the next day, then sat outside and walked around again. When it was just before 3pm I went back into the hotel, there was a long queue. Then I had to wait quite a while before I was able to check into the hotel, finally I got the key.

A bit about the hotel:

The hotel is called La'gent Hotel Osaka Bay and cost NOK 4749 for 4 days and 3 nights. It also includes breakfast every day. The reason why I chose this hotel, even though it is a bit more expensive, is that I wanted to relax a bit all by myself, and it was close to Universal Studios Japan. Love theme parks.

Then went to the room, which is big and nice, good view, there was also a big bed and a fridge. Both the bath and shower were good.

Relax day and summary:

The only thing I did for the rest of the day was relax and watch movies, sleep and eat. I was completely exhausted, so I needed to rest.

All in all, a sad, boring, tiring day, but it was good to relax a bit too. I found my way to the hotel even though I had to take 4 different means of transport, and it went much faster than I expected as I didn't get lost. Getting the JR pass was actually easy, had no problems there, and was able to use the pass on most means of transport that day. Everything was fine, no technical issues, didn't mess up at all, ate food, so actually pretty good for once. The only thing was that I was bored because I was tired and couldn't take it anymore, my body needed some rest. I finally got it when I checked into the hotel, so that was good!