The next Friday morning saw Eva not in her classes, but waiting impatiently in front of the facade of Tokyo Station built rather beautifully from mostly red bricks. Slung over her bag was a rucksack packed with everything she’d need for an extended Weekend in, and on the sea before, Osaka. If it had been up to her, the Kitsune would have simply travelled to Osaka by Torii on Saturday morning before the ship she was invited to celebrate on, would leave.
But then Kurt convinced her to skip classes today so the two of them could spend most of the day exploring Osaka. While Eva was against the idea to skip classes, as it might leave a bad impression at her exchange University, the offer of Kurt paying all food bills today was just enough to bring her around to visit ‘the kitchen of Japan’ instead of the same old lecture halls.
Which is why she was now waiting for the Werewolf. Not that he was actually late yet, but with just a handful of minutes to go until he would be, Eva was getting a bit impatient. Moments later, her nose picked up on Kurt’s characteristic canine smell, even though she could not make him out in the crowd of commuters making their way to the station. Of course it didn’t take him long to reach where the Kitsune stood, a few meters from the main pathway to the station’s entrance.
“Morning Fuchs.” He greeted her with a cheerful wave. But what drew Eva’s gaze were a few crumbs of bread stuck in his beard.
“You got a little something there.” She responded with a smirk, miming brushing something out of a non-existent beard.
“Ah sorry.” Kurt quickly brushed his beard clean as he continued. “Slept in so I had to eat breakfast on the run.”
“Anyways, why did you insist on meeting here?”
“Well seeing as I won these in a raffle this week.” Kurt said as he pulled out two train tickets from his own backpack. “I thought we could go a bit slower than you usually do, but in exchange enjoy the luxury of riding a Shinkansen.”
“And how long is this ride to Osaka going to be?” She inquired as the two made their way into Tokyo Station.
“About three hours. But we’ll also get to see the countryside rush past us.” Kurt said as he began to scan the area around them for signs showing the way to the correct plattform.
“As long as you pay for it.” The Kitsune replied with a shrug as she did her best to stick close to her fellow German. Even with both of them being at least slightly taller than most people in the crowd around them, the sheer amount of people made getting through the station a challenge. While Eva did try to use her supernatural sense of twice direction it guided the two Germans straight across subway tracks and towards a locked door labeled ‘staff only’. Which prompted the realization that just because a route might be the shortest to your goal doesn’t mean it’s safe or you are allowed to use it.
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In the end though they reached the platform where the shinkansen to Kyoto and Osaka was already waiting with a handful of minutes to spare. The tickets Kurt had won were for first class seats, which turned out to be extremely comfortable.
“So any plans for what to do once we are in Osaka?” Eva asked as they had settled into their seats.
“Nothing more concrete than visiting the castle and enjoying some local food all throughout the day.” Kurt replied while taking off his scarf and draping it over the armrest.
Taking a cue from that, Eva took off her jacket as the inside of the train was quite a bit warmer than the air in mid October Tokyo.
“I see.” She mumbled as she leaned back into her chair. “Have you at least planned some place for us to spend the night?”
“Yes, and it was quite cheap all said.” Kurt replied with a proud smile as he pulled out his phone and began to browse for the accommodations he had booked. ”Here take a look.”
“That’s one of these capsule hotels isn’t it?” Eva inquired as she looked over the website he was showing her. “Aren’t they rather cramped?”
“Is that really going to be an issue for you Fuchs?” He retorted with a raised eyebrow.
“Well this one doesn’t allow any animals. And I doubt it’ll be private enough that there’s a fox in one of the beds, not a woman.” The young woman elaborated as she read the information on the phone’s screen. “So yes, going to be a tad cramped for both of us.”
As their conversation hit a lul, the train finally started to leave the station. Though even then, for the next while the only bit of nature they could see was Mt. Fuji through the window next to Eva. When they finally could see something besides city in the landscape the Shinkansen carried them through, they started a conversation backup about the things they thought they could see for mere moments before they slipped out of view.
“Hello, may I talk with both you a bit?” A middle aged woman asked in mildly broken German after approaching the two exchange students about an hour after the train ride had started.
“Yes of course.” Kurt replied as he turned towards her, careful to speak clearly.
“Good afternoon.” Eva greeted the woman with a friendly smile on her lips.
“Why couple like you visit Japan?” The woman continued with her clearly unpracticed German.
“We’re not a couple.” Kurt quickly clarified. “We only met on the plane to Tokyo.”
“Though as for your question.” The Kitsune replied, leaning forward to look past the other student. “We’re both exchange students from Germany studying in Tokyo for a year.”
“Oh, why you decide study in Tokyo?”
“For me it is mostly as I wanted to learn more about Sake, especially how it’s traditionally made.”
“I on the other hand,” Kurt began, stroking his beard in a mildly failed attempt to look more impressive, “am actually studying japanese culture and history, so spending a year in Japan allows me to really immerse myself in this culture that is so different from my own.”
After this, mostly due to the ladies proficiency level in German and insistence on practicing the, to her, foreign language, the conversation quickly turned into simple small talk.
Though even with the topics kept somewhat simple, and thus generic, before they knew it they had to cut the conversation short as the train neared Osaka. Before they left, the three exchanged numbers as the woman wanted to thank them for this experience properly the next time she had enough time and was in Tokyo.