On the way back from Nara, I stopped at Ikoma Station and took the funicular to the top of Mount Ikoma, where I found a very pleasant surprise.

Knowing that River Plate had qualified for it by winning the Copa Libertadores, I coincided my return to Japan with the FIFA Club World Cup. Watching them face FC Barcelona also meant I got another chance to see Lionel Messi.

I enjoyed so much my 3 weeks in Japan during the summer of 2015 that I decided to return and work at a hostel in Osaka at the end of that year. With my intention of possibly opening my own hostel in the future, this gave me an opportunity to really find out how things work behind the scenes.