天気：晴れ
It’s another beautiful, sunny day in Hikone and we’re sitting here outside the hotel, waiting for the next bus; we’ve just checked-out. The first order of business today is to find an ATM that will accept my debit card, as the one in Laswons did not; we’re going to take the bus in to the station. After that, I don’t know…
12:18pm 米原駅
We’re in Maibara station, waiting for the train to 南彦根 (South Hikone). We decided to come here to Maibara, and then found out there really was nothing here; oh well. So we’re going to the mall in South Hikone and hopefully that’s okay… I was able to find an ATM that would take my card; it was in a post office. I’ll have to remember that for next time, even though there probably won’t be a next time; my last JASSO instalment should be coming in soon. 
After getting the money out, we had a look around a nearby department store, and I had to buy a ひこにゃん ("Hikonyan" - the cities samurai-cat mascot) plushie becuase he is absolutely adorable ~ he is modeled off the Daimyo (lord) "Ii Naokatsu", who ordered Hikone castle's construction in 1603. Coming out of the store, we noticed there was a protest going on in the street; I didn't get a chance to read what the banners said, but I think it was something to do with money. We took a few more pics of Hikone, and then were off to Maibara. As soon as we got out of the station, we realised that there really wasn't much to do here; the map confirmed that. So, after a bit of deliberation, we decided that it would be best if we went to the mall; it was my original plan after all...
5:19pm 新快速
I’m on the special rapid express, back to Kyoto. It’s been a long, tiring day and while I had fun, I’d glad to be going back home… After getting to South Hikone, we made our way over to “Viva City”, the mall, which was just outside the station. As soon as we got in, I had to find something to eat, and right there was a bakery; the bread was so cheap, and so yummy, and one of them was shaped like Ponyo. Just inside the main entrance, they had a heap of stalls set up, like those you would see at festivals, with balloons, balls, and of course 金魚すくい (kingyo sukui – “goldfish scooping”). After e
ating, we browsed many of the shops on the first floor, and I bought a Totoro pencil case, and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days on DS; both were on sale. I also wanted to buy some boots, because the store was having a really great sale, but there weren’t any I like enough to pay for even at the discount. On the second floor, I found some nice plaid shirts that were all half price, so I bought two; one green, and 
one maroon. Looking around at the other guys shops, everything was so expensive. We did find this shirt that read, “Underground f**k department” on the front; and no the other letters weren’t stared. We eventually came to an arcade zone, which included karaoke, bowling, purikura and even a cinema. While the karaoke was much too expensive, we had to do the purikura; it’s mandatory. It was actually really intense, as the time between photo-taking became increasingly shorter and we would have to get ready for the next picture really quickly, changing from a lower, to upper camera sometimes; got some great photos though. After the rakugaki and printing them out, we had a bit of a situation.
Alex had dropped her phone somewhere in there, and couldn’t find it; we searched around and under the machine for about 10 minutes. Not having any luck there, we decided to go and ask the people at the counter, who immediately got onto it. Within minutes, we had a lady taking as down to the information centre on the first floor and there it was! I think that’s incredible that in the space of five minutes, someone has picked up the phone, and taken it downstairs to hand it in; Alex was certainly very relieved. After all the excitement, we had a well deserved ice cream from Baskin and Robins. I tried two of the new flavours, Peach Melba, and Coconut Grove; both were amazing. And the fact that, during Golden Week double scoops are 31% off, made it even sweeter. Our last stop for the day was Toys ‘R’ us, just to have a look; it was in a building on its own adjacent to the mall. I really wanted some Lego (which is a lot cheaper over here) but restrained myself, knowing that I wouldn’t want to ship it home. After that, we made our way back to the station, and I decided to take the train to Maibara with Alex, since I would be able to catch the special repaid from there; only local trains stopped at South Hikone. Getting to Maibara, the train to Kyoto was already in the station, so are farewell was cut short as I had to run down the stairs to make in on just as they were closing the doors; the last time with Alex in Japan was over! I’m about halfway to Kyoto now, so I’m going to get some rest…
10:49pm セミナーハウス
It feels so good to finally be in bed; I’m so exhausted. After getting back to Hirakata, I decided to take a quick look in animate, and picked up a few things. Then I caught the bus home, and was soon in the kitchen making dinner. I got to catch up with Julie, Ash and Rachel, while eating my gyudon. At 9, since no one else but Rebecca had shown up, with decided to help clean the kitchen; I didn’t really mind. After that, a group gathered in the lounge to watch Princess Mononoke, and while I love the movie, I wasn’t too fussed; I’ve seen it many times. Instead, I took a shower and then started to get everything sorted out. I think tomorrow will simply be a catch-up/blog day, and I’ll have to do some washing and buy groceries too. Wow, this is my last month in Japan; I’m still having a blast…
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