Day 2 in Japan...what about Day 1 and how did i get from Tokyo to Osaka?

Day 2 is starting off cool and cloudy with a big possibility of rain on this Easter Sunday. i am planning to walk to Minoo Station in the early afternoon and then take the train to Ishibashi where i will change to a train heading for Umeda (Osaka) but transfer at Juso to go to Kyoto. today is the last day for the Hana-toro. i will explain once i see it.

back to how i got to Osaka on friday. things were going good and all schedule until i could not get on the flight to Osaka Itami Airport (the domestic airport close to Noriko`s home but also called Osaka International). but before that i decided to try the Japan Airlines flight to Osaka Itami but to get there i had to quickly take the shuttle bus to the other terminal for their 630p flight. i boarded the shuttle at 545p and it only took about 10 minutes. well, the nice JAL counter agent said they had seats but...just a moment. after talking with another agent she came back to tell me that there was an "embargo" on their flight during the high season for airline employees flying standbye...not good. so, i ran back to the shuttle stop to go back to the ANA counter to see if there was any chnace i could get on their delayed 555p flight to Osaka Itami...they were completerly full. now what do i do? no more flight to Osaka Itami tonite and the one flight tomorrow looks full (and i cannot use JAL). so, i decide to take the limo bus to Tokyo`s Haneda Airport as they have flights on the hour to Osaka Itami starting at 7am. and sinced there was not an early morning bus from Narita, i took the 710p bus to Haneda arriving around 820p. it was there that i found out the airport is closed from midnite until 5am. now what to do? it is very cold and windy outside. there is a hotel at the airport so i went to check on that...about $200...no thanks. and then i noticed two more flights to Osaka Interntional Airport (KIX) at 9p and 940p. i called Noriko and told her i was going to try the 9pm flight but i had no time to check on if there is a limo bus from KIX to her area after 10p. well, to make a long story short...there was and i was able to catch the 1030p bus to Osaka Itami and got off at the Hotarugaike train station at 1130p. Noriko arrived a few minutes later. and all was well. and to make things better we stopped for takoyaki as i had had not time to eat. there is one more highlight to catching the flight from Haneda to KIX and will explain later.

Day 1 was a beautifully sunny day. no cherry blossoms blooming yet. there are a few camellias in bloom. i think next week there will be all kinds of things in bloom. Day 1 was filled with some delicious food for breakfast and lunch prepared by Noriko and then at a nice "buffet" restuarant for dinner after visiting Noriko`s Mother in the hospital after visiting Noriko`s Father`s family ohaka (gravesite) for o-higan. more on all that later as i figure out how to use Noriko`s computer. i took a nap after dinner around 7pm and woke up at 2am and then back to bed until 7am. i must have been a little tired from the previous day(s) adventure getting to Minoo. Noriko`s Father was happy to see me and...we are glad he remembered who i was.