Last day in Osaka and Japan today. And I think it was a good one!

We had a bit of a late start just because we went to bed late-ish last night but fortunately because we didn't drink much we didn't have hangovers so that was delightful!

We had planned to go to a shrine today because a lot of people do that on the first of the year to make their wishes for the year ahead. We made our way to Sumiyoshi Taisha shrine by train and picked up a few bakery treats for breakfast along the way. Once we got to our stop we went and sat in the park to eat our goods.

Then we crossed under the bridge and moved towards the shrine which is where the crowds were all heading so it was easy to find. This particular shrine wasn't massive but it had a very steep red lacquered bridge that everyone crosses to get to the shrine. We crossed the bridge and made our way to the main building where everyone was tossing coins in and saying prayers. I tossed in a coin and silently said my wish before we made our way back out amongst the throws of the other people.

One excellent thing about days like this at temples and shrines is that there are always heaps of mainly street food vendors set up on the paths leading in and out of the shrine. So we happily walked through the vendors and bought some early lunch. I had takoyaki which was okay but I think a bit undercooked. Shannon had two meats on sticks, one thick ham like one and a pork belly one. They had heaps of other foods on sticks like fried squid on a stick, candied apples and bananas, other types of meats. It's a good spread.

We went back to the station after this and waited for our train. It was extremely cold waiting on the platform with a bitingly nasty wind molested us as we waited.

It was a pleasure to get on the train and we went a few stops to get to Namba and Dontonbori, the big shopping street we'd been to a few times. We were lucky enough that most shops were open including a favourite of mine, Tokyu Hands, where we picked up a few more souvenirs.

We strolled around the shops and bought a "happy bag" each from different stores. A "happy bag" is a lucky dip show bag that stores sell around New Years where you buy the bag and it's all sealed up so you don't know what's in it. Quite exciting, like Christmas morning!

It was still pretty cold by now and around 3pm it started snowing. So that was cool. We made a quick stop at A&T curry for a late lunch and after a few games in the arcade and a few more shops we decided to head back home to pack.

We did a load of washing back at the hostel and packed up our things as well as opened our "happy bags" where there were disappointments and pleasures. Our suitcases are both pretty full so I hope we don't buy too much in Bali! We had some snacks from Seven Eleven for dinner and are now tucked in bed ready for an early departure tomorrow.

It's been a great trip in Japan with many fun days. I think we've made good use of our time and I don't know when we'll be back again because we've both agreed that we need to see new places first. Only thing I would change about this trip is to spend less days in Tokyo and more in the smaller cities because the smaller ones always end up being my favourite.

But for now... Onwards to Bali!