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Arrival at 0:20 p.m. at National Coach Station near Victoria Station in London. I deposited
two luggages. 25 pence a day for one luggage; plus 15 pence a day in case of more days.
I took a tube on Circle & District Line, and got off at Gloucester Road. It didn't take so
long to reach The Hotel Eden. As soon as I came in the room, I ate out the sandwich Mrs. Bowman
made for me because of my hunger. It tasted very good.
I went out at about two o'clock to
Picadilly by tube. I got a little embarrassed and felt uneasy because I had to go down deep
into the underground by lift. The office of SIA at Regent St. was closed on Saturday as I
supposed.
I walked from Picadilly Circus, to Trafalgar Square, along Strand St., to Aldwych,
to Kingsway, to High Holborn, to Shaftesbury, to Picadilly Circus, into Hyde Park, along Brompt On Rd.
and Cromwell Rd., and to The Hotel Eden.
I bought a ticket of "King Lear" on 16th May at ALDWYCH.
I was caught in a sudden shower and it thundered several times. I ate at a Chinese restaurant. I
arrived in the hotel at about 7 p.m. When I was at ease in my room after taking a bath, S-san, K-san
and G-kun came in. That was unexpected! They said that they had changed their schedule to go back to
Bournemouth through Winchester.
24th April
Today was my second sightseeing in London with them. So I saw again the Changing of the Guards at
Buckingham Palace. There were secondhand bookshops near Leicester Square. I'll go there and find
some books for which my respected teacher in Japan is looking before leaving England. We were walking
to MadameTussaud's. We took a tube at Baker Street and got off at South Kensington. We entered
Science Museum (open: from 14:30 to 17:30 on Sundays) for about an hour. We came back to the hotel
at about four. M-kun came at 4:30 p.m.
25th April
M-kun and I went out at nine in the morning. It was drizzling. He was going on a tour in Europe.
I went to the office of SIA at Regent Street and reserved my flight seat. Start at 15:30 on 23th
May and arrival at Osaka at 20:25 on 25th. I finished the main task before my travelling.
I came across a few persons playing some small scenes in Shakespeare's dramas on the third floor
of a departmentstore on Oxford Street. I listened to Falstaff in "Henry Y" and Hippolyta in
"A Midsummer Night's Dream".
I wondered what time the train to Oxford would start at and I went to Paddington.
I telephoned London Ambassador Hotel, which was recommended by JIS(Japan International Student Union).
A Jananese man's voice responded. Single room, about 6 pounds per a night. The charge was not so cheap
as I expected. But I wanted to see the building. I was looking for it for a while, but in vain. That
was a natural result because I was not so eager to find it.
I went into WestMinster Bank on Oxford St.
and exchanged 200 dollars into pounds.
I felt hungry and wanted to eat "Tonkatu". But the Jananese
restaurant, "Saga" located on Bond St. was closed. That was because it was Monday or past four in the
afternoon, wasn't it?
I intended to go to Victoria Station and took a tube on Bakerloo Line. When
the train stopped at Regent Park Station, I realized my own mistake and went back hurriedly. Trains on
Bakerloo Line are all old-fashioned, aren't they? It was a little dark with the illumination of electric
bulbs, not of fluorescent lamps.
I was favorably impressed to see people standing on the right side of
the escalater to make way for the people in a hurry to go ahead on the other side. I have never seen such a sight
in Osaka. What a favorable custom!
I looked in Tourist Information Center at Victoria Station. I'll go
there on May 14th,and a guesthouse will be recommended until the departure for Japan.
I am tired from
a long walk. But I'm O.K.
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