Day Ten

4th January 2007

We woke up early and headed back into Osaka for half a day as we weren’t getting picked up by Mr Izuka until 4pm. This time we knew exactly what train to catch there and back! (phew!) We took the gang to Mr Donut for breakfast so they could experience the yumminess of all the sweets and savouries there. We then had a look around the city until it was time to be picked up.
Mr Izuka came at 4pm on the dot. There is no messing around with the Japanese. If they say a time that is exactly what they mean. Luckily we were there waiting or else we would not have given a very good first impression. He was very nice when we met him but you could tell he was on a schedule. It took two hours to get from Osaka to Himeji. We were all pretty tired so the bus ride was pretty mellow. We finally arrived at our apartments and could start getting settled in. (the bags were sent arrived at our Residence safely thank goodness!) We went to our apartment and discovered that it was a lot bigger than we expected. I couldn’t wait to start unpacking all of my things. The main bedroom is huge – lots of wardrobe space, not that it matters because I could hardly bring anything to hang in there. I’m sure throughout the year I’ll find a way to stock it up! The bathroom is a decent size, the washing machine is in there too but it is ok – very manageable. All the appliances are in Japanese so trying to decipher them is quite tricky – there is a book which describes them to you so I’m sure that book will come in handy. The kitchen is quite small so I have to figure out a way to use the space efficiently. We have an eating area as well as a lounge room. It is not very big but it is large enough. We have a couch which folds out into a bed, a table to eat at and four chairs, a coffee table, a stereo, a t.v, video, DVD player, microwave, small oven, kettle, rice cooker, some utensils, iron and a few other bits and pieces. We have two single beds which is weird – we have just joined them together and tried to put the sheet and blankets over both of them. It is a little strange but we are dealing with it. The apartment has excellent heating and cooling which is awesome because you definitely need it! The rubbish system is quite different to in Australia. Everything has to be sorted into different piles. There is a burnable, plastic, paper, cans and bottles pile. I think it will take me a while to get use to this system.