I know it’s hard to believe, but Robert, the man who hates shopping with a passion, spent an entire day very happily in a shopping mall. There is method in this madness, as it was a huge and very beautiful edifice, that just so happened to be right next door to the Oita Dome, thus avoiding the need for park & ride parking and shuttle buses. We stumbled upon this by lucky accident as we returned from our tour of the south. I had requested a stop in Oita to locate a nail bar as the gels needed replacing (I know first world problem). I spotted this huge mall called Park Place and suggested we stopped, got a coffee and checked it out for a neiruba (practically bilingual).

Robert noticed its proximity to the stadium and that it stayed open until 10pm, was free to park and would avoid much queuing, so the plan was hatched. We would wile away the hours in the mall until 4.30pm and then head over to the Wales v Fiji match (15 minutes walk away). The mall was a revelation for Robert and he had a great time drinking coffee in the sunshine by a pond filled with Koi Carp, browsing the upmarket supermarket for snacks & booze, working remotely from another outdoor recreational space etc. It should be noted that it was a great set-up and several leagues higher than the Eden Centre or the Oracle, the only other shopping malls he has visited. Additionally there was very little clothes shopping involved, so he was far less likely to be grumpy.

The minor miracle was I also managed to ascertain there was a nail bar and where it was (I love Google translate), however I balked at the request for £70 to put my finger tips in order, so am currently staring at a very raggedy set of nails.

There was a lot of RWC promotion going on and so I ended up with some face stickers for the match

The match was amazing – the most exciting so far. The Fijians just tore up the rule book and went for it. Very uncomfortable viewing for all the Welsh fans until the last 10 minutes, when it became apparent that they were going to win after all, and a collective sigh of relief resounded around the Dome.

We retrieved the Camper and were at our hotel in Beppu before 10pm – I was worn out and fell with great relief into the very soft bed with two lovely pillows (non-rice variety) and grabbed another 8 hours sleep. I have always thought it very unjust that you can’t bank sleep & keep it somewhere until you really need it. A good night is completely wiped away by a bad one. On that note I am not sure how we will be by Sunday, as we have 3 nights in the camper ahead of us – wish me luck.