We had a sleep in. It is very quiet at our guest house. There are lots of tiny streets with old and new houses and lots of little shops. We followed our host Mr Kim’s recommendation for Ippudu ramen house for breakfast. We walked through the little streets towards the tallest building in Japan. The noodle house was just nearby.

We walked past shrines and vending machines and lots of hairdressers. Laxmi was still coughing a bit so we bought her one of those little masks they wear when they are sick in Japan. She liked wearing it so she didn’t have to cover her mouth with her hand when she coughed.

We walked up to Tennoji Park but it was closed for renovations. We were all a bit tired from walking so we stopped in a coffee shop for a little break. We saw roasting chestnuts and went into a shop for calligraphy and ink painting. Varsha picked out a little paintbrush and an ink block. They were very friendly and demonstrated with the ink and brushes.

We walked up to Shitennoji Temple. The temple is very old. It was built in the 14th century. There was a pond with lots of turtles in it and a monk reading prayers and ringing a giant bell. There were lots of market stalls with food and all kinds of things. People could have prayers written in calligraphy.

We stopped to try the takoyaki, hot octopus dumplings. They were delicious.

It was a long walk home. We stopped in a sushi shop for dinner. They had fish and eels in fish tanks and made the food behind the counter where you can see them. Laxmi really loved her prawn and salmon hand rolls and we all loved the tempura.