Japanese night buses...
As bad as Indian ones. Well maybe not quite as bad, as the roads are a lot better, but it wasn't a good journey for either of us at all - not a wink of sleep was had. We arrived at our hostel, Peace House Sachi, at the break of dawn. Check-in wasn't until 3p.m., so we both slept in the lobby (grim), though thankfully one of the staff members got our beds ready early, so we were able to get a snooze in at our beds after a couple of hours on the couches. This travelling craic isn't all fun.
What was fun, was the unexpected street performances we found on our first trip out to see the castle. We seemed to stumble across an Osaka's Got Talent-type event, with massive crowds surrounding the J-Pop groups. Seemed very popular across all ages/types of people, as a rowdy crowd of guys in their mid-twenties screamed along to all the words while having a few drinks. Japan is weird.
We decided to get some street food here, Takoyaki is one of the local foods (squid in a ball of batter) - not brave enough to try it....yet. We found even more people here celebrating the cherry blossom season, with massive groups and families all sitting under the trees enjoying themselves:
Dani found her favourite Japanese child to date, and yes, that dog is wearing glasses/goggles. Japan is weird.
We finally made it to the castle, nice on the outside, but a bit boring on the inside - still, a morning well spent.
For the evening, we decided to head to Dotonbori, the main tourist/food area of Osaka, filled with bright lights and cheap gyozas:
€2.10 for 6. Wagamama's are ripping you all off. And afterwards we queued up to try a Melonpan - a crispy/sweet bread, filled with ice-cream. Yes, it was class.
Our final stop was at a Takoyaki stand, where Stu decided he was finally brave enough to try five of the squid-filled delights. Only the outside of the batter is cooked, so it turns out they're a molten ball of lava, with a small piece of rubbery squid inside. Wouldn't recommend. Japan is weird.
That night an Arsenal match was on, so Stu who hasn't kept up with football at all while away stayed up to watch the match with a few drinks too many, and a day in bed was needed the next day. Dani meanwhile, explored the city and ended up in Brooklyn Roasting Company - catching up on yoga notes, diary entries, and getting in touch with people back home. Nice coffee, too.
Our first day trip away from the city we'd planned in Japan was up the next day, heading to Nara, an old town just outside Osaka famed for its deer that approach you looking for food (you can buy "deer cookies" for them), and have no problem searching through your pockets to find what you have, as you can see:
The pagodas, temples, shrines, and gigantic Buddha aren't half bad either - such a relaxed, beautiful place to stop by for a day.
The deer have learnt to bow as well (as Dani is showing above), in the hopes you'll give them food. It works. We do have to admit, the best part of the day is when you see the deer gang up on a child who doesn't know you're supposed to hide the cookies after giving them one. It always ends up with a child panicking, throwing the cookies on the floor, and a terrified child cookie-less. The deer can smell fear.
We finished up Osaka with a few more food stops, and one stop (and only one) at a Pachinko parlour. This is a very popular Japanese gambling game - it looks like vertical pinball, and makes no sense. We lost 1000yen (€8) in about 30 seconds. Maybe we should look up the rules next time.
Next stop, Stu looking very happy to be getting his first Banh Mi since visiting Vietnam ~4 years ago. So good we went back the next day:
And carried on with our food tour through the markets of Osaka, with Stu trying some Wagyu (Kobe beef was 5x the price, no thanks), some scallops, and finally a cheesecake we stumbled across with massive queues. Not exactly sure why, as it's more of a sponge that tastes like eggs, than a cheesecake. Japan is weird.
And that about sums it up, Osaka is Japan's second biggest city, so the rest of our time was spent walking around the main streets in built up areas - not a whole lot worth mentioning. It's a bit grimier/dirtier than Tokyo, which we weren't expecting, but also a little cheaper too (our hostel was half the price). We enjoyed it, but Tokyo would be a nicer place all round.
Next up is a mere 45 minute journey by train to our next stop, Kyoto. It has a bit more history to it, so will be a different stop entirely to what Osaka was like for us. Thankfully no night bus!
Big love,
Dani and Stu.
As bad as Indian ones. Well maybe not quite as bad, as the roads are a lot better, but it wasn't a good journey for either of us at all - not a wink of sleep was had. We arrived at our hostel, Peace House Sachi, at the break of dawn. Check-in wasn't until 3p.m., so we both slept in the lobby (grim), though thankfully one of the staff members got our beds ready early, so we were able to get a snooze in at our beds after a couple of hours on the couches. This travelling craic isn't all fun.
What was fun, was the unexpected street performances we found on our first trip out to see the castle. We seemed to stumble across an Osaka's Got Talent-type event, with massive crowds surrounding the J-Pop groups. Seemed very popular across all ages/types of people, as a rowdy crowd of guys in their mid-twenties screamed along to all the words while having a few drinks. Japan is weird.
We decided to get some street food here, Takoyaki is one of the local foods (squid in a ball of batter) - not brave enough to try it....yet. We found even more people here celebrating the cherry blossom season, with massive groups and families all sitting under the trees enjoying themselves:
Dani found her favourite Japanese child to date, and yes, that dog is wearing glasses/goggles. Japan is weird.
We finally made it to the castle, nice on the outside, but a bit boring on the inside - still, a morning well spent.
For the evening, we decided to head to Dotonbori, the main tourist/food area of Osaka, filled with bright lights and cheap gyozas:
€2.10 for 6. Wagamama's are ripping you all off. And afterwards we queued up to try a Melonpan - a crispy/sweet bread, filled with ice-cream. Yes, it was class.
Our final stop was at a Takoyaki stand, where Stu decided he was finally brave enough to try five of the squid-filled delights. Only the outside of the batter is cooked, so it turns out they're a molten ball of lava, with a small piece of rubbery squid inside. Wouldn't recommend. Japan is weird.
That night an Arsenal match was on, so Stu who hasn't kept up with football at all while away stayed up to watch the match with a few drinks too many, and a day in bed was needed the next day. Dani meanwhile, explored the city and ended up in Brooklyn Roasting Company - catching up on yoga notes, diary entries, and getting in touch with people back home. Nice coffee, too.
Our first day trip away from the city we'd planned in Japan was up the next day, heading to Nara, an old town just outside Osaka famed for its deer that approach you looking for food (you can buy "deer cookies" for them), and have no problem searching through your pockets to find what you have, as you can see:
LOOK AT HIS FACE. LOOK AT IT.
The pagodas, temples, shrines, and gigantic Buddha aren't half bad either - such a relaxed, beautiful place to stop by for a day.
The deer have learnt to bow as well (as Dani is showing above), in the hopes you'll give them food. It works. We do have to admit, the best part of the day is when you see the deer gang up on a child who doesn't know you're supposed to hide the cookies after giving them one. It always ends up with a child panicking, throwing the cookies on the floor, and a terrified child cookie-less. The deer can smell fear.
We finished up Osaka with a few more food stops, and one stop (and only one) at a Pachinko parlour. This is a very popular Japanese gambling game - it looks like vertical pinball, and makes no sense. We lost 1000yen (€8) in about 30 seconds. Maybe we should look up the rules next time.
Next stop, Stu looking very happy to be getting his first Banh Mi since visiting Vietnam ~4 years ago. So good we went back the next day:
And carried on with our food tour through the markets of Osaka, with Stu trying some Wagyu (Kobe beef was 5x the price, no thanks), some scallops, and finally a cheesecake we stumbled across with massive queues. Not exactly sure why, as it's more of a sponge that tastes like eggs, than a cheesecake. Japan is weird.
And that about sums it up, Osaka is Japan's second biggest city, so the rest of our time was spent walking around the main streets in built up areas - not a whole lot worth mentioning. It's a bit grimier/dirtier than Tokyo, which we weren't expecting, but also a little cheaper too (our hostel was half the price). We enjoyed it, but Tokyo would be a nicer place all round.
Next up is a mere 45 minute journey by train to our next stop, Kyoto. It has a bit more history to it, so will be a different stop entirely to what Osaka was like for us. Thankfully no night bus!
Big love,
Dani and Stu.
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Great stuff lads! You're definitely getting it, that weird and wonderful spirit of Japan. I love the picture of the lads sitting on the plastic having a picnic under the flowers. Great people! Hail, hail.
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