Osaka

Our outing to Hiroshima was very cool and educational. The one thing we learned using our JR passes is that one should always try to get on the express or shinkansen. The time for the express was still an hour or so and we saw that another train was leaving sooner so we decided to take that one. Big mistake. It seemed to take forever since we had to stop at every station. We didn't save any time and it may have taken us longer.

By the time we arrived in Shin-Osaka, the kids were tired and wanted to go back to our apt in Kyoto. So we let them. They had a cell phone in case they ran into trouble. I'm really proud of them. It is a 15 minute train ride to Kyoto. They then would have to walk to another part of the station to catch the Kyoto subway and change once to a different line and then walk another 1/3 mile to the apt. And they did it. I think they even stopped at McDonalds for dinner along the way.

Hector and I decided to go to Osaka for dinner and sightseeing. I really like Osaka. It has a nice mix of big city energy while not being too large. I like their fun signage and food too.





There is smaller more intimate streets and goes all the way to big hustle and bustle with bigger crowds of people.













So many choices for food and I wanted to try them all but Osaka is know for their
okonomiyaki a savory pancake. At this point I don't seem to have any photos so I'll have to check with Hector if he has some on his camera.

I think we got a smaller version of two, a pork and green onion. We opted to have the kitchen cook ours although the locals will cook their own at the table. It was very tasty and filling.

Now that we've eaten, we can get to exploring. So much to see! I love the canals and bridges.











I got more excited at a French bulldog sighting!!








Looking for a landmark...getting closer.








There he is...Glico man!!




People love to pose the same in front of this billboard. Why? Because they can. 

That's probably the most asked question in Japan. Why, well why not? 

We ended up at Starbucks, a huge 2 storied attached with other stores so I could buy a Starbucks Osaka mug. I have small collection of the places I've been and I'm very selective, I don't want to get over run in mugs. 

This evening flew by and before we knew it, it was 11pm and we needed to catch the train back to Kyoto before we got stranded. 

Osaka

Surprised to see some posts from me again? I'm really trying to get on a schedule/plan that will not have such big lulls. 

Anyway, on to catching up on Japan...I had to look up what I last posted and it was the Neko Cafe in Kyoto. Oh my...that trip was in April. This was our 2nd trip to Japan and we learned so much from our previous trip that we could take advantage of this most recent trip plus having the benefit of our kids being much older. The kids are 10 years older since the last trip and can handle the rigors/experience of long distance walking, sightseeing and food choices.

We got JR passes that helped immensely in getting around to see the neighboring areas for day trips. This is one trip where it was our first visit so that naturally involves lots of walking, stairs, doubling back and getting lost. I cant remember the mileage but we walked between 7-12 miles a day. Side note: I learned from my NYC trip the importance of well-fitting walking shoes with plenty of room in the toe area. I walked the same mileage in NYC with poor shoes (I had regular athletic shoes that I thought were fine) and ended up with blisters and damaged toe nails. I ended up losing about 8 toenails after that NYC trip. Lesson learned. I invested in a good pair of walking shoes from the The Walking Company and have been fine ever since.



   Sorry, I keep getting sidetracked. Osaka is a short shinkansen ride from Kyoto and we learned that there is a Oksaka-san and Osaka, which is not the same place. The shinkansen ride to Osaka-san is only 10-15 minutes and then we  had to transfer to a JR train for another 20-30 minutes into Osaka. 

We kept it quiet from the kids because in Tokyo we spent a good portion of our day finding the Pokemon store and we knew there was one in Osaka. Turns out the train station is right next to the mall and the Pokemon store is right there! That way we could buy Pokemon stuff before we left and didn't have to lug it around all day.









It was rainy and dreary that day but a very good point about Japan is that there are plenty of umbrellas to be had inexpensive and abundant. I like the clear ones so you can lower it and still see to navigate through the sea of people.




The umbrellas are inexpensive like I said before but they will fall apart after a while especially if you have a rambunctious 12 yr old and it's very windy.




Our apartment had plenty of umbrellas to use but unfortunately we had to buy another umbrella with strict instructions not to break this one. :-)

One of the things we like to do when travelling is find the tallest building or tower and that's exactly what we did. Too bad for the rain because this place is lots of glass and cool escalators.











Not so pretty outside but you can see the glass walkway that connects the 2 buildings. 




My guys taking a break. Yeah, also there are not a lot of benches/chairs to sit on so prepare to stand...







Okay, looks like the rain has stopped. On to more exploring and finding Osaka Tower which mean more walking. You'd think finding a tower is pretty simple and it usually begins that way until you lose sight of it or come out of train station with no reference point at all. More doubling back, asking for directions and walking.











Oh good, there's the tower. 




So much to see while walking, and Tyler desperately needed a haircut but didn't want to take that chance of communicating in limited Japanese.




We must have eaten lunch already because I would have been all over this place. 

This is sort of Osaka's personality that is different than Tokyo...larger than life signage which is actually helpful in figuring out what they're selling and for landmarks. So very easy to get lost...






Getting closer...

We made it!!!






Going up and down to the other level requires stairs...at least this one was festive with colorful neon lights.




Ready to journey back...






Japan is very orderly. Every car is labelled and people dutifully line up for their car. People sit in their assigned seats and clean up their trash to take off the train.

Hector and I really enjoyed Osaka and eventually I will post of our date night in Osaka.