Tuesday 10th February 2015 – an extra day in Japan

Tuesday 10th February 2015

Sue had set the alarm for 7am this morning as we want to go up to the 360 degree observatory at the top of the hotel building. We had been given free tickets when we checked in, but they are only valid for entry from 7am until 7.50am and you have to be out by 8.30am. We went down from floor 55 to the reception are on floor 19, then went down to the 16th floor where we got another lift up to the 60th floor. This opening is only for Marriott guests, but quite a few were taking advantage of it.

Once we had reached the top, we were 300 metres above ground – it claims to be Japan’s tallest point, but I think there is a tower in Tokyo that would dispute this – even so on a sunny morning, we were treated to fabulous views all around. We had been given a leaflet explaining what is visible in each direction and spent a good hour or so taking photos and enjoying the view.

When we got down, the staff were just being given their morning briefing, doing their motivational speeches and bowing to each other before the public were admitted at 9am- very impressive. We made our way down to floor 19, then back up to floor 55 then down to have. breakfast in the lounge on the 38th floor.

The lounge wasn’t busy and we both had pretty much a repeat of yesterday, except that we both made a point of trying what we now know is a local delicacy, Octopus Dumplings – they look worse than they taste with the tentacles apparent when you cut them open – the taste is a little bland but the thought of what I am eating is enough to make me gulp them down.

When we had eaten, Sue asked the chap in charge about check out time and he immediately said there was no rush and comped us a 2pm check out! He also mentioned that our room wasn’t occupied tonight. This is a little strange as I had tried to book an extra night on the website after the Air Asia cock up, but it has been saying the hotel is sold out for weeks. Hey ho! We debated last night and decided we wanted to be near the airport tonight for ease tomorrow morning.

Back in the room, we packed, pillaged the freebies, and got sorted then went back down to the lounge for a drink and to sort photos etc. We could have gone for a walk round again but given the biting wind and the short time available we decided to give it a miss and make the most of our luxurious surroundings a little longer.

Around 12.30 pm we got our bags then checked out in the lounge. This has truly been one of the nicest hotel we have ever stayed in, and we have stayed in some nice ones. We took our bags down to the shopping centre and to the JR ticket machines. We knew which ticket we wanted and so that wasn’t an issue, you just buy tickets to the correct value – 880 yen in our case ( just under a fiver). Interestingly some of the monitors by the machines were warning of delays and cancellations due to snow – fortunately not in our region.

Our line is the Kansai line and we need the station before the airport – Rinku Town. Our platform is 18 and we made our way down. The monitor said there was a train in a couple of minutes at 1325, so we waited – when it came(exactly on time) , Sue was checking the boards and I saw that the front of the train said Kansai Airport. However, when we got on the boards in the carriage had a different list of stations and destination of Wakayama. We looked confused and actually got off back onto the platform, but another nice lady beckoned us back and managed to communicate that the train splits at a station down the line and the first four carriages go to the airport, whilst the bit we were currently in goes to Wakayama.

Sure enough, as we set off an announcement in English confirmed that the train split at Hineno, so at the first station we moved forward to carriage number 4, and settled back to enjoy the ride in the sunshine. We passed through abut half a dozen stations, people came and went but it was never over busy. At Hineno, we split as planned, then the next stop was ours, Rinku Town.

The Washington Hotel is right next to the station and is signposted but Sue called in at a tourist office and was given a load of stuff including details of a nearby Outlet Mall and discount vouchers for a big Ferris Wheel we had seen as we approached Rinku Town. We left the station and managed to miss the hotel entrance, so we walked right round the building before we got in. A very nice lady checked us into room 1003 on the tenth floor of 16. She also gave us a discount voucher for the buffet restaurant in the hotel called Kitchen Garden. 1003 is a nice large room with two beds,bath, free wi-fi, and the expected creature comforts of kettle TV etc.

After settling in we went for a walk in Rinku, which is a resort town on the coast with a stone beach and the amusements associated with a seaside resort. Our first stop was a massive supermarket opposite the hotel, next to the Audi Dealer the Racket Club called Trial Supercenter. It is a bit like a big Walmart, except probably bigger.We had a great time wandering and comparing prices. There were some real bargains, like the standard sit up and beg push bike which is really popular here for about £40.

Next stop was the huge Ferris Wheel, it is a sunny day, but quite cold, so we weren’t too surprised to find we were the only customers – the ride cost about a fiver for both of us with discount and Sue had to sit with a large Pokemon type character of a cat!! The ride took abut 15 minutes and gave fabulous views of the surrounding area including the airport which is on a man made island connected to the mainland by a 3km bridge – more on the airport tomorrow, I am sure.

Back on terra firma we headed for the Outlet Mall, which is massive and is very, very western – to the extent that it could have been transported from the US. Shops include Nike, Adidas, Tag Heuer, Crocs! Hugo Boss, Dunhill,Armani, Dolce & Gabana, Burberry and Clark’s to name but a few among many many shops. We went in the Van’s shop where chequer board shoes like Christopher wears were 2000 yen (£11!!) Trouble is 98% of the men’s were sized 5-9 and anything over size ten just didn’t exist. We had a good time wandering and stopped for a coffee and cake in the Food Court at a Belgian Chocolate outlet- they made a very big thing that it was Belgian Chocolate from Belgium! The cake was nice though.

Sue looked at trainers in New Balance and actually found a pair in her size, but they were quite expensive, so she didn’t bother I almost bought a polo short in Asics but the designs I liked didn’t have my size. We learned that the sizing goes S, M, L, XO, 2XO. We did manage to get a little something for Christopher in the Adidas Store. The Nike Store was remarkable – apart from the pricing in Yen, we could have been in the UK or US – including selling Manchester United shirts.

Next to the Mall is a white stone beach – we had a walk onto it, but the wind is still biting, so we didn’t go too far. Next stop was a huge sports warehouse call Sports Depo. It is massive and stocks gear for all the major sports. The one thing that is noticeable is the lack of replica kits and sports star endorsements on the displays – the exact opposite of a UK/US store. There is a massive baseball section but no team kits there either, apart from the local team. Last shop of the night was another massive one, this time specialising in electrical goods on the lines of Best Buy. It really is gadget heaven and made for interesting mooching, but we didn’t buy – even though there were some great deals on SD cards, USB sticks etc. etc.

Time was marching on, so we wandered back to the hotel and went to the buffet restaurant – we were seated straight away and had a nice meal. As you would expect, there was a cosmopolitan selection including a Chinese area, Japanese area and a nice lots of salads – the western influence seemed to by limited to a chef cooking steaks and a bowl of french fries. We ate our fill, as you may expect – at one time I had steak and chips, spring rolls, curry with rice, salad and bang bang chicken on one plate. Soft drinks, tea and coffee were included in the price, as were ice cream and sweets, but if you wanted a beer you had to buy a package of ‘all you can drink’ which was 1944 yen (£10.71) for Men and 1728 yen (£9.52) for Ladies. I stuck to melon soda and orange juice while Sue had some coke and then went on to green tea. We finished with some cake, ice cream and rather bland chewy Japanese sweets.

The buffet was more than adequate and once we had eaten, we went to the convenience store in the hotel for drink. I got a can of Asahi and Sue saw Beefeater Gin and Tonic in a bottle – sorted! We went back to the room for diary, baths and another early night for an early start tomorrow.