10-6 Osaka

I'm really sorry that I haven't updated in a while. I really should have this weekend... but I was lazy. Really I have no excuse, except I bought a new video game for my DS and I have been hopelessly addicted to it. Oh how I love Japan. Anyway now it's time to talk a little bit about Osaka! The city known for its industries and also the home of many Yakuza (Japanese gangsters). Often Osaka is known for producing energetic people, and ones that can be over friendly (which can be viewed as insultive in Japan). I really had a blast, so I will briefly go over what I did and saw, but excuse me if my memory is a little foggy, it actually was about 3 weekends ago... so again I apologize for not updating.
I went with my roommate Jenni, Neil, and JP. We left the train station fairly early (I think like around 11-11:30, and we got into Osaka around 1:30. The first thing we did was walk over and view the Umeda Sky Building, another piece of modern Japanese Architecture. The style reminded me a little of Kyoto's main train station, a style which I myself really like. It has a futuristic quality that still fits in nicely with the here and now of today.

We stopped for a short lunch in the building, and then headed out to Osaka-Jo (or Osaka castle). I had seen the castle before, on my first trip to Japan, but seeing it again really altered my perceptions of my first visit. The castle seemed to me on this second viewing somehow more grand and I suppose Imperial is a good word. Before in the spring when I saw it, the castle seemed flowery and a get away for rich nobles, but in the fall it exuded a definitive presence. Almost stately. I enjoyed very much the second viewing of the castle and also the view of the rest of the city from the top.

After Osaka-jo we went to the Osaka Aquarium where the largest fish tank in the world is held, and inside its depths is a whale shark! It was a truly fun experience. It was nice to step back aways from some of the historical stuff and just have fun! And let me tell you, Japan knows what they're doing when it comes to fish, I have never seen fish that big in my life. Tank after tank of strange, exotic, and extremely large fish.



When the aquarium was done we basically did night life (Most specifically Dotonbori). We went to a couple bars, and had some very interesting moments. I had a stomach ache though due to eating some cheese or milk or who knows what so I didn't drink anything. It made for an interesting scenario though, since we didn't really know how to convey stomach ache to the bartender in Japanese... anyway needless to say it was a fun night.

Thanks for reading
Sayoonara
Leslie