Coming to Australia

We planned to have a relatively chilled final couple of days in Japan, but the pull of experiencing as much of it as possible was hard to resist.

Following the departure of our respective parents, we visited explored some areas we hadn’t made it to yet: Daiba and Roppongi. We visited the Sumida Hokusai Museum and the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, enjoyed some excellent noodles, a revolving sushi bar, some cocktails in a tiny bar, and took in Christmas lights, classic cars, and the city skyline.

Leaving late in the evening after a long day of sightseeing, we were delighted to realise we had lounge access ahead of our overnight flight to Sydney. Obviously, we made the most of the free food and drink before napping through a very Pokémon themed flight. A fitting end to our time in Japan.

As we arrived down under, we heard the awful news about Bondi Beach, where a terrorist massacre has taken place. As I write, we’re in an airport hotel in Sydney for some downtime before we head to Uluru for a few nights. We plan to visit Bondi when we return to the city so we can pay our respects to those who lost their lives. News of the incident is a stark reminder of how quickly life can change.

Bearing that in mind, we’ve been finding pleasure in the everyday today:

Trying Vegemite for the first time (Marmite for wimps if you ask me)
Getting confused by crisp packet colours (salt and vinegar are PINK here)
Seeing Australia’s festive take on Freddo and Colin the Caterpillar (Caramello Koala and Wally the Wombat Loaf Cake)
Visiting Woolworths (that’s right, it still exists, it’s just a supermarket, but a delightful blast from the past for us. Sadly they didn’t have any pick and mix)
Watching the cricket (thank God I have Matt to explain what the hell is going on!)