In case you didn’t guess we both fell asleep within an hour of checking in. It was glorious to finally lie flat on a bed after all that time. Who could blame us for not setting an alarm. When I woke up I felt great… I’d slept all night and it would soon be time to get up and visit Osaka. Then I saw the time, 7.00pm. I’d slept for three hours, there were probably twelve more dark hours until I could go exploring. Denis was still asleep so I kept the noise and the lighting to a minimum and edited the blog I’d drafted at the airport. Then I read myself to sleep until I woke again… at midnight. What the…? Nooooo! Meanwhile Denis slept on…

I no longer cared about his comfort and set myself up with a midnight snack. My friend A. had suggested bringing energy bars to Japan so that when we arrived from the airport and needed a quick fix we’d have a small shot of energy enabling us to track down a meal. Ok I didn’t want a meal but my brain needed a jolt because I was beginning to feel desperate. What if I never slept? What if I’m awake for the whole holiday? What if when I meet Darragh’s parents-in-law I’m ready to kill them? Or I accidentally insult them? Or do the thing with the chopsticks that’s rude. What’s the thing with the chopsticks? I can’t remember what I’m not supposed to do with the chopsticks!

There’s a kettle, tea and coffee sachets in the room and a couple of bottles of water, so I make tea. I have a personal rule not to drink caffeinated drinks after lunchtime, they keep me awake. But this was before lunch, right? Never mind, I’m doing this. In the tea section there was green tea and something called roasted green tea. I tried the roasted and it was almost like coffee but without the buzz. (Note to self: Bring home some of that.) I settled down to my feast. I think energy bars are a marketing hype and I don’t eat them. There’s a sentence I’ll never say again… With every bite I feel my desperation decrease.

Returning to bed again my expectations had shifted, maybe I wouldn’t sleep long and nmaybe sleep isn’t possible but maybe I’ll be grand without it. Then I noticed the humidifier. I’ve never used a humidifier, I didn’t even know they existed for most of my life. We have plenty of humidity at home. Maybe I’m missing damp Ireland? Maybe if I could just work out how to add more damp I’ll be able to sleep? Is it possible energy bars make you smarter?

There’s an instruction sheet in one of the drawers under the tv. It’s fairly sparse in instructions but I think I see what I need – the air purifier with skin moisturizer option – it’ll be like a spa (day) night. I have to press buttons until I get the symbols that look longer than the other symbols but there are no buttons. Well no, there is one button, the power button. The power button turns on a screen with the symbols – success. I find the spa symbol and gentle cool air wafts out of the grid. It’s like accidental leaving the bedroom window open on a summer’s evening, remarkably soothing actually.

I prep myself for sleep – lights off, ear plugs in, eye mask on and settle down to pretend I’m at home with the window open. Would you believe it works? When I wake up it’s 8am. I am beyond excited. I take off my eye mask to see the sun edging around the curtains and Denis reading.

“I had a great night’s sleep.” he says.

I give him the look, the one that says, the opposite of – I’m so happy for you. But he can’t see the look he’s still reading and to be honest in the light of this new day in Osaka I had a great night’s sleep too. Great is relative.

“What’s that thing you’re not supposed to do with chopsticks?”