No your eyes aren’t deceiving you, it really is morning. Which means it’s about 11:41 last night back in England. Today’s Christmas Eve, but it’s business as usual in Japan.

Without breakfast yesterday, with it being the Emperor’s birthday and all, I did enjoy a nice lie in. I’d made plans before hand to meet with friends in Umeda and head to the Umeda Sky building to see the German christmas market. Yes, what better thing to do on your first (and hopefully not only) trip to Japan than visit a German Christmas market … the exact one (though a different branch) that came to Leeds!

My friends enjoyed the delicacies like Glue Wine (yeah that’s spelled wrong for sure) and sausage, while I took up my usual hobby of photography. Unlike Leeds, this market had a staged area with live performances. It was both entertaining and good listening practice. After a trip to Yodobashi Camera where we tasted Mango wine, we said farewell and parted company.

Going to bed last night I wished that I’d wrapped up warmer, as my nose was beginning to block and my throat began to feel groggy. Well, at least if I get sick now I’ll have some recovery time.

I’ve made a start on the main Japanese page of the site, which ties in well with my agenda for today … kanji practice!