Day 28 and 29 | The last day in Japan & flying back home [part 1]

Hi guys! And so we came to the last day of my stay abroad in Japan. As it goes with all great things and events the time passed so fast. Yet I really had every day full of activities and by keeping it that way the period in Japan seemed also longer than I though it would be. The last day was also pretty long for me as i spent almost all of it outside on the bike and in the evening went to the airport. Actually, I have been on the bike for about 5 hours visiting all the host families and friends I knew location of and did about 30 kilometres by lunch. I was also pretty active with my analog camera, especially with portraits, hope you will like it.

So let me tell you a bit more of what new I had seen and experienced on the last day, whom I had met (some unexpected faces), what had I done and what it felt like leaving the Land of Rising Sun.

The night before

I spent the day earlier again on the bike going around Gobo and using the chance to meet with friends and to meet dear people. In the evening my host families and the Lions Club Gobo organised a farewell party with many visitors and we had lots of fun and a pretty "delicious" time with food and drink. Afterwards I came back home to the house of Mr Yanase and spent the evening talking with them and inviting them to Kuroachia. I also showed them the presentation of my country I prepared. They said they would like to go and visit me along with Mr Ishikura. I hope that this will come one day truth. Afterwards I started packing my stuff and also used their help by measuring the luggage on the digital balance and it took a bit of creativity not to break it. I had around 29-30, 5 kg whereas 30 was the limit of Qatar Airways. I had to sacrifice a bit of my clothes and cosmetics, as well as one present from the camp.

For the last day I planned to wake up earlier and have enough time to visit all of my friends and host families in Gobo. I found all the locations by using the Google maps on my phone (and therefore had to go to a wi-fi area as we had no internet at Mr Yanase's house). What I had done and seen you will find out soon.

The 30 kilometres long grand tour around Gobo and the area - visiting everyone I have met

Source

Yep, that's right! This really was a pretty long day but I did not feel tired, rather regaining energy all the time.

I woke on Tuesday early in the morning and forced myself to jump out of the bed at 7-7. 30 a. m. It was already pretty sunny and I even let my roller blinds a bit more open just to make sure I really wake up and have no more will to stay in the bad. I could not ruin the plans I had for this day and time was pretty precious to me. All the decisions that day were mostly calculating about what is worth doing and what was not. Because within 12 hours I was already supposed to be at the Osaka KIX Airport waiting for my flight to Tokyo Haneda.

Every time when I though about it, it just felt so strange and I knew this bad feeling was going to occur once the end of the day approaches. All of you who have been travelling abroad or simply spending time at some other place in your country know this feeling. When you know that everything is going to end soon and that once you wake up on the next morning you will be back home. For me it was pretty unbelievable thinking that within 24 hours on the clock I was going to have lunch back in Zagreb. Yet right now I am eating with chopsticks and watching TV in Japanese. How crazy is that?!

Grandma Yanase was already awake and I told her the night earlier I was going to go for a bike tour early in the morning. She prepared me something to eat on the table and gave two more Pocari drinks for my backpack. I was smiling again and it made me feel sad and already nostalgic when I noticed our English-Japanese and Japanese-English picture dictionary on the table which was many times the connecting bridge between us. Both I and them felt sorry as we were not able to understand each other great all the time and could not enjoy the conversation. However, I think we managed to defeat the language barrier. The same story I heard about Mr Ishikura once we had a Japanese friend who spoke English. She told me that Mr Ishikura, despite jokes around all the time and trying to be serious, was sad that he could not communicate with me normally and that we had sometimes pretty difficult times not understanding each other. Though he added we found ourselves somewhere and he had plenty of fun with me. We both got the compliments from the Lions Club officers saying we are the two jokers in the group and can understand each other even without translation. I was lucky enough to know the right words in Japanese at the right time to make him laugh.

Going for the wi-fi signal

Breakfast done. Took my backpack with analog and digital camera, the towel to put it around my neck as a protection from the sun and sweating, a few drinks and food to survive on the hot day... and my yellow straw hat. The bike was waiting for me in the garage and I greeted my host family saying I was going to return in 3-4 hours later. It was a bit before 9 a. m. when I left the yard.

However, I had only one problem. As I was planning to visit my friend Rena whom I met in the camp in Osaka I was not sure whether the address she gave me was right and if she was going to be there in the morning. This was kind of a risk I had to take but was determined to go there. I have never been that far away from Gobo actually but one who does not risk achieves nothing. As I struggled with finding her address at first I was able to get something and hoped it was right.

To let her now about my plans I needed the Internet I had not have at this house. Then I remembered the architect host family was on my way there... so I went first to them but decided not to knock or be seen. I stopped under the shadows and used the wi-fi signal out of the building. After sending Rena message with the map where I was heading to I told her "See you in about 40 minutes". I sneaked out of the yard and grabbed my headphones. Time to go "into the world". I planned to visit my architects on my way back anyway.

"If I take one more step, it'll be the farthest away from home I've ever been. "

This quote of Samwise Gamgee from the Fellowship of the Ring was around my mind when I crossed the familiar bridge over Hidaka river and went further beyond the hill following the "big road".

I am not going to bother you with one part of this as I already described what one sees on the journey till the other side of Hidaka river here. I was simply following the big road along the river bank and went over the same bridge enjoying the view over my neighbourhood and the mountains. I had this view one more time on my way back and... for the new one I have to wait until the next visit.

After about 10-12 minutes I reached the border of my knowledge of the roads and town outside Gobo. Though it had been almost 3 weeks since I had been there I remembered the route perfectly. I was looking again towards the river delta and the sandy area of the low water around me.

Exploring the 5 kilometers long area along the sea

Though it was only about 5 and something kilometres long way it seemed at least as twice as longer. Maybe because it was now all new for me. During the ride to my friend's home I was using both the pedestrian path allowed for the cyclists too and the road. And I must say I felt pretty safe on the road even with the headphones. No one was rushing there and not driving like crazy. What is more, every time the vehicles on the road were approaching me they would slow done and not only pass by me but make a little half circle so I was more than a meter and half or even two often away from them. I enjoyed going through the newer town or a village that was inhabited along this road.

The name of the road I followed was Kumano Highway.

For the first half of kilometre the road goes between the houses to your left and this canal to the right. Behind the canal was also this small island which serves as a little bay (on the other side) and port with the boats. The houses and properties here were built upon the slopes of a smaller hill covered with forests. I did not see many locals on the road as well as cars.

After few minutes I crossed the bridge and stopped for a while to have a look around the area. To my left was this canal-river that went somewhere to the north behind the hill. It is of importance for the fields and plantation that the locals had behind the road. I noticed many people that morning actually being on the field and taking care of their plants.

For the next 2 and half kilometres the road was going a bit up and down through the towns and around the hills which made it much more interesting. I really enjoyed the ride as I went through the town on the pedestrian path. This is what I just love and prefer - to go through the new area by bike and discover things on your own. What I remember here was that there were houses on the both sides which made it interesting and one could notice glimpses of the bay behind it with two breakwaters almost closing the area. While approaching the curve that went around the hill and the bay you will find a road leading you the bridge that linked some kind of an island with factories. Unfortunately it was closed and I did not want to cause troubles.

There was one point after the first curve around the hill where I noticed an old and a bit smashed car left off the road. That looked somewhat not that much Japanese as I did not expect someone to leave the "garbage" of metal just like that. I decided to check it out on my way back.

Fields and plantations

In the next half of the same route I got surrounded with plenty of fields and plantations on both sides. People here also used the enclosed gardens. Agriculture is really important in Japan and most of the people learn a living from it. I was not able to see precisely what kind of plants they had been using there though. On my left were now even bigger hills with forests and one can notice how they developed the system of canals to go down the slopes, provided and supplied the area with the water appropriate for the growth of culture. One can also find a few old and by the salt eroded warehouses and abandoned factories with metals. Behind this was again a little port with a few breakwaters where all the goods were probably transported to. A few roads led down to the shore but I did not want to waste time until I reach my friend.

I still had about 2 kilometres left before reaching my destination though it seemed much longer. I continued further through the same looking area.

There are not now many things to mention here. I might add three of them that left in my memory when thinking of this trip. The first thing was one part of the road when it goes down and then up. I could finally let the pedals rotate themselves and enjoy the wind in the face. Moreover, the road went down a few meters above the sea level and the sea got here about 10 meters away from the road. The road was built upon the wall which was next to this small bay. I decided to go down on my way back and touch the Ocean again and see whether I could find some nice looking rocks or what they have of the shells in the shallow (but I would not take any with me home).

You can see here the island with the factories on the last picture. And behind me was the road climbing up the hill again with some kind of a restaurant and a hostel with parking lot.

For the next one kilometre I had mostly seen the plantations and enclosed gardens on the both sides. At the end of this route there was another smaller village with about hundred houses densely built along the second road (not the Kumano Highway) which was closer to the coast. It looked a bit like a ghost area as I saw no living soul outside.

At its end the ride became pretty much fun. Because we were going now down the hill and this is the biggest "fall" so far. I just continued down enjoying the speed... but was crying at the same time as I would have to climb up back later on.

Meeting Rena and her family

Within next 10 minutes I found myself at home of my friend Rena and also had the opportunity and honour to meet her family. But before I got to her I was not able to find the number on the house. I spent 2 minutes going up and down the street but without much success. And I had no internet there. I was not sure what to do now and hoped to find a solution.

And the solution was walking towards me. There was some woman going through the street and I thought I could try to ask her for the help. If not I might spend who knows how much more time being lost in the neighbourhood. I tried to use what was left of the lessons "Directions and asking for the destination" and asked her for this number. I explained in my modest broken Japanese that I am a friend of hers and her family but cannot find the house. She spoke no English as expected but we were able to get to the point and she understood me well. Then I started following her and the second house she went to check the number was the one I needed. She even knocked on the doors and then left. I thanked her and was feeling pretty lucky that she was passing by at the right moment.

I was really happy to see Rena again and she was excited too as we met in the youth camp but did not know that lived relatively close to each other in the area. She was actually about 40-50 minutes by bike from my place but I did not want to miss the opportunity to meet. And so we made it in the end!

I entered her house where the interior looked pretty Japanese with a bit heightened floors of the different rooms. While entering the house I just had to be careful not to hit myself in the head as I was taller than the doors, which made everyone laugh.

I did not have unfortunately any more Licitar hearts left as I gave them away in the camp but brought some prospects and tried to do my own little thing as a memory. And that was my "signature" I developed in the camp as an illustration of the reaction after drinking the green tea.

I met there Rena's mom and siblings (or cousins, sorry Rena, cannot remember! ) who were all very kind and friendly. I was offered a watermelon which no one can resist and came as a good refreshment. We talked all together about our experience in the camp and about future plans to visit each other. She also let me play a bit the double synthesizer.

I had to leave soon and we all went outside into the yard and I asked them for a few photos. We had really tons of fun and I was looking forward to the next time seeing them. I greeted them all and went down the street back on the big road.

The next stop: the architects

Great! I was really happy to come to Rena and see her and that all turned out well eventually. I was now rushing back to Gobo and it all seemed much faster as I already knew the path. It took me about 40 minutes until I popped up at their home.

On my way back I stopped twice. The first time at the beach next to the road and the second one when I decided to make a 5-10 minutes long break and step aside into the shadows. It was next to this place where I saw the smashed cars. I check good whether there were cars coming and went across the street. I also left the bike up on the road while jumping down to the meadow and the cars.

It looked a bit like something from the Jurassic Park movies. Well, time to move forward.

I went once more over the bridge over Hidaka river and hoped to see the scenery again. Within 10 minutes I found myself in front of the house and the office of my 4th host family. I went straight up to the office and hoped to see everyone. The boss, mom Sachiyo-san, was there along with two young architects but the 4th guy from the company was missing. Shame! I told them where I was this morning and wanted to say goodbye before I leave. I also made them go in front of my analog camera.

We also went into the house for the last time but I could not find both Sumire and dad Tetsuya-san. Sumire was back in her music school and Tetsuya had to do some business trip outside Gobo. Well, we saw each other the last night so it was kind of fine. I have forgotten to add that the day before I asked them in the office where could I buy the good quality brushes for the calligraphy as they showed me some. I got the answer that I could simply buy them in Lawson. I went there and after even talking with the guys there (and using mobile dictionary) nothing was to be found. I also went to another shop on my way home but without much success. However, when I asked Ms Yanase about this, she told me to wait a bit and returned happy with a box of tens of the brushes from her shop. I was shocked and pleasantly surprised.

So, time to say "sayounara" to my friends architects. I headed now to my 2nd family - Nakamichi.

Visiting the 2nd family and a lesson on calligraphy

I followed the same route like the day before by going to the traditional house at the crossing and there straight towards the end of the central road. I had to cross the railway once and passed again by several cool looking stores and car wash service.

After 10 minutes of a ride I managed to get to my street. Before arriving to the yard of the house I noticed one man sitting on a chair, some old guy, who was wearing simple clothes and a cap staring above the plantations there. I was thinking whether to take a photo of him and approach him for the permission but decided to wait a bit.

I told Akari I would come the other day and hoped she did not forget about it. And she did not! Both she and mom were at home. I did not want to bother them a lot but just wanted to hang a little bit, thank for everything and say goodbye before airplane. They offered me with a delicious mixture of fruit, ice and juice which came straight from heaven after riding a bike outside.

Afterwards they told me they were going to bring something since I was talking about calligraphy and illustration. And mom Nakamichi-san brought some boxes with a fine paper and a case with several types of ink and brushes. They showed me then how to do the calligraphy the proper way, how to hold the brush - try to do it by being vertical on the surface of the paper, and supported to draw several kanji symbols.

What is more, they even gave me two big brushes as a present so I can try this at home! I was very surprised and happy because of that.

The time came to leave as the noon was already behind me and I thanked them once again for everything. Before leaving my 2nd home in Gobo (I have the stories about it on my tumblr page only) I took one more photograph of Akari and moved on by bike.

I passed again by the field and notice the old man sitting at the same spot. I stopped for a moment and thought "It's now or never. " and decided to go to him. I tried to ask him whether it would be okay to take one or two pictures of him whereas he only nodded approving it.

I was thinking of "Humans of XY" while doing it and this photograph is one of my favourite too. I do not usually take photos of strangers so I really appreciated the moment back there. The old guy also used the two fingers suggesting victory or peace while I was photographing him. After being done I thanked him a lot. I even do not know his name and he barely said any word but seemed to be content and satisfied.

I sent the analogue pictures to several addresses in Japan and also one of the man to Akari. I hope she knows who this man is as he is in her neighbourhood and can give him his picture.

Time to move on. I was already a bit tired but no giving up!

Visiting Doujou-ji and Anchin

I was rushing now the same way through the center first to the house of Mr Yanase and then passed through the three narrow streets without stopping. After crossing the railway I found myself next to the restaurant but rather decided to sneak by it and go around for the road that led me up the hill.

I went with my bike up to the yard and left it at the entrance of the first building. I came here to say goodbye to Mr Shunjo Ono and thank him once again for the fun time at the temple, at the restaurant and later when we came with the youth camp. I entered the lobby and saw no one there. After few seconds someone from the other room noticed me and we greeted each other. I asked him in Japanese if Mr Ono was someone around. He told me to wait a few minutes as he will go out to find Mr Ono who was in some other building.

While one of the men there went out the other one went to open me the great hall with the statues and the Japanese National Treasure. I was again surprised by the hospitality, left my shoes at the doors and walked in the slippers around. The man turned on the light in the hall and asked me to wait several minutes until Mr Ono is back. I was walking around and observing the statues (and a few more photos) in peace and after 5-7 minutes Mr Ono came.

I believe he knew why I was there especially when I said it was my last day and tomorrow morning I'm back in Zagreb. I talked to him about experience in the camp; visiting Miyajima Shrine, Zazen practice, Kongobuji, Inunakiyama and the others. We left both the hall and the first building and went into the yard.

We continued our conversation about all the other plans and future visits. He was happy that I came once more to Doujou-ji and that I liked it very much. After all it was the first Buddhist temple I have been to and learned most about everything. I also asked him for a portrait.

Time to leave came and we greeted each other. He asked me for the Croatian "see you next time / have a nice trip home" and that's what I heard from him while leaving the temple.

Goodbye to Anchin

Took my bike, the hat and the headphones and went down the road to Anchin. I arrived within 2 minutes and left the bike in front of the shop. While getting inside I felt for the first time really sad but tried to hide it. I had a bad feeling about later. While walking through the store I noticed first Mr Englishman (the one who was able to speak a little English and Russian) and then entered the first room where I spent most of my time working in.

It was great there again and the others were surprised and happy too to see me. I caught them again off guard by sneaking in and stopped from working. It was very difficult to say I leave today by "hikouki" (airplane) back home. I also met mom Mieko-san and the rest of the colleagues came to greet me. I was still hoping to come after lunch one more time. I also went into the house as mom Mieko asked me whether I want to eat something and saw our cat Mitsa who always wanted to jump into my room when I opened the doors.

I spent about half an hour more sitting in the restaurant, the part for the guests, and one more friend of ours and Lions Club came there. She is a tourist guide around the area, speaks fluent English and travelled around the world and we discussed a bit about everything in those 4 weeks and my impressions in general. She gave me her contact card and I told her I was going to contact her in case I want to write a book about my journeys there. So far everything goes according to the plans and the texts here will be of great help!

I left the restaurant telling the others "mata ne" (See you later) and really believed to come back. I took my straw hat and the bike and went off home to eat lunch and prepare for the trip.

I did not have a chance to see them again as there was no enough time...

Lunch and calligraphy

Back home and had lunch prepared by grandma Yanase. While enjoying the meal she brought me a brush and papers. I was curious what was going to happen. She started teaching me how to do the proper strokes and draw the "peace" sign. So we did it on a few papers. When I sent them a postcard from Croatia they got the sign at the end of the text.

It might have been around 3 p. m. and I still got about 2 and half hours before they planned to go with me to the airport. My airplane was leaving at 9. 10 p. m. and they planned to come with me there at least 2 and a half hours earlier.

I was now practically done with the packing and had not much to worry about. I tried to explain to my Japanese grandma that I will not take all the stuff with me but leave some of the old clothes; mostly t-shirts and the cosmetics. She can take the shirts for her grandchildren or leave it to Toshiro, Mr Ishikura's son. She told me they were going to send something back to me over post and asked to write down my address. One other guy from Lions Club also asked me the same and said he would sent me cakes and cookies from his factory!

Speaking of cakes and cookies I received from him one box with about 10 big chocolate cookies as a present. The option was to send it by post or that I take them with myself. As I do not trust the post (and apparently there were some problems because of stupid Croatian post service we never got our package which returned back to Japan) I took it with me. I hoped they were not going to be smashed and turned into pancakes on the airplane. Luckily they survived the whole trip to my family who enjoyed it. Thank you Mr Cake-factory-owner-good-guy! Before I knew whether my luggage can fit the rules of the company I was thinking of the worst scenario where i would have to wear more layers of cloths on me. So I tried what it felt like being in two trousers and 3-4 shirts in summer.

The time flew by somehow pretty quick and I was once more in the shop of Mr Yanase to greet the others. It was maybe 4. 30 p. m. when Mr Ishikura arrived.

Going to Osaka KIX Airport

Bye, bye Gobo

I was surprised that we were about to leave so early! We hurried down with my luggage and bags. I managed to put almost 30 kilograms into my large pink suitcase and into my backpack without damaging them much. I just hoped I was not going to have some problems at the check-in with the weight of them. Paying an extra 100 Dollars did not sound good.

Mr Ishikura came with his big car and as I was putting my bags in I realised when I could not find my wallet inside. I started to panic a bit and checking the luggage... wasted 3-5 minutes of running up and down the house and then Ishikura said to calm down. I found it logically on my seat along with the small travellers bag where I keep my important documents.

Unfortunately, as I feared, Ishikura-san told me there was no time to go even by car to Anchin. "Next time, next time, tsugi ne" he said. I was sad but okay - at least saw them today. I just wanted to see mom Mieko one more time and felt bad about it now.

Everyone was down and within few minutes another car came. Mamiko from LG Club came to join us on our way to the airport. I was happy as I was also a bit scared of going to the airport with Mr Ishikura and Mr Yanase only who spoke no English and if some problems emerged what was I supposed to do?! But now I feared nothing (except passing the maximum weight).

Before we left Gobo I took my analog camera and did a few portraits of Mr Ishikura, grandparents Yanase and of one worker walking next to us. I thanked grandma Yanase again for everything and got into the car. Mr Yanase and Mr Ishikura also gave me some presents.

From Yanase family I received the letter with all the photographs he took when I was staying with them developed in his own photo studio Yanase. I really appreciated it and promised to send them my portraits of them back to Japan. Ishikura-san also gave me photographs from the first welcome party at Anchin restaurant and I got one little wooden frame with the picture of Shirahama White Beach and a message in Japanese wishing me a good time and memories from the exchange in Japan.

(The first two words are in Katakana: Kuroachia Gureko-he or Croatia Dear Gureko)

Arriving to Osaka KIX

I was sitting behind with Mamiko and Mr Yanase took the wheel. Leaving Gobo behind just along with the early sunset. It took us about almost an hour and half to reach the airport. While driving on a highway once we were on the route between the towns of Arida and Wakayama there was a huge queue of vehicles before the tunnel. Mr Ishikura was of course joking and said if I miss the airplane we have to go back. "Sorry, Gurego, sorry". Then added the other option would be waiting with me there for the next airplane and both he and Mr Yanase will fly to Croatia with me and back.

It felt really strange and it was like yesterday when almost the same group of people was going with me from the airport to Gobo, when I was totally lost and still could not realise I was in Japan. Now I got totally used to people around me and was very strange going back. The funny part during the ride there was Mr Yanase who actually scared the *thing* out of us as he was driving a bit slower than the formula drivers and had fun. Even Ishikura-san was a bit afraid. Yanase-san was just laughing and I hoped the car was not going to fly in the air. But he is a good driver, despite looking tiny and "fragile".

As the sunset was close to its end the sky turned into light purple and pink colours. The evening arrived and within an hour the night. We passed below one bridge on the highway I remembered seeing before when going to Wakayama and Osaka. It meant we were pretty close now...

Soon entered the first satellite towns of Osaka prefecture and far behind was the sea. I noticed the giant wheel from the amusement park and one skyscraper which signified the airport.

This skyscraper was for me like a magic portal in time or space. And I did not like it at all. I had seen it four times in total. For the first time when leaving the airport almost a month ago. Then when going to the camp with Mieko and back from Osaka with Mr Yamashita. And the final time was right now. It is this kind of this stupid feeling we all hate when you know that things are going to finish soon. And I knew after passing this building there was no way back.

We now approached the last thing before the airport - the biggest bridge I have ever seen with my own eyes. It connected the land with the airport platform and the bridge is more than 4 kilometres long! I just try to imagine a bridge that goes from the other side of Sava river to the main square. And the airport platform is about 5 kilometres long. Pretty fascinating. The bridge starts at the town of Izumisano.

Source

(In the corner you can notice the KIX Airport)

It took us more than 5 minutes to reach the other side. We went straight towards the parking lot on several floors. It is enormous indeed and it took a few minutes to find our parking lot. It all looked liked the first day when I followed them with my luggage to the car and realised I was going to have problems with the language barrier. The same time in Switzerland a year earlier when I was getting into the car of my host family I was lucky to speak German and we could communicate.

I was wearing my straw hat and had the white polo-shirt with me. Also took the red scarf from Zagreb just for fun. We entered the first hall.

Luggage survived! Instructions for Tokyo Haneda

We started searching for the check-in platform of Qatar Airways. It is much easier when you are not alone here when you have to do all the steps required before the first flight. If something bad happened it would not be that difficult to overcome as if being alone. I forgot to mention that in the end there was 6 of us at the airport! The whole squad from the beginning plus Mr Yanase was there. The man from the LC Gobo who spoke no English but was a good guy also accompanied us but since he was silent (or rather we did not understand each other) I forgot on him. Gomen nasai!

We found Qatar Airways and there was working one pretty open and helpful younger woman who spoke good English so everything was much better than expected. Mamiko-san talked to her and I was just nodding with my head. We then put my huge luggage on the weight-balance and I prayed to all the possible gods and the force of the universe that I did not go over the limit. And she said I had about 29 kg and nothing to worry about. Dancing in front of everyone.

Despite changing two airline companies I was not supposed to worry about my luggage. This was my first time and I was scared of the process. If you also never experienced it before here is what they said:

1. Since the majority of my route (about 97% of my trip) was with Qatar Airways and with Japanese Airlines only between Osaka and Tokyo then the rules of the company with the longer flight and share apply to the second one.

   Japanese Airlines had the limit of about 19-20 kg and I was frightened what to do. But they told us not to worry about that because of Qatar Airways I could bring much more. I felt much more relieved after hearing this.

   They also did not check my backpack. I could have put one more thing from home there but did not want to go over the maximum of 8 kg.

2. As I was going to change the plane at Tokyo Haneda they told me my luggage was automatically going to be transported and wait for the airplane to Doha. Nothing to worry about. I just had to go there to show the boarding ticket and that was it.
3. Since Tokyo Haneda was a bit more complicated case than Kansai KIX, they printed me instructions on how to reach the International Terminal for my flight after landing there.

   Tokyo Haneda is somewhat bigger than Osaka KIX but not the biggest airport in Japan. And it had three huge terminals for the Domestic and International flights. The thing was - after landing at one terminal to reach the other one the passengers had to use the bus. Here was no need for that since everything was on the same platform.

   I was supposed to wait at the bus station 8 or 13 which comes and leaves every 3-5 minutes and the ride to the International terminal takes about 5 minutes as well. You also had to pay attention where you were going to leave the bus. I got the papers and thought the best would be just to stick to the others and ask if not sure.

4. The woman there recognised the Croatian red & white squares that were on the fan scarf around my luggage and commented the World Cup.

We had now an hour before I was supposed to go to wait for the flight. We decided to go for the dinner somewhere and hang a bit more before 'sayounara'.

Dinner with 'ebi tempura, gohan and kora'

After getting everything done I was now feeling finally relaxed and had nothing else to do but to enjoy my last moments with the great hosts!

We had been searching for a place to eat and found one modest restaurant that was not full of guests. Speaking of the restaurant and stores you can imagine there were hundreds of them. I also had to go to the toilet (restroom) as I felt a bit nervous before the flight. There I saw the funny pictograms and rules how to behave properly. I have never seen something like that before and since it was in Japan I just thought it was totally legit.

Back in the restaurant. I cannot remember much of the menu but you could take the rice and fried shrimps (ebi tempura) and probably their spaghetti version called 'soba'. I took the rice with several sticks of fried shrimps plus Cola to drink. The interior of this place was pretty nice, it was not a big place but could serve around up to 10 people who would then sit on the bar chairs.

We took our meals and sat along the bar table. It felt like eating fast food Japanese edition. It was really delicious and I enjoyed every bit of it. I was totally full and satisfied afterwards and not hungry until we got lunch on the plane to Doha.

After dinner we went to wait and sat on the pretty comfortable chairs in the hall. I was left with Mr Ishikura and Yanase as Mamiko told me they were going to buy me a gift of the LC Gobo and for the memory of my time in Japan. While they were gone I was trying to talk a bit to the two of our guys but without much success. Then they switched to each other. I also saw a big Pokemon store close by.

Mamiko and the other guy came back with a bag and present inside. I was really thankful for everything they had done. The Japanese always surprise with their behaviour in a pleasantly way. I decided to open it once I am in Croatia and put it into my backpack.

Sayounara Kansai. Hello Tokyo Haneda

I still had time and had to go once more to the restroom just to make sure I avoid all the possible troubles on the long flight back home. And while being there I just suddenly felt very sad and nostalgic and was really difficult to leave it. The time spent in Japan was above all expectations and I was also worried if something would happen to anyone of the older members of the hosts since I had no idea when I could go back to Japan again to see them.

Back with them and now headed through the next hall to the security check. Just as we were done with greetings and shaking hands like the bros and I went to put my backpack on the security scan I forgot I did not give them my diary to sign themselves in! I told the security guys "Hey, sumimasen...chotto...chotto matte, kudasai! " and hurried back through the gates to my squad.

I used this diary the day before during the farewell party when many of the visitors there signed into the book. I now only missed the signature/drawing/message from Ishikura-san and Mamiko. After they did it I put it back into the backpack. The security staff was totally fine with this and I was the only one in the last 10 minutes to be there so I did not cause any problem. After they saw I represented no danger and let me go towards my gates I turned around and greeted with "Arigatou gozaimashitaa & mata ne! " the four of them. I walked few more minutes until stepping into the large hallway with tens of gates. I was lucky that mine was straight in front of me. I had maybe 20-30 minutes before boarding and there were a few people sitting around me.

And so everything came back as it was at the beginning, alone came alone leave. However, I was still in Japan and going to spend 2-3 hours more.

Once boarding started I went into the airplane and of course missed my row. Some guy told me I sat on his seat and I was just "sumimasen, gomen nasai" ten times to make sure my soul was clean now.

The plane was much smaller as it was meant for the domestic flights mostly and it had 2 seats in two rows. I was sitting alone in my seat on our way to Tokyo.

I remember we did not have the multimedia display here integrated into the seats in front of you but that was not needed I guess. Instead we had a few big screens above the hallway where it displayed us the map of our route, some data such as distance and time left and the weather. What made me happy was the ability to recognise 3 Kanji symbols in one row. Levelled up!

We left the airport when it was already night. Unfortunately I could not get good quality photographs as everything was black... but I remember taking off in circle above Osaka prefecture and seeing thousands of lights and islands of them. The night scene was just fascinating. However, we soon flew into the clouds and half of our journey was just covered in darkness... through the window. I was sitting next to it of course.

I was following how fast we passed by some places. According to the map we were supposed to fly over Nagoya and few other bigger towns. I remember seeing one more huge platform from the air (no doubt it was of Nagoya). We also most likely passed by Mount Fuji but because it was dark and all the mountains looked the same I have no idea whether I had seen it or not.

The coolest part of the ride and something you cannot see from the ground were the storms and the thunder bolts! Far away, maybe 100-200 kilometres away from us one could have seen the "flashlight" among the clouds. Every few seconds above some territory the sky would have gotten grey or white and you could notice the thunderbolt. Amazing view. It could have looked like a fight between the Gods too, if you asked me. You are also able to see the other side of the Japanese Honshu island and the Japanese sea. Japan is only about 200-220 km broad land and one sees both coasts from the plane.

We arrived to Tokyo Haneda in about an hour and 15 minutes. Unfortunately, as it was about 10. 30 p. m. and the sky full of clouds I was not able to see Tokyo itself. The only thing I remember was the landing where it looked like we were about to touch the sea surface. Tokyo Haneda Airport is as well on the big platform connected with the shore with a bridge. When you are landing you will be able to notice the surface of the sea. Pretty impressive. And the platform is like one metre above the sea level.

Tokyo Haneda International Terminal

I tried to follow the others after we left the airplane and remember what the woman at Kansai told me about the bus lines. I certainly did not want any problems here.

Once we leave the airplane I remember walking through a pretty long hallway which led to another big one. I did not expect anything less. I noticed a few "foreigner-looking" passengers and hoped they were going for the International Terminal. At one point I noticed two stairs leading into opposite direction (the worse case). Just to make sure I do not go into a wrong hallway I took out my paper with instructions and asked one of the security guys there.

I was soon out and found myself on one of numerous bus stations at this platform. I was looking for my number and just saw my bus leaving. But luckily I was not the only one waiting for it. Again, I asked one Japanese woman who was apparently also waiting for the International Terminal. The next bus arrived within 4-5 minutes and it was pretty loaded, especially after we went in. I was so happy not to carry any luggage with me except for the backpack.

The bus ride was pretty interesting and some details revealed again how just big this airport was. I was standing in the middle of the bus (which is not that big actually, maybe a bit more than half of a size of the ZET bus in Zagreb) and tried to look around. I remember we had to cross several little bridges above the sea that connected different parts of the platforms, went many time left-right and even stopped probably twice before my destination. I had to be careful to go out on my stop and the Japanese woman from the station earlier said she would warn me in time.

She told me to leave now the bus and also went out. I thanked her and then after being on the station entered the huge Terminal. I was following the others and used the escalator that was actually pretty long and high. Once on the second floor I saw it the place with hundreds of check-in offices. I was walking through this enormous hall and found Qatar-Airways on the other side. There was a bit longer waiting line and the biggest one among the other airline companies. I went there and it took about 15-20 minutes until it was my turn. Some Korean guys talked to me and we showed each other passports, but they were leaving for home. I also saw the crew of the ship and later sat right behind them before boarding the plane.

After everything was okay with my tickets I had about 45-50 minutes before boarding started. I went a bit to explore the area, found one vending machine and could not resist buying the last Pocari drink. Which proved to be stupid as I had to run to the restroom again.

Above your head you were able to follow the number of the gates. Mine was around 110 and was lucky again to be close to the exit that led there. I went to the right of Departures where you find yourself in the bigger room or a hall with about 10 security check-in spots and even before that you will have to show your boarding pass right here (see the woman up on the photo? She was the one who allows you to pass).

Just as I was about to go to through the security gate one woman working there warned me my password fell on the floor. I would not have noticed that if she had not called me.

And now on the other side. Had to follow the huge hallway for about 5 minutes until I reached my gates. All the big airports have this "escalator" or rather moving floor in the middle which is good if you are pretty tired and do not want to walk with your bags. Or if you are in a hurry then this will give you an extra advantage. I was not using it as I was walking as fast as it moved. You can also notice many restaurants and the bars in the area where you can spend your time before boarding. I was not hungry nor thirsty, restroom was also not bothering me. I had to endure 11 hours now in the plane before Doha. And the funny thing with the time zone was that we left Japan at 0. 30 a. m. local time and arrive to Doha at 5 a. m. local time. The thing with the time zones and travelling "back and forth in time" is just mind-blowing.

I found my place and sat there totally relaxed. Soon arrived the crew of Qatar Airways and sat behind me. I tried to use the Internet but could not connect to the wi-fi of the airport. So I just decided to rest before entering the plane. The whole area here had lots of chairs and the oval glass-metal construction where you could have seen another building downstairs and the airplanes behind it. My chair was next to the shuttle or passage that was leading you directly into the plane.

When the time came we all went into the waiting line, there were two of them. After showing the pass and entering the airplane I started searching for my seat somewhere in the middle, a bit behind and this time sitting in central row.

And this plane was just huge. It had 9 seats per row, 3 in each part. Just like the plane from Doha to Osaka. I found my place and put the backpack up in the case. This time I was not sitting alone but rather accompanied by an older Japanese couple, some seniors.

The planes here of course got the multimedia display and were pretty comfortable. We were given the blankets in case it was going to be cold during the night. I put them quickly around my shorts. There was also a small pillow for each passenger.

I wanted to see the map and where we had been. Since my seat was closer to the windows (but still 2 meters away) on the left side I was not being able to see the center of Tokyo, if that was even possible. I was now really tired and just wanted to sleep and somehow survive these 11 hours in the air.

Soon the plane set off and we were about to leave Japan. Still it took at least an hour and half to leave the country and move towards China.

Arriving to Doha, Qatar

Please click here for the last part.

---

Photo gallery