It didn't start well when we got to the station and he tried to go through the ticket barrier, then, when he realised he'd gone the wrong way, he just walked off while I was left trying to explain to a very angry ticket guy that we'd gone the wrong way in my broken Japanese!!!
A bit later on, I asked him where we were going and he said "I don't know... I've only been here 3 times." I've been to Shirakawa twice! So, he's only been there once more than me!
Anyway, we decided to go for sushi for breakfast (genki sushi again! It's so good!). So we're walking along and along and along... And I'm thinking it didn't take this long last time I went and Yuta's there like "don't worry, trust me!"
Then we ended up in some back alley, no idea where we were. So I directed us to what looked like shops... And we did a bit of shopping... But still had no idea where we were.
After about an hour of randomly walking, "trusting" Yuta, we found a taxi company building and decided to get a taxi. There was nobody in the cars at the front, so I suggested we checked the office. When Yuta got to the front door he turned me and was like "am I allowed?" Oh, I did tell him off! Seriously, he's the one who knows what the signs outside say... He's the one who's Japanese.
So yeah, turns out we were going the completely wrong direction.
We finally had sushi and did some shopping. I bought a dalmation Kigurumi. This is a Kigurumi:
It's amazing! I saw them hanging up at the back of some random clothes store (I meant to buy a winter coat... But failed... So I got my Kirugumi and leg warmers instead. I also bought some Christmas presents and got the ingredients I needed for the cake and chicken from another shop. Although, Japan doesn't do whole chickens... I ended up having to get chicken wings. But yeah, Japan is amazingly random, I love it! I kept laughing in the shop because of the random stuff I saw... In a generic shopping centre!
Also, Japan does amazing socks! They do hundereds of them, in beautiful, unique styles and they're all so cheap! I'm in heaven!
Anyway, we then tried finding our way back to the train station... Which was yet another exciting adventure. I started by following Yuta, letting him redeem himself... Until we somehow found ourselves in a back alley asking a very sweet lady for directions. Once we were back on the main road (and I'd noticed that we'd actually just gone in a big circle), I decided to take control. I then started walking in what I thought was the right direction... We must've been walking for hours...
We ended up at Shirakawa station... We needed to get to Shin-Shirakawa station... They're different apparently... So... Another taxi. It took us about 15 minutes to get there by taxi... Oh god, how did we make such an epic fail?
I attempted to tackle Black Shop again... This time I was able to walk around without feeling faint... But it's still so disorientating... I wanted to buy a games console... But couldn't find one I wanted... So we headed back to the station.
When we got back I jumped straight into my Kigurumi! Oh god, it's amazing!! It's so warm and comfortable and adorable! I'm so going to wear it around the house when I've got nothing better to do.
I had a nice walk around the BH grounds with Nora as the sun set and we discussed Japan... And by that, I mean, I talked a lot... And we looked out for bears. Then I made cakes! This was an adventure in itself... I found out that our oven is broken AFTER I'd made the mixture... So I had Nora desperately trying to find us an oven before the mix went all weird... We had to be creative, to say the least... Must mention the broken oven tomorrow. Anyway, the cakes came out really well... They're really tasty.
I decided to wear my Kigurumi down the pub tonight and I brought cake. It was really fun. I played Nora at a couple of games of chess, and failed, massively. Then, we all sat around talking for a bit... Well, they did... I was too tired... So I just listened to everyone around me and smiled inanely to myself.
I've been feeling really cheeful and chilled out recently. Life is very good. Everyone here is really awesome.
Onsen tomorrow, woo!
