Completing the three gnomes took considerable effort towards the end, after missing the first two deadlines in August and September. And my trip to Japan in October set me back even further. Upon my return, I dealt with a persistent cough that left me too drained to do much.
And when I felt better, I was busy playing golf and pickleball, leaving me little time to focus on the pieces. Eventually, I sat down and added several more layers of varnish before deciding they were good enough to gift the intended recipients. The completion was dated 1st November.
The final picture does not do justice to the gloss varnish that I have painstakingly applied. But the colors are so vibrant, I think I did a good job. Ahem.
I have played five games so far with my new set of Honma Beres NX irons. And I love them! My ball striking has been effortless, and the ball trajectory has been very high and far. I am getting better distances and control. The irons complement my current driver, woods, and hybrid clubs, and I should be playing better.
All my equipment is excellent—except for two things: one being the persistent cough that slows me down and leaves me breathless. And two, being my putting. It sucks! I switched to my TaylorMade Spider Mini not too long ago, after some disastrous putting with the Scotty. And you know what? Bad decision to switch!
In the last two games with the Mini, I did 37 putts each time! Thirty seven-effing putts. Man, that’s like six to seven additional strokes unnecessarily. The second-to-last round was the last straw, where I had three three-putts and two four-putts! I couldn’t get over this. Just two days earlier, I had three putts on five holes. Argh!
When I got home, the first thing I did was remove the TaylorMade Spider Mini and put back my Scotty Cameron in the bag. And sure enough, the last game back with the Scotty, I fared better. My next game is coming up on Thursday; let’s hope the improvement trend continues.
It has been two weeks since our return from Japan, and I have not wrapped up the story of our adventure! Two days after returning, I developed a cough, just as I had in April when I returned from Zhangjiajie. From that moment on, the will to do anything, much less writing or thinking, was not there. I just needed to rest and recover. It is alarming and cumbersome to fall ill each time upon return after a wonderful holiday.
Sights of the last two days in OsakaOkonomiyaki lunch
Looking back, we loved Kyoto more than Osaka, as it felt more laid back and relaxed. There was no hurry in the world, and we both learned to appreciate the surroundings with a leisurely pace. Although Osaka felt more crowded than Kyoto, we managed and did enjoy the last two days before flying home. Both cities had very different vibes from Tokyo.
The highlight from the last two days in Osaka was my purchase of seven brand new Honma Beres NX irons from the golf pro shop! It was a steal of a purchase as the offer coincided with the Osaka Expo 2025. Changing my irons had been on my wishlist, and I’m thrilled that I was able to fulfill this on this trip.
My new irons, Honma Beres NX. Love ‘em!!!
So Kyoto and Osaka are a wrap for us! We enjoyed ourselves tremendously. Don’t be surprised if plans are in the pipeline for another trip to Japan next year! Why not? The country is so vast, and there are still so many cities to explore.
Day Six in Osaka continued with some planning. We inadvertently hopped onto an Elegant Saloon 8000 series train, and clearly, the train felt a class above the normal ones we have been taking. There were two levels of sitting, but as our train rides are typically short, and this ride was not any different, we just stood.
The Elegant Saloon 8000 series train
We decided to see the Osaka Castle, and the sky was a tad overcast. As we walked towards the Castle, I felt the slightest raindrops. Uh oh. Luckily, we had our umbrellas! We did our dues, spent some time there to take some pictures, but with the overcast, the colors are not very impressive, although the Castle is.
Osaka Castle
A quick lunch, and we moved to our next point of attraction: Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan! It was the best decision to do this, for us at least. I was in awe of the massive whale shark. The pictures are an injustice to its sheer size and beauty. The other aquatic attractions were equally impressive, for lack of a better word. We spent a fair bit of time at the aquarium, oohing and aahing over the exhibits.
By the time we left the aquarium, we were drained and had KFC for dinner! Hahaha. Too tired to figure out what we should eat. It’s okay, as the flavor was different and just as appetizing. We headed back to the hotel, happy and contented, and looked forward to a good soak in the tub again, and be ready for Day Seven.
Unlike Kyoto, Osaka felt more vibrant and bustling when we went out to discover the city in the evening. As we walked along the streets, we found ourselves in the Dotonbori area. The food establishments were incredibly enticing, featuring enormous 3D signage, vibrant colors, and the mouth-watering aroma of food cooking in stalls outside the restaurants.
All sorts of 3D signage and a real carcass of a fish!
I couldn’t understand the fascination with the Glico Man landmark; the area was overwhelmed with so many tourists, mimicking the pose and taking pictures from all angles. What makes this illuminated billboard so appealing? Not wanting to miss out, we too stood in front—albeit off to the side of the Glico Man—and took a selfie. Hahaha.
Hunger got the better of us, and we ordered the first thing we saw – gyoza, and ate standing in front of the stall. Then shortly after, we narrowed down our dinner option for takoyaki. This time, we decided to sit to savor the tray of four different flavors.
It was hard to find a good Matcha Latte, and we had to settle for Koi Thé with almond soy. The day was too long, and it was best to call it a day. I recorded 11.17 kilometers on my AppleWatch! So, a good rest to be ready for a new adventure the next day.
During our trip to Kyoto and Osaka, although we deviated from our original itinerary, we ended up discovering and experiencing more. So much so that every night upon returning to the hotel, I was exhausted and did not catch up with any writing after Day Four.
I discovered a good therapy. As the rooms we stayed in had a long bath, and both hotels provided aromatherapy bath salts, I made full use of this. This simple indulgence helped soothe the body from the daily eight to 11 kilometres we put in.
On the fifth day of our trip, we departed from Kyoto with good memories for Osaka, taking the Kintetsu Line instead of the JR Haruka. Upon arriving in Osaka by train, we took the subway and made our way to the hotel. After checking in and wasting no time, we headed out to explore Osaka.
Another day of discovery! Osaka felt very different from Kyoto. With more people, noise, and traffic, it took a while to adjust. Welcome to the busy big city!
Kyoto Tower, Higashi Hongan-ji Temple, and a very crowded Kyoto Station. A weekend beer festival was set up in front of the temple. So chill!
Thursday, being the Fourth Day of our trip, turned out to be a day of discovery. The itinerary was a mixture of Days One, Two, and Three, plus an unplanned destination, Uji, thrown in.
We took the train to Fushimi Inari Shrine, and it was crowded! We did not heed the advice to go early to avoid the crowd. Oh well. We spent only an hour there as we felt it was less peaceful than the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. The next stop was Uji, and we found this place to be delightful, like the Bamboo Forest.
Fushimi Inari Shrine
An early lunch fueled us and kept us going to discover more of Uji. I give this place a thumbs up! On impulse, we decided to go to Nara Park and Gion. Towards the end of the day, we had a lovely dinner in Pontocho.
Uji was peaceful and less crowdedDeers at Nara Park, Todai-ji Temple and Gion Shijo bridgeDinner at En En
The day of discovery had us taking several trains and the bus. We even ended up on the wrong train on the way back from Gion! But we did not worry because we had Google Translate. Best app for travel in a foreign language country.
I guess sometimes it’s okay not to have a fixed agenda, as we improvised along the way. We ended up seeing and experiencing more. We left Kyoto with wonderful memories and headed to Osaka for the remainder of our days in Japan.
Typically, having an agenda for a holiday trip is good. And when it is a self-planned trip, it is all the more important. Our overall agenda is rather ambitious as it covers seven to ten places per day. However, we have not been able to follow through with our plan since our arrival. Hahahaha.
After the delayed departure from KLIA, our Day Two agenda was in disarray. We had to adjust accordingly, and Day Three was affected too. So, are we upset? Funnily, no.
It has been very chill and at our own pace. Day Two was an impromptu plan, discovering Kyoto Station itself and the surrounding area from our hotel. And what was supposed to be Day Two became the agenda for Day Three. Being flexible was best.
So for Day Three, we spent the whole day at Arashiyama strolling along with no urgency despite covering only three points of interest: the Bamboo Forest, Tenryuji Temple, and Togetsukyo Bridge.
Honestly, the shops lining the streets were more interesting, and I had a great time browsing in them. The two Snoopy shops had me excited like a kid in a candy store! Hahaha. It was a good day of sights, eats, purchases, and experiences. Overall, the crowd was not too huge, the Matcha drinks and ice cream were heavenly, the sights were impressive, and the walking pace was manageable. But the weather was a mix of conditions. When it became too hot, I used my umbrella for protection.
Our Matcha being preparedDrinks and food of the dayThe dinner spread
Day Three ended with 9.97km covered, a cold draft beer, and a hearty meal to wrap it up. Let’s see how we adjust our plans for Day Four.
Konnichiwa from the Land of the Rising Sun! We arrived at Kansai Airport this morning. The flight was not the best experience. There were three gate changes within an hour at the Satellite Building at KLIA. And although it was rescheduled to depart at 11:45 pm from 10:25 pm, the flight eventually took off at 12:12 am.
Twenty minutes after airborne, there was turbulence, but not too bad. However, my entertainment console sucked. The touchscreen had issues returning to the home icon, and the headphones worked only on one side. Sigh, how much worse can it get? Honestly, the start of this trip by MH is not Malaysian Hospitality at its best. Not living up to their tagline.
After the meal, I could feel a headache coming, ugh. I tried to sleep it off, and it was a restless phase. An hour before touchdown, I was awake. It wasn’t beauty or comfy sleep. Nonetheless, time flew by, and I must have slept, or did I?
My AppleWatch showed some unusual Vitals stats! I had only two hours of sleep and my blood oxygen level dropped to 91.6 %. It concluded that elevation could have caused such numbers to be recorded because I had set my watch to Airplane mode upon boarding. Such an amazing and clever device to be able to detect this.
After the delayed arrival, and like typical tour packages where Day One starts at the airport, our self-planned itinerary is no different, our adventure finally begins. Hahaha.
We made our way slowly from Kansai to Kyoto, and it was supposed to be effortless, yet we faced a bit of a challenge in terms of language. Google Translate was a savior when we needed it!
What a long day to kick off our October adventure!
Monday is not a typical day for an entry or a scheduled post, but I need to share. My Blundstones and I, plus hubby of course, are ready for another adventure tomorrow! It has been a short and quick planning for this. Anyway, our luggage is all set for our upcoming trip. Whee!
So where are we headed? Hah! Stay tuned to find out. We will be heading to KLIA this evening for our flight with Malaysia Airlines. Here’s wishing us happy travels and a safe journey ahead!
Angieneering 
Remarks