2019-04-24: Wayward home

As I write this blog entry, I am sitting at the Tokushima airport Gate 4 waiting for my long journey back to Canada.

On the bus from Osaka to Tokushima yesterday, the bus kept displaying another destination. I asked the driver when I got on the bus – Tokushima……he nodded YES.

However, the bus seemed to be going the wrong direction. In a moment of panic, I thought to go ask the driver again, but to do this when he is driving is a NO-NO. So I thought I am still on my pilgrimage, if I get lost on the wrong bus, so be it. I will ask for help when we reach the ending point. Needless to say, I was wrong. I got out my smartphone and checked good old “Google maps” and it showed we were taking the longer, around the outside of Kobe route, probably to avoid rush hour traffic. Patience paid off and 3 hours later I was back in Tokushima.

Here is a picture of the tallest building in Osaka, as we zoomed by in the bus.

On the bus ride to the Tokushima airport this morning, I got a chuckle when I saw a place saying Canadian Coffee house. It is not the best picture as it was raining and the bus window was covered with rain.

I thought “am I home already”, or ” does someone know I am on my way home”. I wondered what makes a Canadian Coffee House unique.

Check-in at the Tokushima airport was so smooth. They put my Kobo Daishi walking stick in bubble wrap and checked it as my second piece of luggage.

So far the flight back to Canada from Tokyo looks on time. I was impressed with the ANA flight as it had free WiFi you could connect to with instructions in English.

It was interesting at the hotel when I was checking in and checking out, how people would react to seeing the Kobo Daishi walking stick and wanted to know if I was starting or finished the pilgrimage. I said finished and they smiled with a sign of approval for completing the pilgrimage.

At Tokyo Haneda they have an efficient way to transfer from the domestic terminal to the international terminal by bus. In the terminal it seemed to be busier than my previous visits, but it could be an extra long golden week (10 days) is about to start and people are traveling ahead of the rush.

Here is one last picture I took at Haneda of the many koi fish kites hanging in the departure area.

I will publish this post, before I board the flight to Toronto.