Hello Osaka! Hello Shinichi!
The flight from Sydney to Cairns was smooth, all thanks to Sutherand dearest who drove us from our lobby to the airport's doorstep at 0530 in the wee hours before dawn. Despite only 3h of sleep (seriously deprived), I was unbelievably enthusiastic and energetic. My backpack must be under 10kg and very light which is highly unusual too. I know I must have forgetting stuff...just which items?
Slept before take-off and only woke up half hour before the flight landed in Cairns. I was that tired. The Cairns domestic airport is much nicer than the international airport by the way. Both are connected to each other by only a footpath. The domestic airport has warm colours and a safari "Welcome to Cairns" feel to it. The international airport pales in comparison and is interestingly enough swarmed by hordes of Japanese tourists. So much so the cafeteria even accepts Jap yen. Having 3h to kill, I went into duty free and started spraying parfumes on sample cards and placing them in different places of my bag and wallet...my favs? Issey Miyake & Diesel (fuel for men).
Jetstar International is highly recommended. The aircraft is so much better than the one used domestically and plenty of leg room. The seating configuration is also great because only 2 are seated right next to the window. Plus they hand out free bottles of water before the flight takes off. The only negative comment I'll make about the airline is the in-flight entertainment system, cost $15 bucks and the battery is not even fully charged on it. The sound quality is quite bad and often I couldn't hear the dialogue of characters.
Osaka was warm, coolish warm, unlike the predicted cold weather as mentioned on the internet. I didn't have much use for my super thick winter jacket. Was sort of just lugging it on the arm. I met my virgin CS_host Shinichi. Highly pleasant surprise when he walked up and queried "Are you Jane?" I wouldn't have recognised him if he didn't asked. His hairstyle was completely different and he had a corporate persona (just finished work at 2000 on a Saturday). He prepared a candlelit hyggelit atmosphere at his small but cosy studio and made us feel very much at home. Even went beyond his duties by making dinner consisting of 3 lovely Jap dishes and vegetable juice/various kinds of alcohol. We had some wonderful conversations about standards of living, French, Japanese and English, the meaning of travel and Shinichi revealed his ambitions to establish a guesthouse in 3 years.
He pretty much also confirmed the idea of lifetime employment in Japan (very much reminded me of mgmt5608 lol). It is highly uncommon for one to switch jobs and it's a verbal contract between the employee and the employer with regard to lifetime loyalty to the company and its vision. I'm very impressed by an idealistic young man who wants to change the world one step at a time. We do need more people who wants a greater common good without resorting to communistic means.
Also I really like his storage system. In Japan, apartments are really small and things have to be stored away as compact as possible. Thus I saw maximum space usage and came up with great ideas for my soon to be room back home. For example, he put up this shelf on the ceiling right above the miniature kitchen area to put away his plates and bowls. Simple poles stuck between walls allow for drying solutions etc...
While in the shower, I found out the missing items are:
facial wash
body wash
Surely that would have made up another 1kg? heh
Slept before take-off and only woke up half hour before the flight landed in Cairns. I was that tired. The Cairns domestic airport is much nicer than the international airport by the way. Both are connected to each other by only a footpath. The domestic airport has warm colours and a safari "Welcome to Cairns" feel to it. The international airport pales in comparison and is interestingly enough swarmed by hordes of Japanese tourists. So much so the cafeteria even accepts Jap yen. Having 3h to kill, I went into duty free and started spraying parfumes on sample cards and placing them in different places of my bag and wallet...my favs? Issey Miyake & Diesel (fuel for men).
Jetstar International is highly recommended. The aircraft is so much better than the one used domestically and plenty of leg room. The seating configuration is also great because only 2 are seated right next to the window. Plus they hand out free bottles of water before the flight takes off. The only negative comment I'll make about the airline is the in-flight entertainment system, cost $15 bucks and the battery is not even fully charged on it. The sound quality is quite bad and often I couldn't hear the dialogue of characters.
Osaka was warm, coolish warm, unlike the predicted cold weather as mentioned on the internet. I didn't have much use for my super thick winter jacket. Was sort of just lugging it on the arm. I met my virgin CS_host Shinichi. Highly pleasant surprise when he walked up and queried "Are you Jane?" I wouldn't have recognised him if he didn't asked. His hairstyle was completely different and he had a corporate persona (just finished work at 2000 on a Saturday). He prepared a candlelit hyggelit atmosphere at his small but cosy studio and made us feel very much at home. Even went beyond his duties by making dinner consisting of 3 lovely Jap dishes and vegetable juice/various kinds of alcohol. We had some wonderful conversations about standards of living, French, Japanese and English, the meaning of travel and Shinichi revealed his ambitions to establish a guesthouse in 3 years.
He pretty much also confirmed the idea of lifetime employment in Japan (very much reminded me of mgmt5608 lol). It is highly uncommon for one to switch jobs and it's a verbal contract between the employee and the employer with regard to lifetime loyalty to the company and its vision. I'm very impressed by an idealistic young man who wants to change the world one step at a time. We do need more people who wants a greater common good without resorting to communistic means.
Also I really like his storage system. In Japan, apartments are really small and things have to be stored away as compact as possible. Thus I saw maximum space usage and came up with great ideas for my soon to be room back home. For example, he put up this shelf on the ceiling right above the miniature kitchen area to put away his plates and bowls. Simple poles stuck between walls allow for drying solutions etc...
While in the shower, I found out the missing items are:
facial wash
body wash
Surely that would have made up another 1kg? heh