Shopping and buffer day

We woke in earnest around 0645 which wasn’t bad for the 3h time change.  We took our time and went down to the hotel’s included breakfast around 0800.

Not knowing what to expect, I brought down my muesli in case it was a light continental offering.  But we were wowed by the green salads, fruit salad, meat dishes and curry and rice. All that cost us NZD10 more than the non-breakfast rate that I had originally booked on (but had cancelled and rebooked).

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On the agenda today was some shopping at Uniqlo and its budget sister GU.  One might say it’s a silly thing to do in Japan but for us travelling on standby, it is a buffer day which we cannot pack in with anything significant or important.  It was bearably hot around 0900 when we started the supposedly 30 min walk there.

The route took us through Narita-San temple complex where we stopped to revisit the various buildings.

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When we got to the Aeon Mall around 1000, we were slightly sweaty and cooled off in the mall before heading to Uniqlo for its opening at 1100.  There were a few good deals but we decided to check GU before making our purchases.  Unfortunately, some of the stock I had seen online at GU’s website wasn’t available in-store so it looked like my only purchases would be from Uniqlo.

We took a lunch break at nearby Sushiro for my first sushi train meal!  Despite globe-trotting to over 110 countries and territories, I’m really a country bumpkin in some ways!  Kim chose a delicious assortment including an awesome crème brulee for dessert.

I made my purchases of some t-shirts and undies after lunch and we walked back to the Aeon Mall to catch the bus back to the hotel.  I hadn’t brought my passport to Uniqlo and missed out on 10% or about NZD8 of tax refund.

Fitting rooms in Japan offer bags to go over women’s faces while they try on clothing, so that their make-up don’t smear the clothing they try.

Being such a hot day, I didn’t want my passport in my sweaty pocket or in my small bag with two bottles of water.  And my last visit to Uniqlo in Japan, the tax refund queue was very long, but not today as Chinese tourists aren’t back in force yet.

We got back to the hotel after 1400 for a lazy afternoon.  We grabbed a dinner of Japanese-style Chinese food at the same place as last night.  It was a filling meal for just NZD11 and we walked it off at a nearby mall  before returning to the room around 1930.