We were pretty excited about the fact that we’d pre-booked some ground passes for the mighty Aussie Open Tennis Championship and on the 27th we were there to support our very own Andy Murray and on the finals night who knows what would happen. Its always the case when you get to a big event trying to find your bearings and suss out whats going on and where and so we feel that we didn’t really get the best from our ground passes. However we did some an impressive female wheelchair doubles tennis final which was really good and definitely an interesting display to watch and support. We also got a few games from some of the junior girls and boys semi-finals along with having a good old nosey around the stalls and took advantage of their free giveaways.

It was a really hot day to be out in the sun and so when we found out where Andy Murray would be warming up for the semi-final that night against Djokovic we decided to fight the un and got a really good spot to watch the practice. We waited….and waited…and more fans were gathering around, but after an hour and 15 we realised it wasn’t happening, Andy Murray had let us down, well not quite but it was a little annoying to be told this is where he would be and then only find out after so long that he was training elsewhere. It was too late by this point to find out where he was as we needed to find ourselves a spot to watch the match from. Fortunately for Helen we’d spotted Nadal practicing earlier on in one of the bigger courts, although he was a little far away she got very excited about seeing the star play.

We opted for the Garden City seating area which is behind the Rod Lever Arena, all the seats were taken by this point and so we found a little spot on the grass. The support for Murray was huge, we were really surprised to see lot’s of Scottish flags, face painted supporters and crazy wig wearing Scots. It meant there was a good atmosphere though and dotted around were a few Serbian supporters too. The main problem for us being where we were is that the atmosphere just didn’t quite get on board with the game as much as we thought it would, although the support was there it just wasn’t quite exciting enough and after a slow start from Murray it was pretty quiet. We have to admit we didn’t stay to watch the end of the match we we later learned was more intense and it was very close between the pair, but after Helen snoozed her way through a few games we decided to catch a train home before missing the transport links back to Glen Waverley. Murray just lost out in the end so we now knew that it was Djokovic and Nadal through to the final, it was going to be a good one!

For the finals night on the 29th it was a very different story for us indeed. We once again had ourselves a pair of ground passes which for $19 was really good value, the only thing that kept nagging us was that we knew how good it would be if we could be in the main arena. It was also easier as we were familiar with the set up and so we found ourselves taking advantage of the Dove stand which was giving away loads of goodies, so after stocking up we went for a mooch around the smaller courts. The same one where Nadal had been practising a few days before we spotted Djokovic getting ready for the big game, this was very cool indeed and so we stayed a while watching him play.

We started thinking about the big match and decided to ask if we would be able to upgrade our tickets to arena tickets, but only if there were 2 available for us so that we could be together. We were sent away at one point but the second time round they conveniently managed to find 2 tickets together and so we decided to bite the bullet and go for it, we would only be in this situation once. The cost was a sting to the wallets but we have been really budget conscious since arriving in Australia and this was our big activity. So into the arena we were and it suddenly we were watching live Doubles Finals tennis, a bit of a step up from where we were the other day.

It was a while before the Men’s Singles Final but the anticipation was immense with awards ceremonies, and music to get everyone in the mood. At 7.30pm the final was announced and before long Nadal and Djokovic were making their entrances. This was built up to be a fantastic match and it really didn’t let us down, it felt like the support was on Nadal’s side for much of the match but there was definitely enough admiration and support for Djokovic to keep him going. Nadal started out on fire and won the first set but then lost it for the next 2. We were getting worried as we knew that if we were to stay until the end of the match we wouldn’t make our train connections back that night and so we hoped for a 5 setter. It didn’t look like this was going to happen but halfway through the 4th set Nadal came back amazingly and took the 4th with a tie breaker. Yes!! We would be here for a little while yet.

The 5th set was equally entertaining and enthralling, we couldn’t believer the sheer power, strength and determination on display. Both men were fighting till the very end and their athleticism is one to be remembered for a very long time, not to mention the amount of pressure on them from the audience and millions of viewers world wide. Well we all know the ending, Djokovic won and came-back to take the 5th set and the title, we felt for Nadal but at the end of the day the best man won and we felt really happy with the fact that we’d witnessed 6 hours of tennis history. One for the records!!

The ceremonies and speeches mean’t that we didn’t leave the arena until after 2.30am which was good news for us as the first train back to our suburb was at 5.15am so we didn’t have too long to wait. Melbourne CBD felt pretty safe for us, a McDonalds was open 24 hours which helped for a while before we rested at the entrance to the train station. There were enough people around who were in a similar position to us so we didn’t feel too alone. Back in the comforts of our bed we slept for most of the next morning until lunch time and heading out to meet up with friends.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0, 18mm f4, 90mm Tele-Elmarit f2.8 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

So the day has arrived to leave Japan and it’s time to live a cheaper life in China. We got up early and packed our bags. The boat was scheduled to leave Kobe at around 11am but we needed to check in before 10am. We ate breakfast in the Hostel 64 room and then headed off to the subway to catch a train to Kobe port. This involved a change onto a kind of monorail which took us to the port destination. We proceeded to head for check-in which involved a laser light shone onto your forehead, checking for any high fever symptoms. We passed with flying colours, paid for our one way ticket which cost 30,000 Yen, £300 (inc fuel surcharge) each for a twin room (special 1st class!) as we wanted to keep the gear with us as safe as possible and then we spotted a couple of Western faces.

We got chatting to Rick and Beth traveling from the UK and who are writing their own travel blog and then we boarded the Yanjing ferry to Tianjin together. The room was damn good and very spacious compared to some of the other rooms we have stayed in. En-suite with a shower and toilet which was ok, put it this way it was better to have this than the shared facilities, which were not that pleasant. You can stay cheaper in a mixed dorm of 12 or 16 people if you want to. We headed for an explore of our new home for the next few days. It takes just over two and a half days to reach China so we headed off around the ship with cameras in hand.

The highlight was a room in the depth of the boat with two table tennis tables. The gymnasium sign made us laugh, a storage room for carpets and knackered video game machines would have been more accurate. There appeared to be plenty of photography opportunities around the boat, the views on top promised to be very good and the other passengers just loved having there photos taken on deck, it felt like something out of a Carry On film. With blue sky and calm seas we headed off and as we left Kobe the sun shone brightly and the sea was very calm, it was a pretty cool experience.

We bought some food bits and bobs from the 7/11 for the trip and had some Japanese Yen, this is the only currency that they accept on board, however we quickly realised that we didn’t really have that much food, so a trip to the on board restaurant would have to be undertaken at some point. We found out from the literature that the breakfast was included in the price of the ticket so at least that was something. Pot Noodle style food from Japan is surprisingly good so this was our lunch on the first day.

We were called on deck for a drill in emergency evacuation, there we all stood in life jackets whilst the wind blasted our faces. The Brits had our own instruction which lasted half the time of the Chinese instructions, not sure what we missed there!? We were 2 of 96 passengers in total on board and found out there are 46 staff, it’s a funny staff to passenger ratio and made us giggle. There is the capacity to have 396 passengers in total on board and we couldn’t work out where they would all be if this was the case as the boat was feeling pretty full at this capacity.

On board we caught up with Rick and Beth and played cards into the evening and as the sun was starting to set we went up onto the top deck for superb views across the sea. We’re not entirely sure of our exact location at this point but it was the south Japanese coastline, the sunset was breathtaking and mesmerizing, the sea was extremely calm and we met our other western traveler JP from France. There was some evening entertainment planned, we were told it would start at 9pm but something that we eventually learned on this trip was that most things started half an hour before they let us know. We heard the singing, cheers and various performances downstairs whilst playing cards, so eventually we made our way down to join in the fun. It was a karaoke event with interludes of the ferry staff performing with musical instruments or singing. The audience cheered loudly and got behind their friends in the karaoke, it was a pretty raucous event for ferry entertainment. We we baffled by it all and carried on with a few more card games before heading to bed.

We decided to listen to some Adam and Joe podcasts that we’ve got with us on our travels before getting off to sleep. Anyone who knows us well will appreciate our love for Adam and Joe, and it kept us feeling all at home in our little cabin up in special first class…ha ha…we did feel a little too privileged.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

We woke up to another morning of blue skies and broad sunlight, funny that it all comes as you’re about to leave! We had the Hostel 64 breakfast which consisted of orange juice, some home-made bread, jam and coffee (for Helen) although it was okay it didn’t live up to some of the breakfasts we’ve been eating here in Japan.

We didn’t want to give ourselves too much to do today as the following morning we planned on making an early start with a train connection to Tianjin where we would leave on our slow boat to China. So with that in mind we picked up a usefully alternative guide to Osaka called the Osaka Field Trip, listing art and music venues along with cafe’s and various sights across the city. Had we been able to spend more time here this would have come in very handy indeed, but for one day we managed to pick out a few places of interest and started off with a local nearby park. The park was surrounded by tower blocks and busy roads but managed to carry a peaceful harmony, with many people taking a break on park benches, girls catching up with gossip and dog walkers taking some time out of work. The dog portraits certainly kept us entertained! We love to idle through these kind of spaces, with the flower gardens drawing in people from all around the local area, it’s great for a photo-opportunities. From here we set out towards the main river passing through Osaka and in search of somewhere to grab a cup of tea. We found an artsy complex next to the Museum of Art called Graf, although it was a cool place and the environment was really welcoming we didn’t particularly enjoy the sting of the cost of a cup of tea at around £7, it wasn’t your average cup of tea but we are supposed to be on some kind of budget here!!

So after this we set off in search of another cafe recommended in the guide called Coco, this one situated on the 2nd floor of a building block overlooked the park we had spent the morning in and had views of treetops, buildings and a crossing; somewhere you can watch the world and sky go by. Here Dave had a fabulous burger made freshly with pork mince, a Japanese style sauce and a fried egg on top, it looked pretty immense. For Helen though there were no veggie or fish options so she stuck to a milkshake and a piece of cake. Still it was a lovely little place, very quirky and attracted a pleasant bunch of customers.

From Coco we set off in the direction of Osaka castle via some the downtown shopping district Shinsaibashi. Here Helen found a Freshness Burger company, something we had enjoyed very much in Harajuku Tokyo, earlier in the month, so a veggie burger it was and then a walk into the mass of signs and shoppers. Already Christmas stands are setting up selling trees and decorations. Place all this in a centre with signs promoting beauty, food, clothes, DIY, supermarkets, sweets, bakeries and shoes it was a pretty intense place after our quiet experience of the park, but another side worth seeing if you make it to Osaka. It’s very different from walking around the tower block streets.

After purchasing some flip-flop socks for a bargain of £3 (perhaps the cheapest thing we have found whilst in Japan) we started the walk towards the castle. The route took us down backstreets with a mix of department stores, coffee shops, apartment blocks, older factory outlets, bridges, murals and busy traffic. We eventually found ourselves at the castle park situated in the centre of concrete and skyscrapers. It is very much separated off from all of this via a moat and does have land surrounding the grounds of the castle so you do manage to escape the busy streets. We didn’t go into the castle, instead deciding to photograph from the outside it’s bold structure and the people it attracted. We sat with an ice-cream in the sun, photographed and again watched the passers by.

We found a metro route back and got the first connection to our nearest tube stop. When we got back we loaded up another blog post, double checked our itinerary for the next day and decided we would try to find this Korean restaurant now we had got our bearings for the area. We managed to find the place around a 5 minute walk from Hostel 64, it was pretty small and cosy with only a few other customers in their having a post work feast. We still decided to give it a go as we had spent so long trying to find it the night before, the menu was all in Japanese with pictures but you couldn’t really make out what the meat was. He described a few things to us by making actions and sounds of a cow and pointing to his stomach, alarm bells should have been ringing by this point but we found some tofu and Dave went for a meaty looking dish. The beer was cheap and the company was good so it kind of shadowed the fact that Dave’s dish did in fact contain cow’s stomach or tripe as we call it back home. It was petty tough and chewy and he managed about 5 pieces before giving the rest a miss! Helen’s was a tofu dish with bacon on top, so off came the bacon and she managed to get through the rest. We did however have a great pancake dish with vegetables and squid and the owner brought out a few drinks on the house. It was definitely a food experience not worth repeating but all part of the fun that we’ve had in trying different foods whilst in Japan.

On our way home and a little giddy on booze we got our boat money out of an ATM at a nearby 7/11 store, some cheeky pudding and then went back to get ready for an early start the next day. What a time we’ve had in Japan. It’s been tough on a budget but it really has been an experience worth while with the variety of what we have seen, experienced, eaten and photographed.

We’re a little excited and nervous about the two day boat journey to Tianjin but there is a sense of adventure as we embark on the next stage of our trip to China.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)