The trikes are almost ready

April 21, 2023

It feels like Christmas has come for the Bartletts. Today is the trikes’ day to emerge from their boxes and become our partners in fun and exploration. We got up early and had our boxes and bags of trike parts at the front of the hotel ready to hand them over to Yoshi. A bit eager perhaps?
It feels good to be settling in to the routines of travelling. Sometimes we treat ourselves to breakfast in the hotel (so good and reasonable) but we are also finding our way with finding what we need in shops to make our own meals. We are curious about yogurt here…it is very good but it has the glutinous consistency of the glue we used in school. In this case, appearance does not matter.

The grocery stores are wonderful to explore and we are constantly amazed at the high quality of food that has been prepared to take home and heat up in a microwave. It is also good that these items are affordably priced.

Another beautiful day here. Temperatures have been up to 25 and just one day with showers. Bare feet in our bike sandals is a sure sign of good things. Aren’t our 100 yen bags snazzy?

Yoshi has been a delight to deal with. We feel like our trikes are in good hands.

As is custom here, we exchanged small gifts upon meeting. We brought Yoshi a tin of chocolates from Roger’s in Victoria in one of their signature tins featuring the Canadian flag and a Canada Goose. He was very excited to get 2 bicycle water bottles from Fairfield Bikes in Victoria with their logo on it. It was a gift from our mechanic to him.

We deeply appreciate Yoshi’s thoughtful gift to us. Beautiful chopsticks with crushed seashells embedded in two rings. Note that women’s chopsticks are smaller.

Barry is the research king and he has amassed a notebook of things he wants us to experience while we are here. With his love of ramen, he had researched the best under the radar ramen place in Osaka. He was most excited to come here. It did not disappoint. Note the frothy luscious broth…made slowly for several hours in house. The pork and chicken were delicious and special mention to the yummy back rib cartilage..

Before heading out for dinner, we asked at the front desk for a recommendation of a good ramen place. Kano conferred with her colleague, Mikiya and they suggested Ramen Tsuji, about a 3 min walk from our hotel. Well, Barry’s reaction said it all. It is the place he has been looking for. It is located down a side road and around the corner on a dark narrow street. This wee cafe has only 8 seats along the counter with wooden privacy screens between each space and the entertainment is being able to watch the young couple create magic. Further entertainment was in the bathroom…a tiny space with a small sink mounted on the corner behind the toilet. When you flush, water comes from the tap.

Today's ride: 6 km (4 miles)
Total: 6 km (4 miles)

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