Trip to Osaka

I had to go to Osaka for my 'final interview' at the Sanyo HQ, and went by bullet train. Stopped in Nagoya to see an old friend who's back from 3 years traveling in Asia then hitchhiking from Laos to the western tip of Ireland; had a salmon 'variety' bento on the train- egg, salmon sushi, salmon roe, more salmon... In the station Takashimaya's restaurant section I found one of the restaurants of Iron Chef Chinese, Chen Kenichi, and decided to do the 2600 yen lunch set. It came with his signature dish, mabo tofu, which was really tasty.
Continuing south before sleeping in Osaka, I stopped off at Nara to see Nara park and the Great Buddha. Deer wander freely and people feed them in the park; the buddha may be the biggest in the world. It is perhaps my favorite historical site in Japan, quite breathtaking and hard to understand the size and magical powers that you only get in person.

another typhoon

Perhaps one of my worst fears has happened... I have left something of value on the train. In Japan, dry-cleaning shop hours are ridiculous. I was late to meet my friend Phil for dinner, but could pick up my week's shirts only between 6-7pm. I decided to take them with me and lock them up in a locker at the station when I got there. So Phil and I chatted over beers and yakitori in Takadanobaba. When we got out, the typhoon rains had rolled in, and by the time we got to the station 5 minutes later, we were totally soaked. I got my bag out of the locker, got on the train, and set the bag up on the rack. At the 1st express stop, I transferred to the local train, and trudged home in the rain. That's when I figured what I 'd left behind, and it's too miserable out to go back to the train station now.
I'm hoping to get the stuff back, my receipt with name and phone number was on it. This happened twice before, and I'm 2 for 2. Once left my scooter on top, and despite that train having gone at least a hundred km down the line, I got it back a few hours later. Another time, in Kyoto area, I left my (parents') Nikon in a phone booth outside of a train station, then got back home an hour away without it. I chatted with the police about it, they made a phone call, and it was still there. This is my last week at work and in Japan and I'm trying to see as many friends as possible, so getting these back would save lots of hassle regarding clean and appropriate clothes. Now I'm exhausted and once again too tired to answer the piles of emails I've gotten or call home. I have to go to bed and wake up extra early.