My next stop was a planned one. According to my previous research, Ashi Hamono knife shop would be on a nearby block. Stumbling into Mizuno Tanrenjo had been an unforeseen, yet happy coincidence. I was now back on my pre-planned route.
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I woke up the next morning in time to shower and be down in the lobby by the 10:00 check out. The man from the previous day wasn’t there; instead a cheerful middle-aged woman sang out a rapturous “Good morning!” from behind the front counter. I placed my key in front of her. “Thank you very much, and have a nice day!” the woman cooed. In Japan you don’t take your room key with you when you leave the hotel. The desk clerk keeps it and then gives it back to you when you return. It’s actually a pretty genius system. There’s not much that’s easier to misplace than a card or key that doesn’t belong to something you own.
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