Surprisingly, it only takes 25 by train to get to Osaka from Kyoto. Once there we headed to Osaka castle. There were food stalls set up in the surrounding areas as well as many street performers. Lots of people gather among the many sakura blooming. Dave bought some okonomiyaki and I bought a biscuit filled with red bean paste. A little girl, about 10, was working with her mother. The girl sold me the food. She was so cute. We sat down to eat and a small boy passing by with his family pointed at us and shouted “gaikokujin yo!” Dave and I just laughed.
Among the performers we saw were puppet dancers, a monkey trainer, and two old guys who played traditional Japanese songs on the guitar. he had on a list and we asked him to play a few.They were surprised by our ability to read and speak Japanese and I feel as if our presence actually drew a larger crowd.
The castle museum itself was ok. The view from the top was hands down the best part. After exiting the castle we saw a clown would shut down until someone gave him money. There was the 10 yen version, 50 yen version, and the 100 yen version. One guy paid 500 yen for quite a silly performance. He was a clown after all.
After this we went to find a hotel. Dave’s guide book listed two information centers, one being located right next to the center of Osaka’s nightlife. We decided to go there and took the train to Namba station.
We walked around so much inside of Nanba eki, and when we finally found the spot where the information center was supposed to be, it turned out it no longer existed in that spot. We asked about it at another information desk and the girl who gave us directions did not even know what she was talking about. We asked again at another location and we finally learned of the proper place. In the middle of this search we were approached by a Jehovah’s Witness, Japanese mind you, and we also came across a spot in the station where people liked to dance.
When we asked about the hotel information, the closest available cheap hotel only had a triple left, and it was $140. We said that was too expensive so we got a discount of $40. It turns out that was the last available room at the hotel. After relaxing in the room for a bit we decided to hit the town.
On the way to find a place for dinner we stumbled upon a woman selling drawings on the street. They were very interesting, and only $1 for a small postcard. Dave and I both bought one. We ate dinner at an unagi restaurant, the service was great, as well as the food. We had glasses of passion fruit liquor, fantastic. The restaurant also offered a good view of the streets below.
After the restaurant we went to find a place for a drink. We saw the performance of two girls playing guitar and singing. I almost bought a cd. As we walked down the popular night area, we came across the Elvis bar called usagi. Dave decided we had to go in, so we did. The owner was a man who seemed to be in his 50s or 60s. We had some whiskey, sandwiches, watermelon, chips, and salami. We listened to Elvis and Duke Ellington vinyl, and saw a video performance of Candies, a famous Japanese girl band from back in the day. When it came time to pay the check we only spent $10. Dave tried to give the bartender more money but he said it was ok. If you go somewhere else they are going to steal your money so think of this as a safety zone. What a great deal.
We headed out to find another bar, and what happened there was rather shocking. We entered the bar Queue, and played various games including darts, all for free. The most interesting was a 3D tic tac toe of 3x3x3. Me and Dave played the bartender and lost. Next we challenged the guy next to us. We lost again. Bet $1, lose again. Bet $10, lose again. But he never took our money. After beating us three times, Yu said he wanted to take us out to eat. We went to eat shabu-shabu, and met his friends there. He bought us meat, rice, and sake. Afterwards he said we were going to get sushi. I was really full and said I couldn’t eat anymore. This offended him because he really wanted to take us so I changed my mind and said I would go.
At the sushi restaurant Dave and I got four pieces of onigiri each: tuna, salmon, squid, and eel. He also bought more sake and drank with us. Once again he paid for it all. He was a great guy, funny, and so generous. He said he was a regular customer there, and it was actually probably the best sushi I’ve had in Japan so far. He left before Dave and I did, I think he had to work the next day. We got back to the hotel around 2 am and somehow managed to checkout for the first time on time. That is, before 10 am. I don’t know how we did it.
We were planning to go back to Kyoto after this, but that morning I wanted to go to the aquarium. It wasn’t as hard to get to as I thought it would be because the train system in Osaka was better organized than in Kyoto. There is a huge ferris wheel in Osaka. to the Osaka aquarium and it was amazing. It wasn’t the biggest aquarium I’ve been to, but definitely the best.
They had the seals, dolphins, sea lions, otters, freshwater crabs, a two toed sloth, an egret and a heron. Supposedly there were monkeys also, but we didn’t see them. Once you pass this entryway is when it becomes great. The whole place is set up based on location in the ocean, specifically the ring of life, only areas bordering the ring of fire. They had the barrier reef, Monterey bay, Pacific Ocean, and more. The main reason I decided to go was for the pacific. They had a whale shark, but it wasn’t as big as I expected. I think it was still young. They also had a manta ray, and the giant pacific octopus. It was the best view of this mollusk I’ve ever seen. But in the end the best was the Japanese deep ocean and the jellyfish. These areas were the hardest to take picture but I still managed to get some decent shots.
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