I've been emotional in my previous post because of my lost belongings. But I got it back so that's the most important thing - something to be celebrated.. or not?
When my boyfriend called the information center of the service area where I lost my bag, they asked when we're planning to get it. There are 2 ways to retrieve back the lost items. One is getting it by yourself. The 2nd is they will forward it to the police and the police will contact the owner, but this will take roughly 2 months. I didn't have the luxury of waiting for 2 months so we chose the former. Now, this is where the problem lies.
If I have to go get it, I will need to retrieve it before Saturday - and Saturday was what my boyfriend told the information center because that will be his day off from work. π I needed it before Saturday though, 1st because I'm going on a trip with friends on that day and, 2nd I needed money to pay for my bills and pocket money for the trip. In Japan, you can use the passbook to withdraw money from the ATM but my other bank didn't provide me with a passbook so I won't be able to get my money from that bank so I put it in the other bank. It's complicated, right? Well, money matters are complicated. π
My friends who'll be going with me on the trip this weekend were also worried because our plans would have to be changed again. There was a tour where it was registered to my name so I would need to explain again to the tour agency that I wouldn't be going but my friends are. It's complicated if I won't be joining the trip so I was really worried about it. TBH, I don't have money but as they say, travel and money will just come back (I forgot the entire quote but that's it).
One of my friends who came from Singapore for a vacation said he's willing to go with me to the Service Area. If we will be commuting, it would take us more than an hour for the train ride and almost 1 hour to walk. That's the highway though, and I haven't seen people walking. And isn't it dangerous to walk on the highway?
Maybe because I looked helpless and a bit sad about not being able to travel on the weekend with friends, my boyfriend told me he'd accompany me on a weekday to retrieve it.
So on a Wednesday morning we rented a car in Toyota again, this time the cheapest car, and headed to the service area in Saitama. The car rental was for 6 hours, and we paid around 7,800 yen (or around 60 USD) for a not-nice-looking car.
I took a personal off from work in the morning but I didn't have any paid leave credits left so that was a deduction from my salary. Huhu π’ My boyfriend slept only for an hour or two that day too. His sacrifices are forever etched in my heart. π
Our destination was Kamisato Service Area in Saitama prefecture. It's around 1.5 hours by car from Tokyo.
Weekday in this service area was so different from how it was during the weekend that we stopped over here. On a Sunday there were so many people that you wouldn't be able to enjoy much of the area, and many were in a rush. On this weekday, there were only a few people you'd see walking around.
The first thing we did when we arrived was to go to the information center to retrieve my belongings. They were accommodating and kind. They cross-checked my ID from my lost wallet with my passport which I brought. Everything was intact - my IDs, ATMs, credit cards and the cash in my wallet. But today, I realized I lost my keychain (or maybe I lost it somewhere not here). Only that. LOL
Because we finished our mission and there were only a few people, I got to roam around and check out some of the merchandise in the area.
There were tons of souvenirs from the prefectures nearby - Nagano, Niigata and Gunma, mostly cookies and chocolates but there were also spices and jams.
I wanted to buy the cakes and chocolates but I realized I'm on a diet so I shouldn't indulge myself on these sweets.
The first time I came here I was already so attracted by this pink cake. It looks delicious, isn't it?! Now that I was here again, I thought about buying it just to satisfy my cravings curiosity. In the end, I didn't buy it.
Another shop was selling some kind of healthy stuff. They have ginger syrup, honey lemon and some kind of steamed ginger. It's not all the time that I see this kind of stuff so it's really interesting for me. I guess the Japanese are so used to this healthier option.
The drinks were kinda normal though - apple juice, orange, cola and carrot juice. There was even a smoothie!
This Ichibiko made my curiosity level go high. Recently I saw a bread in a convenience store with the same label so I figured this must be some kind of treat only available at this season. This one on the bottle is strawberry milk and can be used as ingredient in desserts and drinks. The ads says it's also delicious when hot.
My inner child was so happy seeing these cute little creatures. I wanted to collect the different colors of the yuki daruma (in english: snowman?). They're just too cute! The bears were cute too but the snowman was the cutest!
We bought strawberries so we could eat them in the car while going home. We saw a farm nearby so maybe these were fresh. It was sweet and very delicious, a very good purchase. I forgot how much this one pack costs but I think it was around 500 yen (or around 4 USD).
But before buying the strawberries, we had lunch in their dining hall.
There were many restaurants selling different kinds of food. There was curry, ramen, katsu (deep fried food) but we chose tempura from Tendon Tenya. Tendon Tenya is known nationwide as a fast-food for tempura. They have soba and tempura bowl set meals.
It was funny because my boyfriend tried to order through talking to the staff in charge but she just ignored him. Turns out, there was a vending machine beside it where you choose and pay for your meal. π
I chose the shrimp bowl because why not. I love shrimps. But instantly regretted it because I couldn't enjoy it. There was too much oil in the food. In other branches, there wasn't too much oil though so we figured maybe they fried it here differently.
This bakery held so much memory because last Sunday, after going to the toilet I went here to buy bread. And at that time, I had already lost my bag. I didn't buy bread from them today. I'm afraid my bag might be lost again. π
Before leaving, I had to get coffee from Starbucks. Not all service areas have Starbucks so we figured this service area was kinda big.
I ordered their special drink for this season which was Chocola Fondant Almond Milk Mocha. I know it's too long for its name. π This has been my favorite drink since it went out.
While waiting for my boyfriend, I was roaming around and saw their plants on cute forms.
There were some ice on the parking area. It's not snowing in here and I'm not sure if they get snow here but this ice came from the cars who came from snowy areas in Gunma, Nagano or Niigata. From those areas, cars usually stop by here before reaching Tokyo.
Anyways, we got my stuff back. Not that I was careless but I'll be extra cautious from now on so we won't have to go through this hassle again. Here's a photo of me to commemorate the reunion of my bag and me. π
This post is also an entry to #MarketFriday by 
Thanks for reading!
See you around! γγγγγΎγγοΌ
All photos are taken using my phone unless stated otherwise.