Somehow we ended up going to bed at 11pm last night, not quite sure how that happened, probably because it was only 3pm at home and so we felt really awake. Thankfully the melatonin kicked in instantly and we both had a proper long sleep.

I managed to drag myself up and out for a run at 7:30 this morning, feeling very stiff and sore, rest doesn’t seem to help weirdly. Then both downstairs for our first buffet breakfast of the trip, which was… not nearly as good as Busan, but not too bad. We were quite late so I ended up having green curry and rice, which actually went down very well, Trix managed to find some pancakes and bacon, of course (we had yoghurt too!).

The rest of the day was, surprisingly, shopping! Very successful outing, but lots of walking. We started with a wander through the Kuromon Market which is just near our hotel, similar to that street market we saw in Kyoto, food everywhere, the smells were insanely good. King crab, raw sea urchin, wagyu beef, prawns, so much. Both sad we didn’t have any room for anything.

Decided that we really didn’t need lunch, but at 1pm needed a sit down and a snack, luckily Osaka really is the kitchen of Japan, you’re never more than a few steps away from something delicious. We sat at a counter and had freshly cooked Tako-yaki (yep, more octopus balls!).

Counter to earlier promises, we split up, it feels so safe here and our sore feet insisted we minimise walking for a bit. Got the tube to skip some of the distance, Trix took our bags back to the hotel and I went off to get myself a nice Japanese cooking knife. We met outside Animate and, properly hungry now, found the closest Ichiran for some perfectly spiced, just the right richness of broth, noodles just-so, ramen. Booths, as we both needed a bit of quiet time!

Very pleased to get back to the hotel early, Trix is in PJs with a hot water bottle, I’m on the sofa wondering where to stick all my new stickers. Early bed promised, Nara and the famously tame deer tomorrow (oh and a temple that was first opened in 752, which has a giant Buddha in it!).