Packed up at the New Otani hotel, settled bills and emptied deposit box. Took a taxi to Shin-Osaka station to catch a local train to Wakayama which only took an hour. Ate a delicious bento box en route and saw some countryside at last with many houses growing an orange tree in their garden.

No sign of a tourist office at Wakayama but were spotted by a resident American who pointed us in the direction of the station hotel called Hotel Granvia. It seemed ok, if a little drab, so we checked in. Our room was smaller than in Osaka but cosy and with typically complicated shower/bath and electronic bidet.

As the castle seemed to be Wakayama's main attraction we set off there. On the way we met an Irish girl working here as a teacher who showed us the way to a cheap internet cafe in a shopping arcade so we checked mail, bank accounts, football scores and weather forecast - all for 100 Yen.

Wakayama seemed like a ghost town after Osaka; hardly anyone on the streets and the railway station and streets played calming music just to make sure nobody got too excited.

The castle had some small gardens and had been completely rebuilt so no need for slippers this time. The view from the top was worth the walk and we could see to the sea and looked down on herons and eagles flying around.

Back to the hotel for a soak in the bath and then off for dinner. Vast array of restaurants in shopping centre adjoining the hotel. We spotted one that had plastic okonimayake and gyoza on display so we opted for that one. It turned out to be the best meal so far and was served by a very cheery girl who did her best to speak in English. The gyoza were so good we ordered a third portion to share between us. We washed our meal down with an Asahi beer and then went back to our room to write postcards and get some sleep.