Today we woke just before seven forty five and felt amazing, although I also felt a little sad that our wonderful experience was nearly over. At eight o clock we were given a call to say the bathroom was ready and that breakfast would be served soon. Steven headed to the bathroom and I enjoyed a few mins checking my mail in the lobby.

At just before eight thirty we headed back to our room and found the table was covered in little trinkets. There was a plate with a Japanese omelette placed on it... I've never seen an omelette look so refined. There was also a small bowl of rice, some miso soup, some pickles, a plate of very tasty smoked salmon, a broth and some nori (dried seaweed). We started with the omelette and it was very tasty, it is made with a dashi base (a stock made from seaweed and dried fish flakes) and was so nice. We then made our own sushi with the rice and dried seaweed... They were delicious. This was followed by the salmon and pickles before the miso soup was enjoyed. There was also a battered vegetable which was very nice and slightly sweet. We were also treated to a broth with fresh tofu, rocket and seaweed... That was very light and very nice. We both adored the breakfast and Steven didn't finish his because he was full!!!

After breakfast we enjoyed our room for a little longer taking in the garden and sipping a green tea before it was sadly time to go. We packed our bags and were on our way. We were greeted in the lobby by all the staff again on their knees in a very polite Japanese manner and we were handed our shoes plus the gentleman gave us some postcards to take. We then were offered umbrellas but declined.... Too much to carry already. At this point our maid offered to take a picture of us which was very sweet especially as I for once hadn't thought too. We then set off... The whole way down the road our maid stood and waited outside in the drizzle, it was the height of politeness and etiquette and we were very touched. We headed out of Gion and back over the river towards down town where our hostel was located. It didn't take us long to find and we headed in out of the rain... Our room wasn't going to be ready till three pm but we were welcome to use the lounge so that we did... We spent most of the day relaxing (weather was miserable), sipped tea and read our books. Then at three o clock Steven went to get our room keys, it turned out that due to overbooking we were upgraded from a ten bed mixed dorm to a four bed mixed dorm, from our wonderful experience in Hiroshima I was very relieved and was quite happy... Until I went to the dorm lol. I was sharing with three boys and despite us all arriving that day it was a tip and looked like a teenage boys bedroom and smelt very much like it too. There were clothes and bags everywhere, no ventilation and a very musty smell... How far away the ryokan seemed now.

It was warm and dry though and the sheets clean so I couldn't really moan... I just wouldn't spend much time in the room. We ventured out late afternoon to buy some supplies and enjoyed a relaxed evening ...well until a group of Japanese language exchange students arrived to practice their English. We put our books down and happily chatted with a young guy about Japan and England. It was really nice to meet some local people and we thoroughly enjoyed it. At about eleven ish we were both pooped so headed to bed... One of our room mates was already in there and I'm unsure wether he grew up in a desert but he had the heating on full pelt and the room was boiling. We discreetly tried opening the windows before we had to just give in and ask if he minded if we turned it off. He was fine about I and so we slept soundly in a more cooled room.