Osaka
This one is really hot off the press. In fact, I’m writing this before even posting my pictures to Facebook. Hopefully more posts will be like this in the coming weeks!
I recently had a week off of school and took two days to travel to nearby Osaka, the second largest city in Japan and the flashy big brother to Nagoya that is desperate for people’s attention. I noticed this the second I emerged from the train station to a colorful street of shops near a river.
I originally planned to go with a friend from school, but he had a miscommunication about plans with his host family and couldn’t make it. Arielle decided to meet me for the first day there to explore a few places. I took the early train from Nagoya and got some good sleep on the way after a tasty McDonald’s breakfast sandwich.
I met Arielle and we first went to the Cosmo Tower near the ocean for a great first view of the sprawling metropolis, bursting from the natural borders of the mountains. The city has actually grown so big that much of the area by the port is completely artificially built land.
We then went to the center of the city, Umeda, where we ascended sky tower, a view from the other side of the city from the top of one of the strangest looking buildings there is.
After exploring the downtown area for a while, we went underground to the train station for a Japanese steak dinner, which was remarkably good. Arielle was exhausted and took the train back to Nagoya. I spent a few hours in the flashiest area of town at night and finding my hotel.
I decided to make this the time that I stayed in a capsule hotel. It was an interesting experience, but one that I think I’ll probably do again. The capsule was small, but probably no smaller than a twin size bed. It even had a TV built in. The whole deal was only $20, a steal compared to most accomodations in Osaka. At the hotel, I met a few Korean guys that asked me where the bathroom was. I originally thought they were Japanese and spoke Japanese to answer. I was wrong. I tried to join them for dinner even though I’d already eaten. They said it was fine and I walked with them for a bit. However, their English proved to be so bad that we couldn’t get anywhere with our conversation and I decided to go off on my own.
Luckily, I woke up in the capsule without my first thought being, “I've been buried alive!” I got my day going and bought a day pass to the city to allow myself to see lots of places for relatively little money. The pass included free trains and I first went to Osaka Castle, one of the most famous sights in the city. I spent a few hours touring the beautiful area, taking many pictures, some of which I’ll link to at the end of this post. After visiting, I realized that Osaka Castle is one of the pictures that my computer automatically rotates through as a desktop. Who knew?
Next, I went to the Osaka Port, home of one of world’s largest Ferris Wheels and a large aquarium. I first rode the Ferris Wheel, getting a spectacular view of the city. Thinking back, the audio on the tour was in English — that’s odd.
My hunger reached a tipping point and I scoured the pages of Japanese for discounts offered with my pass. I found an okonomiyaki place in the area and treated myself to one of my favorite Japanese foods, an Osaka specialty.
I stayed in the port area for one last attraction, a tour boat called the Santa Maria, a double sized replica of Columbus’ boat. The boat went for a tour around the harbor area, showing off Osaka’s might as a global economic center. From the boat, we also saw Osaka’s Ikea and Universal Studios, two things I’d like to see next time I make it there.
After the tour, I went to Shinsekai, the final area of Osaka that I had in mind for the day. I wasn’t that impressed by the area which was designed many years ago to be the heart of Osaka but mostly failed. Maybe I went at a bad time.
Before boarding the train back to Nagoya, I treated myself to one final Osaka specialty. I waited in line at a food stand for takoyaki, a ball of fried dough with a small piece of octopus in it. It sounds like one of the weirdest things in the world, but it’s amazing in ways that cannot be explained in this post. Maybe a picture will help.
Overall, I had a great time in Osaka for a few days. I definitely want to go back for a few more days at some point, but I think that a few other cities will come first. I still haven’t been to Kyoto and would like to get there at some point in the near future.
