Our last full day in Japan! Ben woke up early to visit Lake Biwa and the town of Otsu.
He came back to our room to meet me, and together we took a train to Nijō Castle. I was in the mood to read some placards and learn some history!
Unlike Osaka Castle, this site has mostly original or replica interiors, along with the famous nightingale floors. Pictures inside were forbidden. I was dismayed that the museum holding the original murals were closed. But the replicas in the castle were beautiful, and the woodwork and metalworks gorgeous. The gardens were beautiful too, but you were not allowed to walk through the paths and bridges. I’m glad we went to Shosei-en garden earlier, where we could wander all over.
For lunch we found local restaurant. The food was meh, but the casual, non-tourist vibes were strong and Ben loved that.
I did a little research the night before and found that the best place for official k-pop merch is in the Book-Off used bookseller stores. I wanted to try to get a lightstick or towel or any other sort of merch without paying the high taxes and import shipping. There were three Book-Offs within a reasonable range of our hotel and I tried all three! Ben joined me for two, and admired some video game stuff too.
Between shops we took a detour to cross the Kamo River Turtle Stepping Stones. I didn’t know they were supposed to be turtles! Erosion has worn away any detail. We had seen this crossing in a J-drama and it was a cute place to take pics. I’m glad Ben pulled us aside!
This Book-Off near the main retail district had the best selection. I bought the Seventeen mini-fan from their Japan dome tour earlier this spring. I had been wanting a hand fan as well, so double win! The staff member was very helpful when I asked if they could show it worked (it did, was fully charged and had original packaging too). She asked me my bias (S. Coups at the moment) and said hers is The8! We used the translation app share our SVT love and I expressed my excitement as finding k-pop stuff, since it’s so hard to find in Colorado.
We walked back through another shopping arcade where I had some delicious taiyaki with a pat of butter on the red bean. So good!! Then Ben went to try the famous Ichiran (he says it was terrible!) while I poked around Daiso.
We took a cab back to the hotel for Ben to rest. After all, he started his day with the big trip to Otsu! I wanted to do more last-day shopping. I went to the last Book-Off shop and then walked to the Aeon Mall. This was the most American style mall/shopping building I’d see all trip. They had a lot of cute stores!
I was so excited to find an American style food court, I texted Ben to meet me here for dinner. I know, I’m super lame. I was pretty tired of the same old options in Japan for non-fish, non-miso, non-mushroom eaters like me. Plus it’s fun to see familiar shops in different countries! I saw the Cha Eunwoo standee at Subway and just had to eat there. He’s in Astro, one of my fav groups, and Subway features heavily in a lot of K-dramas that we enjoy. The food court was fun in general – it was bustling with students studying and socializing after school.
After dinner we stopped by the gashapon shop. They had some many cute and weird choices! Ben got a random region of Japan. We both got keychain mascots from Japan (random pool included carp, tanuki, deer, tiger, and the dude Ben got). I got a Seventeen collab with Muzik tiger keychain. There were several k-pop groups represented – so fun! The shop also had little dioramas for you to take photos of your prizes.
On the way home Kyoto station had the stair lights illuminated. We got to our room and watched the most spectacular sunset behind the temple while getting ready to visit the baths one last time. I had another in-room massage to relax before our big journey home the next day.
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