I liked talking about the Japanese game show last night to start my blog so I think I'll do it again tonight. This time I'm watching something that isn’t a game show, instead, it’s one of the many English language TV shows they have on out here. This one in particular is interesting since they are using cartoon characters to talk to real people. Oh, and while this is happening, there is a little box in the corner with people watching this as we watch it. I don’t know why but Japan loves showing people watching the very thing we are watching, it’s weird. It’s a little but like “Being John Malkovich”.
Ok, now for today. I wasn't sure what I was going to do today, originally I had planned to go to Spa World, the onsen right near my hotel and I was planning on being there all day. I quickly decided against this when I realized that it would have involved being naked in front of other men in a hot spring and even though the Japanese are completely cool with that, I don’t think I was so I changed my plans. Today was going to be rough, I didn’t get to bed until 4:30am thanks to the late night I had in Dōtonbori and then coming home and working on the blog which takes quite a while, I just had to fight the tired like I have been since I got here, I can sleep in a few days when I’m home.
I get up surprisingly easy even though I only got about 6 hours of sleep but I think that’s because my body is getting used to that type of schedule. Before I leave for the day, since it’s the first morning I am in my hotel, I decide to take some pictures of the view from my window…
I leave my apartment and get on the train and I realize that it’s been a week and a half that I have been out in Japan without showing you the beauty of their train system. Here it is in pictures…
The trains here are amazing and the above are just two reasons why. I really enjoy taking the trains here and since it was my main mode of transportation, I'm thrilled the Japanese have perfected this system as much as they have. I didn’t even discuss the ticket system to even get on the train, this is amazing as well!
Oh, I didn’t even tell you where I am taking the train to. Since I decide to skip out on the onsen, I decide to counteract the amazing nightlife of Osaka with a bit of it’s own history by seeing the Osaka Castle, “the heart of Osaka”. This is an amazing complex and it’s huge with a lot to see. I spent several hours here and have the pictures to prove it. Here they are, be prepared for a lot of pictures with a lot of comments.
Ok, I spent quite some time in the area outside of the Castle Osaka, it was time to enter the castle grounds.
Here she is, the Castle Osaka. Quick back story on this place. It was originally destroyed in the siege of Osaka in 1615, then it was rebuilt in 1620, then lightning destroyed most of the castle in 1660 and the rest of it in 1665. In 1843 after raising money, the castle was repaired. In 1868 the civil conflicts surrounding the Meiji Restoration burned it to the ground. It was rebuilt in 1928 only to be destroyed again in 1945 due to bombing raids. In 1995 the Osaka government approves it to be rebuilt as a museum. In 1997 the rebuild is complete, it is now a complete reproduction of it’s original design based on photographs. The inside of the castle isn’t a castle, it’s a museum. I really hope they rebuilt it for the last time.
I tried spending as much time as I can in the castle because it is such an amazing history that I couldn’t pull myself away. I finally did and continue to walk around the property of the Osaka Castle Park.
I made my way into the Panasonic Center (I’ll give you a high five if you can guess what it’s named after) because there is a full on food court here. Not a food court of Sbarro and TCBY, but a food court with full restaurants. I find one with this on the picture menu out front and it looks so delicious. Tuna with seaweed, rice, and egg on top. Very simple but very delicious. It was also one of the few times I've had fish on this trip so I didn’t want to pass that up.
Ok, so after the hours I've spent in this part of town. I decide to head to my hotel for a bit of a break. I also love how I went from the slums of Osaka yesterday to the crazy amazing nightlife last night and now to the major downtown areas of today. Osaka definitely has it all.
As I am walking home, I see a Family Mart selling these triangle rice ball things I had the other day. They are on sale for only 88 Yen! I paid 105 the other day, you better believe I was getting one of these. This one is salmon flavored. Mental note, I NEED to make these when I get home and just keep them in the fridge for snacks.
I get back to my hotel and spend about an hour here, watching some Japanese television and messing around on the computer. I may have even used the bathroom and enjoy the heated seats.
I leave my hotel and head out for the night. You can probably guess where. I don’t repeat things on this vacation but Dōtonbori definitely gets a second run through.
Interesting story, across the hall from this is a place called Festival Gate. This is where the roller coaster I saw from yesterday is located. The roller coaster never ran so I was curious about it. I looked into it and apparently the place opened up in the 90’s. It was funded by the city of Osaka and ran by a private company. The private company went bankrupt and the park closed. It’s been closed for about 10 years but they haven’t destroyed it. So, right now, there is pretty much a ghost town amusement part sitting in the middle of Osaka. I hear you can go in there since it’s still open and even cleaned on a daily basis but I didn’t get a chance to. That would’ve been an amazing ghost town.
I continue the walk to the train to go to Dōtonbori and when I get out of the station, I see about 30 kids practicing break dancing.
After going through Amerikamura, I make the walk over to Dōtonbori. I know Osaka is known for it’s food and I saw that with my own two eyes yesterday. Tonight, I plan on showing that to my stomach but eating all of the food I can while I'm here. I want to have everything Osaka is famous for. I start with a restaurant that I read about several days ago but knew for sure I wanted to go to after my friend Rob also mentioned it.
Sadly I knew that I was just beginning my night of food. I started it off on a really good note with those short ribs though. Here are some more glamour shots of Dōtonbori between eating.
I got my gyoza here. I put some sesame chili oil to spice it up a bit, so freakin good! This is now the second thing I ate tonight, continuing to eat what Osaka is known for.
After this, I head home. In almost 36 hours, Osaka went from being a place I regretted coming to, to a place I’m going to be really sad to leave in the morning. I kinda fell in love with this place really really quickly. It began feeling very much a home in less than 2 days. I was not expecting this at all and I was so happy to have come here and experienced this electric, eccentric, and lively town. I will be heading to Tokyo in the morning and that will be so much fun, it will be like returning home! That happened to Rob when he came back to Tokyo and I can easily see that happening for me as well. I can’t wait but also I can wait because after Tokyo, I leave on Saturday. Ok, let’s not talk about that, I don’t want to believe it’s happening.
Oyasuminasai.
- DAK
Ok, now for today. I wasn't sure what I was going to do today, originally I had planned to go to Spa World, the onsen right near my hotel and I was planning on being there all day. I quickly decided against this when I realized that it would have involved being naked in front of other men in a hot spring and even though the Japanese are completely cool with that, I don’t think I was so I changed my plans. Today was going to be rough, I didn’t get to bed until 4:30am thanks to the late night I had in Dōtonbori and then coming home and working on the blog which takes quite a while, I just had to fight the tired like I have been since I got here, I can sleep in a few days when I’m home.
I get up surprisingly easy even though I only got about 6 hours of sleep but I think that’s because my body is getting used to that type of schedule. Before I leave for the day, since it’s the first morning I am in my hotel, I decide to take some pictures of the view from my window…
Yes, it definitely looks a bit like a slum, especially with the roofs of the houses right outside my window.
This is another picture out of my window, all the way in the back right of the original picture. This is of Tobita Shinchi, the largest brother in Western Japan. Apparently it’s like Amsterdam.
I leave my apartment and get on the train and I realize that it’s been a week and a half that I have been out in Japan without showing you the beauty of their train system. Here it is in pictures…
First you find the train you will be taking. Then, you see the part that shows “O 1~8”? That part is explained in the next picture…
You look for the circles for numbers 1-8. This means that the train you want has the doors opening up at those locations. It’s great for knowing just where to be when the train gets there, this helps improve efficiency which is why the Japanese freak out when their train is 30 seconds late, because they really never are!
Each track in each station has it's own speaker system. When you hear this song playing on yours, it either means a train is on it's way or the one in the station is about to leave. It plays for a while to make sure everyone has enough notice before something happens.
The trains here are amazing and the above are just two reasons why. I really enjoy taking the trains here and since it was my main mode of transportation, I'm thrilled the Japanese have perfected this system as much as they have. I didn’t even discuss the ticket system to even get on the train, this is amazing as well!
Oh, I didn’t even tell you where I am taking the train to. Since I decide to skip out on the onsen, I decide to counteract the amazing nightlife of Osaka with a bit of it’s own history by seeing the Osaka Castle, “the heart of Osaka”. This is an amazing complex and it’s huge with a lot to see. I spent several hours here and have the pictures to prove it. Here they are, be prepared for a lot of pictures with a lot of comments.
This is an architects model of the entire Castle Osaka area.
Osaka has SOOO many cats. Here was one just randomly lying around in the park near Castle Osaka. These are all rogue cats, I never see any owners anywhere around. They are the property of Osaka I guess.
This is the train that takes you around the entire park. I was nervous seeing a train because they would only have that if there was a ton of ground to cover. I was right, there was a ton of ground to cover but I took my time and did it all.
Just continuing my new found love of photographing flowers. There are a few more of these pics you’ll see later on. I really loved the depth of the next few pictures.
Ok, so there was about 10 people here with huge camera photographing nothing as far as I can tell but they seemed really into it.
I’m not kidding, here is about 10 more in another area of the park with cameras. Keep these people away from children please.
This is the moat and huge stone wall outside of the Castle Osaka. You can see the castle in the background.
Taken from the bridge over the moat looking at what is being called Osaka 21st Century. It’s Osaka re-inventing itself as a modern town with huge skyscrapers. I think they want to rival Tokyo.
More people taking pictures. I count at least 20 in this picture bringing the total to about 40. It has to be a photography club of some sort.
So peaceful with people having picnics under the trees right outside of the castle entrance.
More people having a picnic, this time under a cherry blossom that is still lingering around even though the season is ending quick.
A close up of a cherry blossom. I love the depth in this picture, thank you very much macro mode on my camera!
My breakfast. This was some sort of melon/lime ice drink. It was surprisingly warm today in Osaka and I had on too many layers, this felt very very nice cooling me down from the inside out. One of the best things about being alone on this trip is if I get sweaty, no one gets to deal with it but me!
This is a picture of the Hōkoku Shrine which is located immediately outside of the castle gates.
I felt a little creepy taking a picture of someone else taking a picture but look how cool this is, how can I not take a picture of this? Watching him get into position was awesome.
Ok, I spent quite some time in the area outside of the Castle Osaka, it was time to enter the castle grounds.
These huge stones to the left and the right of the entrance are said to have images of a dragon and a tiger appear on them when it rains. It was sunny so i couldn’t see if this was true but I really really want to believe it is.
This was random. This is the Osaka City Museum and I could’ve taken this picture in America and no one would be the wiser. To see this very unique design literally next to the Castle Osaka was quite a sight.
Here is the base of the castle. It’s amazing after seeing so many temples and shrines this week to now seeing a castle. It’s a whole different idea. Seeing the moat and walls for protection, this is much much different than all of the religious items I've been seeing.
Here she is, the Castle Osaka. Quick back story on this place. It was originally destroyed in the siege of Osaka in 1615, then it was rebuilt in 1620, then lightning destroyed most of the castle in 1660 and the rest of it in 1665. In 1843 after raising money, the castle was repaired. In 1868 the civil conflicts surrounding the Meiji Restoration burned it to the ground. It was rebuilt in 1928 only to be destroyed again in 1945 due to bombing raids. In 1995 the Osaka government approves it to be rebuilt as a museum. In 1997 the rebuild is complete, it is now a complete reproduction of it’s original design based on photographs. The inside of the castle isn’t a castle, it’s a museum. I really hope they rebuilt it for the last time.
This is me next to the castle overlooking the moat. With this kind of design, I can’t believe anyone was able to get into this place. The walls must be 100 feet high and completely smoothed and flat.
This is me failing at taking a picture. It’s ok, the angle wasn’t good anyways.
Here we are inside the castle. It’s weird, you go from something that is a full on castle on the outside but since the entire building is only 13 years old and was rebuilt as a museum, the inside seems to totally conflict with the outside.
Some really cool stuff in the museum though. It had a very modern art feel to it. I love the orange railings, very Japanese temple like. Also, this museum is 8 floors going all the way to the top of the castle. You can take the elevator or walk it, I walked it.
A recreation of the siege of Osaka battle that destroyed the castle.
Here is a close-up side view of that scene. I love this angle, besides the very white ground, there is some odd realism to this picture.
I love that Japan still uses holograms to tell stories. I guess this tech didn’t fade away here like it did in America. It’s still as hokey as ever, I love it!
I make my way to the top floor where you can walk out on the balcony and get a great view of the city from this central point. One of the good things about this being rebuilt with the inside not being a castle is they can make it more tourist friendly than it would’ve been as an actual castle inside and out.
This is the Tsutenkaku Tower I walked by yesterday, the one that made me think Osaka was dirty and ugly. You will see this again later on in today’s blog.
Here is a zoom-in on the 8th floor viewing area from the courtyard just outside the castle itself.
I tried spending as much time as I can in the castle because it is such an amazing history that I couldn’t pull myself away. I finally did and continue to walk around the property of the Osaka Castle Park.
They have a peach and plum grove on the park grounds. They are just starting to blossom but you can see this peach is slowly growing. This is my favorite flower picture of the day even though it’s not technically a flower.
As I walk away from the castle, I see it peeking over the trees and just had to take a last photo op.
Right on the edge of the park where the castle is, this is the Osaka-Jo Hall. One of the many music venues Osaka has to offer.
This is a shot of the river next to the Osaka-Jo Hall.
By now I'm getting hungry. I see a Subway, which is also the first one I've seen out here, and I realize even if I got the teriyaki sandwich, they have that in America so nope, I pass on this. I do want to try a KFC before I leave but that’s because like McDonalds, they made a Japanese flavored menu.
I made my way into the Panasonic Center (I’ll give you a high five if you can guess what it’s named after) because there is a full on food court here. Not a food court of Sbarro and TCBY, but a food court with full restaurants. I find one with this on the picture menu out front and it looks so delicious. Tuna with seaweed, rice, and egg on top. Very simple but very delicious. It was also one of the few times I've had fish on this trip so I didn’t want to pass that up.
I leave the restaurant but before I leave the building I snap this picture. If I told you this was a library you’d believe me. Apparently they were having a book sale in the main floor area of the Panasonic Center.
I love this picture. It’s a picture of the entire Panasonic Center and the Fujitsu building right in front of it. Two huge companies are located on the same street.
Ok, so after the hours I've spent in this part of town. I decide to head to my hotel for a bit of a break. I also love how I went from the slums of Osaka yesterday to the crazy amazing nightlife last night and now to the major downtown areas of today. Osaka definitely has it all.
As I am walking home, I see a Family Mart selling these triangle rice ball things I had the other day. They are on sale for only 88 Yen! I paid 105 the other day, you better believe I was getting one of these. This one is salmon flavored. Mental note, I NEED to make these when I get home and just keep them in the fridge for snacks.
I get back to my hotel and spend about an hour here, watching some Japanese television and messing around on the computer. I may have even used the bathroom and enjoy the heated seats.
I leave my hotel and head out for the night. You can probably guess where. I don’t repeat things on this vacation but Dōtonbori definitely gets a second run through.
As I walk around, I see the Tsutenkaku Tower from yesterday but this time it’s lit up. I love that Hitachi saw this tower as a chance to advertise. I guess space is a premium out here with all of the neon taking up most available space.
This is Spa World, the onsen I was going to go to today and decided not to.
Interesting story, across the hall from this is a place called Festival Gate. This is where the roller coaster I saw from yesterday is located. The roller coaster never ran so I was curious about it. I looked into it and apparently the place opened up in the 90’s. It was funded by the city of Osaka and ran by a private company. The private company went bankrupt and the park closed. It’s been closed for about 10 years but they haven’t destroyed it. So, right now, there is pretty much a ghost town amusement part sitting in the middle of Osaka. I hear you can go in there since it’s still open and even cleaned on a daily basis but I didn’t get a chance to. That would’ve been an amazing ghost town.
I continue the walk to the train to go to Dōtonbori and when I get out of the station, I see about 30 kids practicing break dancing.
I knew break dancing was still big in Japan, I'm happy I actually got to see it myself.
He’s spinning on his head!
I continue walking to Dōtonbori and see some stuff along the away, time for pictures with captions…
Walking out out the train station, some great art installations to look at like this long lit up wall…
…and whatever this is.
This is the grass covered elevated bridge crossing over the Dōtonbori River.
I came back to a few repeat areas from yesterday, but one in particular requires some explaining. Remember this…
Well apparently, this is a part of town designed for foreigners such as myself. The official name is Amerikamura but it's known locally as American Village.
They were playing Taylor Swift and Rihanna just before I started filming.
After going through Amerikamura, I make the walk over to Dōtonbori. I know Osaka is known for it’s food and I saw that with my own two eyes yesterday. Tonight, I plan on showing that to my stomach but eating all of the food I can while I'm here. I want to have everything Osaka is famous for. I start with a restaurant that I read about several days ago but knew for sure I wanted to go to after my friend Rob also mentioned it.
Sex Machine! Yup, that’s the name of it. The reason this place is so popular is because they only use Japanese beef and only prime cuts. I ordered the prime short ribs. It wasn’t cheap but hell, I'm in Japan, who cares?
Here is the little grill I will be using to cook my food.
Here is the AMAZING Japanese prime short rib that I will be cooking.
Here it is cooking. I’m trying my best Bobble Flay impersonation because since I'm cooking it, I don’t want to ruin it. I gotta be a grill master!
Here is the final product. A little rare in the middle, absolutely perfect. The chef who was making sure I didn’t over cook it gave me a thumbs up!
Here is the best picture I can get to show you the inside of the short rib. I can’t even put into words how delicious this meal was. Besides the cowboy rib-eye I had on my 25th birthday with my parents, the first steak I had in about 13 years, this has to be up there with that as far as best things I ever ate.
Sadly I knew that I was just beginning my night of food. I started it off on a really good note with those short ribs though. Here are some more glamour shots of Dōtonbori between eating.
This building is crazy. It’s called Namba HIPS. It’s a leisure building with a golf studio, a gym, a restaurant, and a Pachinko parlor. Also, see that hole on the side of the building? Yea, there is a free fall ride down from the top to the bottom. Only in Japan!
Another fugu restaurant. I didn’t need to go in, me and Rob took care of this already.
This clown is the Kuidaore Ningyo and was installed in 1950. Sumo wrestlers each year at the big sumo tournament would line up in front of it for pictures. The restaurant it was built to stand in front of is no longer there and now this clown is set to be demolished as well. Very sad, it’s basically a mascot of Dōtonbori.
Here is the next food place I went to, this is the view right on to Dōtonbori.
I’m not sure what’s going on here, but I take a picture of it anyways.
The min Glico Man. Glico is like Nestle or Hershey in Japan.
The giant size billboard neon Glico Man.
Look at all of those bikes! Dōtonbori is jam packed on a Wednesday. This place is crazy like Times Square but Times Square is 90% tourists at all times, where Dōtonbori is pretty much all local kids. It’s amazing how it doesn’t matter the night of the week, this place is packed to the brim!
This huge monstrosity that from the side I thought was a ferris wheel is standing over a store that you would think would be amazing to warrant this but nope, just a food store.
This is the actually beautiful recently redesigned Dōtonbori River promenade. It’s so nice and even romantic even with all of the neon all over the place.
Here is the next stop on my Osaka food adventure. You know I had to have takoyaki! This one was really cool though. Same as I head yesterday in that shrimp chip sandwich type thing except this one had an…
…egg! You can’t see it but it’s under the scallions. This was soo good. I love the crunchiness of the shrimp chip bread type thing and the puffed rice. I loved this because I could walk with it.
Last on my list of things to eat was dessert. I had found this really nice outdoor cafe near the Hatch and decided to go there. I loved the idea of eating outside in a really nice cafe so this was a no-brainer.
This is the place from the front.
Keeping with the Japanese theme, I got a piece of green tea cake. It was surprisingly good. I say surprisingly not because of the green tea but because I'm not a big cake person.
After this, I head home. In almost 36 hours, Osaka went from being a place I regretted coming to, to a place I’m going to be really sad to leave in the morning. I kinda fell in love with this place really really quickly. It began feeling very much a home in less than 2 days. I was not expecting this at all and I was so happy to have come here and experienced this electric, eccentric, and lively town. I will be heading to Tokyo in the morning and that will be so much fun, it will be like returning home! That happened to Rob when he came back to Tokyo and I can easily see that happening for me as well. I can’t wait but also I can wait because after Tokyo, I leave on Saturday. Ok, let’s not talk about that, I don’t want to believe it’s happening.
Oyasuminasai.
- DAK
