Day 9

DAY 9: SENDAI TO MATSUMOTO 

Oh goodness I realise now that when I don't write about the day within 2 days, I forget a lot!!
So today was a rest/sleep in day and I didn't really know where I was going still. I wanted to do Kamikochi with Emma however when I looked at my calendar I realised I was quickly running out of time on my pass and there was still a lot I had to do...

So I decided that I was gonna go to Matsumoto myself and do the hike I wanted to do. So there we go!! I looked up the train schedule and saw there was a train for 3:15pm and would arrive in Matsumoto for 7:30pm from Sendai. I spent the morning wanting to buy something for Koodo before leaving and I ended up stumbling in the shopping district and found myself in a really cute and trendy grocery/coffee speciality shop. They played Spanish music while I was inside and the whole shop was just adorable. They had a lot of snack items and so I stocked up on my nuts and dried fruit, I bought some for Koodo as well and I decided to splurge and purchase a box of some instant fair trade organic coffee by Mount Hagen (Soooo good btw!!)

I got alot of comments about this while I was travelling...apparently backpackers aren't supposed to consume organic fair trade items!!! :P

Shortly after I returned back to the Sunshine house and packed my stuff. I was hoping to see Koodo and Emma before leaving but they were no where to be found sadly. I remember feeling so disappointed and just like why aren't they here to say goodbye to me???? :'(

Anyway I walked to the station and bought some rice balls along the way. Went to find the train tracks and just as I got off the escalator...there pops up Emma out of no where and is like "HEY!! I am so glad to have found you!!" I was in disbelief! SHOCKED!! like omg how did you even know which track I was on?! Anyway we exchanged our last goodbyes and I was left feeling bittersweet. Happy that she came to say bye but sad that we had to part ways.

So I took the train to Matsumoto and when I arrived I took the local bus to where Ken told me to go. 
We were to meet at the hospital ...and I waited for a good hr until he finally showed up. A little annoyed, we started walking to an Indian restaurant to meet his friends. 

Ugh talk about feeling super old... so his friends looked like they were in high school and I just felt really out of the loop. I sat there while they all ate their curry and felt super bored and kinda awkward at the same time. One girl was from China, a guy from Korea and the last from...Taiwan I believe?? They were all studying different subjects and just looked as juvenile as could be.

After that, we walked home and when I entered his place, I remember thinking to myself, where is the rest of it? lol I couldn't get over how small it was. First off it was a single room and by that I mean it had a tiny kitchen where the entrance was; a bathroom directly across that which had mould growing in the crevices. I asked "where is your bed?! "And he goes oh in the closet, and I was thinking ok it's like a pull out thing, nope, it literally was like a thick foam pad that he pulled out every single night to sleep on.  Anyway I curiously asked where I was sleeping and he points to the sleeping bags. I just felt my face drop...seriously?! I may as well just set up a tent outside! But I reminded myself, no judgement Bonnie, be grateful that he is even sharing his space with you. You are here for experiences, and gurlll you are gettin it!!!
So he informed me that the next day which was Wednesday was his busiest days and he would be gone from morning till night. I wasn't bothered, as I always find stuff to do, so we wished each other a goodnight and that was that. 

This is the single main room. From where I was standing, I was in the kitchen and to my left would have been the bathroom

The kitchen/entrance area