Recently in Osaka Category
And back in Osaka I did the unthinkable and went to Universal Studios for a lazy, familiar afternoon out.
Off in the mountains at Koya-san, between getting lost I did manage to take some photos; temples, mountain views, a graveyard where huge companies own plots for their employees when they pop their clogs, and me doing the whole ryokan thing. Mind you I've worn a yukata (that's basically a bath robe btw) in other places too, like here in Tokyo.
Briefly back in Tokyo after cutting Ise short before heading off to Fuji-san I stayed at Juyoh again. Here's a shot of the house out back with the roof garden - a month can make a big difference, here's the original image from when I arrived in Tokyo.
I hope that makes up for the wait (you know who you are ^_^)
And here's one I've finally found after not seeing one in at all in Tokyo - luckily I've never accidentally boarded these train carriages.
Anyway, the day before they turned up I went to the castle to see the people having picnics and BBQ's under the sakura trees. I also bought some really nice food from a stall, later (several days later) finding out that it was okonomiyaki. Very good food.
After the pub we headed out to Pure, a club in Shinsaibashi and just a short walk away. It was not quite the music I usually listen to (drum and bass, house, rnb) but I still enjoyed it, more so after I'd had a few of them free drinks to loosen me up. That lasted for about 4 or 5 hours - which was good because the subway doesn't run between midnight and 5am. At one point security had to kick out a rowdy Japanese businessman who'd obviously had too much sake, and our attempt to sneak into the VIP lounge proved unsuccessful.
Needless to say, by the time I got back to the guesthouse at 6:30am I was half deaf from standing in front of a loudspeaker all night.Oh, earlier on I went for a walk around Umeda - the area around the station - and managed to get lost. At one point I was actually heading out of Osaka and when the crowds disappeared from the streets I decided to turn back and head in the opposite direction. Anyway, while waiting at a crosswalk I was approached by a young (? (Most look young anyway so they could have been 40 or something)) lady who asked if I'd like a 'massagy'. Don't worry, I said no. I was busy trying to get unlost anyway.
Namba itself is fairly modern on the edge that borders Shinsaibashi and becomes much more like the original Osaka the further south you travel with narrow streets and tight little shops all squeezed in. It was great just to walk around and look at the place with it's distinctly Japanese style.
It's been a few days and no new photos? What's gone wrong! Well it's just what happens when I don't have wifi internet, but on the plus side the computer at the guesthouse I'm now at is well equiped for everything I need to do bar resize the photos so they're not gigantic.
Since I've set up house in Osaka instead of Kyoto I've been commuting to get there; three trains, 50 minutes. Awide arc on the Osaka Loop Line to Osaka Station, then a one stop stint on the Kyoto Line to Shin-Osaka station and then a 15 minute bullet into Kyoto.
I've a few photos here from Kiyamizu, a temple up in the mountains to the east of Kyoto, with some fabulous views across the city and of the temple itself too. Strolling back I went through Kyoto Imperial Palace's public gardens where some of the sakura and other plants have begun to bloom making for a beautiful view.
I was out at a pub last night, or a bar take your pick, and met this swedish guy named Fredrick and his workmate Nanaka who work for a company in Osaka (duh!). We chatted and played a few games of darts, it was fun.
I can't believe it took this long but I had udon for the first time today after visiting the Osaka Aquarium, it was cooked with some roasted veggies and went down a treat!
Right, well I'm out of Tokyo now. Anyone I've mentioned it to will know I was planning on going to Osaka and then popping up to Kyoto before going all the way down south. It turned out that there is a Sakura festival/party thing on on the 30th in Osaka so I decided in all logic that it would make sense to do Kyoto first and then go to Osaka for the end of the month. Getting into Kyoto station was easy enough and so was finding a hotel at a reasonable price. Unfortunately it turns out that they were fully booked every other night so the next morning I would be out and about looking for another place to stay.
The room itself was nice but it did feel a very impersonal place considering where I had been in Tokyo. I spent the rest of the afternoon looking around a temple and the shopping area near the hotel, which was just across the road from the station. After a wonderful nights sleep I got up, got dressed and got packed. I headed back to the information centre in the station to find another place where I ran into the same lovely American couple that sat next to me on the shinkansen ride down (they carried on to Osaka). Anyway, they mentioned that Osaka was only 15 minutes away on the bullet train so I decided to hop on and shoot down to see if I could find a place there instead.
Low and behold I am now sat in a wonderful little place in the back streets. A traditional style building with friendly owners and staff. I'll still need to find a place for Thursday and Monday as these are fully booked but they've said they can point me to a youth hostel for them days. All in all it feels much more comfortable that the Kyoto ryokan hotel.
