Monday, August 20, 2018

Japan - Universal Studios Japan

My last day in Osaka started with being very tired after the day before. I wanted to be in the Universal Studios Japan bright and early, but I only ended up getting there at around 10. When I got off the train, a huge crowd got off with me. I hurried to get to the park, but as I discovered, some of the people weren't going there. Before the park there was already a busy entertainment area with gaming places, shops and restaurants. As I was approaching the entrance, I felt my heart beat faster. I was excited for the whole experience as I've never been to such a place before. I first wanted to get a ticket, then take my picture in front of the Universal globe, which was pretty cool in itself. 

I didn't have to wait long, and I had already purchased my ticket and got my map and information package. After the pictures and video, I finally entered. It was beyond cool! The sets, the shops, the whole atmosphere made me instantly happy and I just wanted to act like a kid. Surprisingly to me, I saw many adults without kids. Some in groups or couples, friends, some dressed up as characters. I didn't stick out too much! 



I headed to the board by the lake first. Yes, there's a lake! So on the board they had the wait times for the rides, and they seemed ridiculously long. So I hung out around the lake a bit first. There were carnival games there, and I thought of trying one out, but then I remembered that I almost flunked PE because I never managed to throw the ball into the hoop in the basketball portion of the class. The teacher said she'd never seen a person not throw it in even once. 

I gathered myself and headed straight to the main event for me, Wizarding World. I passed through a small version of Central Park, then headed right. There were stones to mark the entrance, and a path lead through a forest from which all sorts of sounds came. I came across the Weasleys’ car first, which was swarmed by tourists taking pictures. I was too excited to wait long, so I went on to Hogsmead / Diagon Alley. It was gorgeous! The Hogwarts Express was on my right, and the buildings were covered in snow like when they would go on a Hogsmead trip. The Three Broomsticks was on the left, along with some shops. Butterbeer was sold from stalls shaped like huge barrels. At the end of the road Hogwarts rose over the scene, with a perfect view from the dark lake. It was like a dream! I seriously didn’t want to leave, too bad they didn’t actually have rooms in the Three Broomsticks.

I ran straight to take pictures of Hogwarts. I took pictures with camera, selfies, and even just stood and stared at it, probably grinning like a maniac. It suddenly started to rain, and I ran into the first shop. The first part of it was a robes and stationery shop. I looked around and considered getting a few things, but then I saw that towards the back there was another shop, which was Ollivander’s! I have previously decided to get a wand, so I went inside. They had replicas of the wands of all the main characters, even the Elder wand. I touched the displays, marvelled at the different kinds. Then there was a section with wands that were supposed to match your personality. I didn’t read the descriptions on purpose. I considered getting Severus’ wand, but in the end I decided that I wanted one not tied to a person. I looked at which ones I liked, and decided on holly, which was actually for leaders. In fact, Harry’s wand was also of holly. I really liked the feel of it too, so I bought it.

There is a game that goes with buying a wand. You have stations to go to, need to say a spell, do a wand movement, and your environment does something. I only did one station as there was quite a line, and in the end it didn’t give me as much satisfaction as I hoped it would. Still, I was happy about actually getting the wand. 

Then I headed to Honeydukes, which is combined by Zonko’s. I really loved the window displays for the place, as they were fun. Inside you could get various pumpkin stuff, every flavour beans, chocolate frogs, and some more sweets. I got the beans and the frog. It had Gilderoy Lockhart in it, which I found funny. I also got a pink pygmy puff, which is adorable. When I paid, they were supposed to do this whole ritual of naming my puff, but as the cashier didn’t really speak English, and I didn’t know about it, we just ended up not doing it. I call her pygmy puff anyway.

I was getting hungry, as I only had a light breakfast. Of course, I couldn’t eat anywhere else other than the Three Broomsticks. They have a menu in English as well. The line was kind of long, but it kept up a good pace, so it wasn’t so bad. The staff didn’t really speak English, but they had a way of getting around that. There was a big board with the menu, and then a woman held up a sign that explained the ordering system. You go to a cashier and order. I got shepherd's pie with a salad and butterbeer. The cashier pointed it out to me that if I ordered a butterbeer medium or large, I could keep the cup. I wanted a medium one anyway, so that was cool. Then there were three kinds of sauce I could get for my salad. They had a board for that too, so I read what was in them, and pointed. I could finally pay with a card! Then she directed me with my receipt to a window where I would get my food. I went there, got my tray, and then headed to the condiments and cutlery section. From there, I looked around for a seat, but of course, there were people to seat you as well. I got to the first person at the entrance of the area, was asked how many,
and I said “single”. She lead me deeper inside, then handed me off to another person, who then finally got me to my table. I sat down, and took my first sip of butterbeer. It was nice. A bit sweeter than I’d imagined, especially on such a hot day, but I enjoyed it. I also really liked the cup that I got. It was made of plastic, which would be good for my air travel. However, the plastic was a very good quality, hard plastic, almost like glass. It looked good too. Had to take a selfie. The pie was delicious and hot. I picked an onion sauce for the salad, and it went very well with the pie, as I expected. Actually, I think it was a great sauce, and while I’ve never thought of putting onion sauce on salads before, it was definitely something worth exploring in the future.

Once I gathered myself enough to get on my way again, I went to check out wait times for the rides. They were still pretty long, but I spotted a performance on the stage. It was the introduction of the two other Magical schools, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. Sadly, I only caught the tail end of the guys, but I could fully record the girls. Very pretty.

After that, the butterbeer was getting to me, and I had to use the ladies’. Moaning Myrtle is in there! She was speaking in Japanese though, must have learned when she came over. (Yeah, I’m kidding around.) There were people resting under the Owlery, not afraid of the guano, so I checked that out. It opened to a shop that was first for all sorts of Quidditch things, where you could also get some fridge magnets. They had a cage there, where a Monster Book of Monsters was locked up, occasionally scaring the patrons. It opened up to an owl shop, where you could get stuffed owls, feather pens and journals to write in. Next door was also the clothing shop with robes and jewellery. I got some things, mostly Slytherin, as I’m in Slytherin. Got sorted on Pottermore and everything, though I always knew that was my house. I didn’t get a scarf, although I wanted to, but my skin is very delicate and I felt that it may irritate it.

I have basically checked out everything there was to see, so it was time for me to try to go for the rides. On my way, I saw another performance on stage. Kids from all four houses were fighting something. After that, I hurried to the Flight of the Hippogriff.

Now I’ve never been on a roller coaster, ever. In my country there aren’t that many amusement parks. There used to be a small one in my city, but it mostly had the kind of rides where you sit in a car that is attached to a rod and it just goes up and down. Very sedate, it’s more about the wind in your hair than speed or anything. There was a bigger one in the capital, but it closed down. I’m not even sure if there are any left in the country. Aqua Parks are a lot more popular. Therefore, as my first roller coaster ride ever, I decided to go with the one that felt the least scary, the Hippogriff ride. It had a 60 minute wait time, which may sound like much to some, but as I also saw 240-minute wait times on some rides, it was okay. It had a winding line in a wooded area of the Wizarding World, with Hagrid’s Hut in the middle. Sadly, the trees hadn’t grown tall enough to provide much of a shade, so I was looking at spending most of my wait in the sun. I wished there were benches, and I had an umbrella. 

Lots of Japanese carry umbrellas not against the rain, but against the sun. They value light skin, unlike us Europeans, where tanning is a thing. I’m pretty light skinned, and don’t tan much, so people often ask me if I’m okay, as I’m so pale. Why I wear makeup. I wouldn’t want to scare the people who see my videos. :D

While I waited, I took out my phone and started on my blog entry. Why I love smart phones so much, they are small entertainment systems in themselves. Even without a WiFi, I had plenty to do on it to occupy myself. Behind me, a German couple waited, and I sometimes also amused myself with practicing my German by listening in on their conversation. It wasn’t anything particularly interesting though. At around the halfway point there was a water fountain, and everyone made good use of it. We all ran out of water by that point.

Inevitably, I finally got to the ride, and sat in one of the chairs. I was pretty scared, though I was also a tiny bit concerned over all of my stuff being in a quite open closet. I told the woman sitting next to me that it was my first time on a roller coaster, and she said hers too! It started out slow, and I was fine with that. Then suddenly, it dashed down, took a turn, and started whooshing about! My stomach was in my throat, my body was being jerked about in the hard seat, my brain was screaming at me for doing this, and I was half sure that I’m going to die. Then it was suddenly over, and the relief was mixed in with exhilaration, and the strange want of doing it again. When we pulled in and I got out, I was still kind of in shock and dazed. I got my stuff, and stumbled in front of the ride to do a video.

I looked around that part as well, and saw that there was another shop, with sort of a collection from all the other shops. Off to the side they also had the last stop of the wand challenge. I wondered what to do. I wanted to do the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride, but there was a 2 hour wait there. I decided to try and get on it at night. It was inside Hogwarts anyway. Looking around, I realised I've done everything there, and after 4 hours, it was time to explore the rest of the park. I was sad to leave, because just like you can't experience the books ever again as you did the first time, you can't see Hogwarts and Hogsmead again for the first time either.



I walked outside wondering what to do. I had a heavy bag of goodies, and knew that I couldn't carry it around all day. I pulled out my map to look for storage lockers. I saw plenty before. I spotted some next door, in Wonderland. 

I headed there, and saw that it was the area for small children. There were rides with Hello Kitty, bright pinks and blues everywhere. Everything was so cute! I saw a beautiful carousel, little children driving around in cars. I looked for the lockers and found them next to a family room. They were all occupied, so I looked for the next place to have some. There was an area by the entrance, so I headed that way while marvelling at the long line of strollers next to a ride. As I exited the area, I heard music and singing, and saw that in front of the diner there was a performance going on. It was really good. There were four people, two guys and two girls singing and dancing, all individually dressed and acting.

I passed the board for the ride times, and had a look. The Sailor Moon 4D movie only had 20 minutes, so I hurried to it. Now let me tell you about Sailor Moon and me. I first saw it on Hungarian TV, with an opening in French. However, as per usual on Hungarian TV, they just stopped airing it one day. I was 12 at the time, and really wanted to know what was going on. I looked, and found that they had it on one of the German channels. I had just started to learn German, so it was a great opportunity to learn. I can still sing the German opening, which is actually very good. They did a techno version too. Sailor Moon was actually the first anime I saw. As soon as I could get stuff off the Internet, I got Sailor Moon with subtitles, and rewatched it in my 20s. Still very good. Yes, the Sailor Star Lights confused the hell out of me at 12,and I still don't really get how that was supposed to work. New version, you ask? I saw it, but while the graphics are nicer, I prefer the original. They pray in the new one! Pray! I'm sure there was no mention of god in the old version, or I blocked it out. 

Anyway, back to the movie. I stood in line, and fairly quickly we were ushered into the theatre. We got into this room with screens all around above us. They made some introduction of the story and also commercial for a Sailor Moon heart wand that you can buy. And then repeat. In Japanese. After a while it was getting boring and people grew louder around me. Finally, the doors to the screening room opened, and I could go in. I wanted to get a seat more down, but I could only get into the last row. The seats didn't have enough dip, and I saw several heads in front of me. I put on the 3D glasses, and the show began. I won't go into details, but it was a lot of fun. The chair moved, I got water sprayed on, and Sailor Moon saved us all. Of course, in Japanese, but I understood the gist of it, and the visuals were great! I came out very happy. Especially that 12-year-old girl inside me, who watched every episode so diligently, and would have never believed that she would see something like that growing up with a single mum and never enough money. 

On the way out, they had the shop, with the wands that the commercial was for, and it was also featured in the movie. I played around with the one on display a bit, and filmed the place, while almost stepping on a child. It was a bit crowded in there, and the displays didn't exactly make things easy. Luckily, this wasn't the country where such an accident would bring about verbal abuse by the mother, which in other countries can be a common occurrence. I have been told off a couple of times for kids bumping into me, not letting kids touch me, so I'm very careful nowadays. For many people their children seem to be innocent darlings that just want to play and run around in stores, crowds, and if anything happens, it's not their fault. I grew up in such a different world. 

I went outside without buying anything, and feeling the heaviness of my bag, went on the hunt for the lockers again. At the entrance I first searched on the wrong side, but was quickly directed to the other one. I needed 400 yen, and used a change machine to get it. I put my things in, and following instructions, locked it. Using my spacial memory, I observed the position of the locker to get to it more easily, and put my key away. Much lighter now, I decided to go through the rest of the park and explore everything. I made note of the Evangelion ride, which had long wait times. 

Neon Genesis Evangelion is a classic anime that is usually well-known among anime fans, but not so much among regular people. It's a complicated story, and frankly, I could understand it until about halfway through, as then things get weird. It's also very psychological. The main story is that huge aliens called “angels” are attacking the world. Have already destroyed Tokyo twice, and Tokyo 3 is a city that can be submerged underground in case of an attack. Humans have built EVAs, huge robots to fight them, but as they use a neuron interface, only prepubescent children can pilot them. The catch is, because of the interface the kids feel everything that happens to the robots. Including when in the first episode an angel tears the arm off of one. Yeah, it's for adults. It also has a killer theme that's very popular. This was also one of my favourite things, so it definitely felt like the park was catering for me.



I went on to explore other parts of the park. I passed an area with fake grass that was specifically for picnics, named Gramercy Park. Lots of people were lounging around there, especially teens in various groups. The Spider-man ride was temporarily closed, and I hoped it would be back up, as Spidey was one of my favourite superheroes. I liked that he was a regular guy who got superpowers by accident, and just wanted to help people, while he also had to go to school, hold down a job and pay the bills. The ride itself was in an area that looked like an older part of New York. After that I arrived back to the lake, but I took a turn to the left, to explore Minion Park.

Minion Park is probably the loudest, most crowded and the most colourful part of the park. Probably the most insane as well. It feels like it was crammed into its area. There are games to play where you can win plushies, a big store full of minion things, and a few rides. The main ride, the Minion Mayhem also had an insanely long wait time, so I decided to go on that if I had time. My favourite thing there was the fountain, as I thought it was very imaginative and unique. There was also a small part of the grass again, and I sat down to get a little rest. Meanwhile, I watched people trying to win minions. They were very cute, but huge! Definitely not something for a plane ride. I also saw lots of people dressed up as minions, adults and children alike, often carrying the unicorn backpack that they had so much of in the shop. It reminded me of a girl at university who used to carry a sheep backpack. I thought of going to negotiations with a unicorn backpack, and had a little laugh.

I went back to the lake, and to the San Francisco area. It had pretty good foods to choose from, but I wasn’t hungry. However, it probably had the best selection from all the areas I’ve seen, including vendors selling small bites, so I’d definitely recommend it.

Next came the Jurassic Park area, with the huge Flying Dinosaur ride above it. Frankly, I wouldn’t go on that thing if they’d pay me. It looked incredibly scary. The surroundings were made out like a tropical resort, as the movies originally took place on a tropical island. There was lush vegetation,  They had some food areas there as well, including a place where you could get big drumsticks. A shop sold all sorts of dinosaur toys. It also had an automated Velociraptor in a cage that was pretty cool. Of course, it was movie accurate. After the first movie came out scientists realised they had feathers, and therefore the movie depiction became incorrect. Of course, now we’re stuck with this image of the species. The feathers were for keeping the eggs warm, not for flight, and this way we know they were warm-blooded. I became interested in dinosaurs when I was 6, not because of Jurassic Park, but I still loved the movies for being the only footage at the time where we could see these creatures moving about. I would have loved to be a kid on that island before the screaming and dying. There was also another ride, which was a wet ride. I wasn’t very interested in that one, and moved on fairly quickly.

After that came the Amity Village, which for me was the least interesting part of the park. It had a nautical theme to it. It also had the Jaws ride, another wet one, with long wait times. I walked around, and then just moved on, not really interested. Waterworld was closed, as it was being rebuilt. I went back to Central Park, intent on having another sit-down. I did find a bench, but didn't stay on it long. I wandered around, took some pictures of the stars on the main street.  They had such greats as Larry Hagman and Gene Kelly. 

I ended up back at Gramercy park. My back was killing me again, so I took out my studio map, and lay down with my head on it. I decided to plan the rest of my day. It was only past 4pm, so I still had plenty of time until the night parade and the time when it would probably be easier to get into the Hogwarts ride. I wasn’t exactly sure when the night parade would take place. It was summer, so the sun set late, and obviously the night parade would be at night. I took out all the information that I was given, but none said when it was. I was thinking of what to do, and thought of maybe doing the Terminator 3D if the wait time was short enough. So I got up, and went there, when I spotted a park worker. I thought I’d take a chance, and asked her what time the night parade was. She informed me it was at 8pm. The park was open until 10pm, so I figured that I’d be able to get into the Hogwarts ride in the 90 minutes. However, there was some time until 8pm. I have walked around, I wasn’t hungry, so I had a look at the Evangelion line, and it said 90 minutes for the singles line.

At Universal Studios Park a lot of rides have two lines. Usually the singles line has less wait time. That line is for people who are either alone, or are willing to be separated during the ride. As most rides have even numbered seats, there would often be a hole in the case of groups that have an odd number of people in them. So they make up the empty spaces with the people in the singles line.

To stand in line for the Evangelion ride I had to put my small bag into a locker. It was free, and the key had a wrist band, so that way it would be really hard to lose it. I still grabbed my phone, because if I was going to wait in line for 90 minutes, I was going to occupy myself with something. I was also too tired to stand, so I just sat down on the ground. It was kind of clean, and I was wearing jeans, so I really didn’t care. There were two young guys before me, and they would sometimes mock fight each other. I kept a safe distance from their antics. On the screens throughout the waiting area a footage was playing where the characters of the show explain that there had been an angel attack. That had subtitles, which was good. As we got to a more inner part of the line, I saw that they were letting in some people from the singles line in after they let a group from the other lines in. They were giving out some sort of card, that I wasn’t really sure what it was for. As we waited to be let in into the inner part, there was also more footage playing on a bigger screen, but it wasn’t important. I was let in, and had to walk through a maze of metal walkways, with scenes of angel attacks playing on the walls. Then I got to the part where through several windows we could see people getting into small carts two-by-two. On screens we were instructed on how to put on the VR headsets. They were very secure, and you could even adjust the focus for people with glasses. They handed out cases for the glasses as well, that people could wear around their necks. Finally, it was my turn to go. I actually joined a group of teens, four guys and a girl. Of course, they were first asked. I wonder if anyone ever said no, but it was nice of them to ask anyway. I was kind of nervous, as the whole ride was inside, and I had no idea what to expect. Still, I always say, even if you fear something, do it if it’s not too dangerous. I sat down, adjusted my VR glasses, and an attendant checked that they were secure on my head. My pockets were too small for my phone, so I quickly unbuttoned my trousers and stored it in my trousers. The safety hold came down, and we were off. 

On the VR I saw that I was sitting in the back of a two-seater chopper. It was taking me around a huge fight between EVA and angels. There were buildings collapsing around me, and my pilot was trying not to get us crushed. The speed was dizzying, and when an angel suddenly appeared in front of me, I screamed really hard. The whole experience was fast, dizzying, crazy, and crazy good. I screamed a lot, and I was very scared, but I was also enjoying it in an insane way. When it ended, I kind of wanted to do it again. I got outside in a daze, pumped from the experience. I kind of wanted to jump up and down from the adrenalin rush. I really have no idea if there was an actual ride inside the building, or what happened to me outside the VR, but the speed and the dips felt very real. I also think that not actually seeing it helped, because if it looked like in reality like some of the outside rides, then I would have never gone on it.

While I was inside, it had gotten dark. The lights came on, and the park was as bright as day. There were people sitting on the sidewalks, with blankets on the ground, waiting for the parade to start. I, on the other hand, was hungry. I wanted to try out the 50s diner, so I headed in that direction. I also checked the Hogwarts wait times, as I still had 45 minutes until the parade, but it was still very long. I went into the diner instead. I got a burger meal with melon soda.
I’ve never even heard of melon soda before, so I had to try it. I got some ketchup at the condiments table, and found a seating for myself. I also looked outside, but of course they were all taken in preparation for the parade. I decided I liked the melon soda, even though it was a bit sweet. The fries were crispy, and the burger seriously wonderful. The meat was a really good quality, and the flavours were on spot. I had a great meal. After visiting the ladies’, I went outside to look for a spot to watch the parade from. 

A couple of people just left the second row, and I hurried to get the spot. I specifically chose the area in front of the screen that displayed the wait times for the rides, because that was the closest to the Harry Potter area. My plan was that as soon as the last parade element went down, I would hurry as fast as possible to the Hogwarts ride. I sat down behind a group of friends dressed as minions, with actual minions, popcorn holder minions, and basically anything they could think of putting minions on. Next to me was a mum and her daughter. They were taking selfies of each other, and it reminded me of my mum, and how before I left we took selfies at a restaurant. I missed my mum, but I knew she wouldn’t have been able to physically do the trip. All the video that I was shooting was mainly for her, to send home this world that I was seeing. As we all sat, a guy came through, and told everyone that only the first row could sit on the ground, the second row had to stand up. So I reluctantly stood. The parade began later than 8pm, but as the wait times display said 30 minutes for the Hogwarts ride, I wasn’t worried. Okay, maybe a little.



Finally, the parade began. First, there was a huge drum thing, playing music. Then came the Harry Potter section. When the Hogwarts Express pulled up puffing, with the fog and the lights, my fangirling heart skipped a beat. It was kind of emotional, though I wasn’t sure why. I guess when you’re truly a fan of a fantasy world, seeing things come alive from it is very special. Then there were more Harry Potter themed floats. Quidditch players came with the house flags, and I couldn’t resist shouting “Slytherin!” House pride and all that. After that the Transformers section played. They had a huge Bumblebee, which was moving and everything. Did I mention that I used to watch the original cartoon in the 80s? We’ve had huge robots, then came dinosaurs, the Jurassic Park portion. I’ve already talked about my love of dinosaurs. At last, they closed with the minions, which weren’t as interesting as the previous ones, especially because those played out little stories that you can see on the video. However, they were the funniest, and had the best music.



As I saw that is was the end, I shut my camera off, but it into my bag, and I was speeding to Harry Potter. I wasn’t alone, so when I saw some other people running, I started too. They put that ride really far into the park, and it was quite a way away. So when I finally got there, and stood in the line, I bent over, panting, trying to get oxygen into my lungs again. It had been a tiring day, and it took a lot out of me. Suddenly, we were going inside. We were ushered to lockers again, as we had to put our bags away. I didn’t take anything with me, just put the whole thing in there, locked, and I was going through Hogwarts.
It really was set up in there like Hogwarts, with moving paintings, fireplaces ready to flo, and other displays. While people waited in line, they could really take it in. I, on the other hand, didn’t have to wait at all. I walked up right to the start of the line, and I was alone in the singles lane. Almost right away a group of three arrived, and I was in my seat. It was one of those things where you’re sitting, but your feet are dangling in air, which kind of made it scarier. The story was that Harry is trying to lead you somewhere, and the journey takes you through all sorts of scary things. You chase a snitch, see Aragog, scream your head off because there’s a huge spider. Or just me. Then dementors come and the room is so cold. I shouted for chocolate, but no one gave me any. I also shouted Expecto Patronum at one point. You really are taken through all the scary bits in the story, and then come out giggling. Or that was just me too. Either way, it was a great ride, not as up and down as Evangelion, but it did have a few bumps. They gave me a number at the start, as they took a picture of me at some point, which I could purchase on the way out. I didn’t intend to buy it, but I decided to have a look at it. So I took my bag out, and exited through the shop under Hogwarts. They had the picture at a counter there, and showed it to me on a screen when I gave them the number. I looked like a crazy person on it, as I was shouting something, or just screaming at the time. It was quite funny, but I didn’t get it. I left, and got some night time shots of the Harry Potter area. I left with a heavy heart, as I knew I may never return.

I went to the board with the wait times, hoping that maybe I could get onto something at the last hour of the park being open. The Spider-man ride was available, and only had 15 minutes on it. It was also at the other end of the park. I hurried as much as I could, and was ushered in as I got there. I spotted a man with a small child outside, and the child had disappointment on his face. He was probably too little for the ride. I went straight in, and there was no one else in the singles line. I barely had to wait a few minutes, and a group with an odd number was next. I sat in a car, and was given 3D glasses. In this case the story was that you’re in this car, trying to get through New York, but all sorts of villains are attacking Spider-man, with you caught in the middle. I got water sprayed on, there was fire, Spider-man jumped onto the car, he caught us in a web, all sorts of cool and exciting things. I was again very pumped when I came out.

I had a last stroll around the park, the lights were going out, places were closing. It was time to go back to the apartment, but I was sad to go. It had been such a great experience. However, it was time, and I took out my shopping from the locker, and headed back to the train. I double checked what I needed to buy as train ticket on the WiFi of a Lawson’s near the station. The shops and entertainment areas around the park were still open, and I may have lingered, but the next day I had to take a train to Tokyo, and I needed to sleep.

I got on the train, and strangely, it spent about a quarter hour at the next stop. I never found out why, but then it started up again. On my way home, I stopped at a convini. I saw a bag of snacks that looked like potato chips, but I had to make sure, so I asked the attendant. He just kept saying that it was spicy. Told him I didn't care, I eat spicy. In the end he confirmed that it was potato. It's not easy having food allergies with a labelling that you can't read. That really had been my most troubling aspect of Japan, and I’m lucky none of my allergies are lethal.

I finally got back, and wound down by packing up my suitcase. I also talked to my mum online, and spent some time telling her about my day and the mother-daughter duo I saw. I hoped that when that girl got to be my age, she would call her mum every day too.

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