Osaka is probably the coolest city I have ever been to. It was even better the second time around.
Since we planned to spend the whole day in Osaka, Bea, Chan, and I met up around 8:00 in the morning and went to the Nara train station. There, we bought Osaka day passes, which basically let us use the subways and trains as much as we wanted, as well as get into many major attractions for tree. It also gave us discounts on restaurants and other areas. Armed with these extremely convenient passes, we left for Osaka by train.
Our first stop was the famous Osaka castle, which stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the skyscrapers surrounding it. The first thing we saw was the giant outer moat, which was beautiful in its own right, but as we traveled through a series of gates and winding walkways we realized there was a lot more to be seen. Apparently, Osaka castle is well known for the huge stones that were used to build it (and the famous samurai who lived there, of course). In a way, it was similar to the pyramids of Egypt. No one really knows how the stones were carried there or where they came from. They were humongous! We got to go inside the castle as well, and at the very top you could see a lot of Osaka. Unfortunately, there were a ton of elementary school kids running around so we didn't get to enjoy it to the fullest. Even so, it was very interesting and I was glad we got to see it.
From Osaka castle we traveled to the harbor where we rode on Osaka's biggest ferris wheel. From the top there were buildings as far as the eye could see. After our ride, we quickly ate lunch before riding the Santa Maria around the harbor (a sight seeing boat.) Truth be told, it was actually pretty boring, because Osaka harbor isn't really that pretty. We only got to see construction sites and industrial ships.
After our relaxing boat ride, we set out for Shinsekai, which literally means "new world." It used to be a very rich part of Japan until its "bubble economy" collapsed. Now it is the "ghetto" part of Osaka. Smack dab in the middle of it was Spa World, a huge building containing 19 different types of onsen (hot spring spas), each one inspired from a different part of the world. We got in for a bargain thanks to our Osaka passes, and enjoyed soaking in all of the spas and saunas for over two hours. Of course, I couldn't take pictures inside for obvious reasons, but it was absolutely amazing. I will definitely miss going to the onsen when I go back to America!
By the time we left Spa World, it was dark outside, which meant Osaka was just starting to come alive. Every restaurant in Shinsekai seemed to be a kushikatsu restaurant, and of course, Osaka is famous for kushikatsu so we had to eat some! Kushikatsu is basically deep fried food on sticks that you dip in a special sauce. Apparently every restaurant's sauce is different so you have to try them all to see which one you like best. We chose a restaurant that we could get a discount at and ate to our heart's content. My favorite kushikatsu was avacado!
Once we had eaten dinner, it was time to go to our last stop of the night: the floating garden observatory. This observatory is one of the tallest building's in Osaka, and is an extremely popular place for couple's to go on dates. Since we were there while the Tanabata (star) festival was going on, there were even more couples than usual. We went all the way to the 35th floor (I felt my ears pop in the elevator!) and then took an escaltor and several flights of stairs to reach the rooftop observation deck. The atmosphere was definitely romantic-- it provided the best view of the city, and the thousands of lights that seemed to stretch endlessly in every direction really looked like a sea of stars! To say the view took my breath away would be an understatement. I have never seen anything else like it!
We ended up taking the last train so we returned to Nara around midnight. We really went all over Osaka and got to see some amazing things! This blog is only a summary of the day so it doesn't really portray all of the nuances and emotions of the trip. Even so, I hope people can see from the pictures just how magical it was. NYC has got nothing on Osaka.
Since we planned to spend the whole day in Osaka, Bea, Chan, and I met up around 8:00 in the morning and went to the Nara train station. There, we bought Osaka day passes, which basically let us use the subways and trains as much as we wanted, as well as get into many major attractions for tree. It also gave us discounts on restaurants and other areas. Armed with these extremely convenient passes, we left for Osaka by train.
Our first stop was the famous Osaka castle, which stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the skyscrapers surrounding it. The first thing we saw was the giant outer moat, which was beautiful in its own right, but as we traveled through a series of gates and winding walkways we realized there was a lot more to be seen. Apparently, Osaka castle is well known for the huge stones that were used to build it (and the famous samurai who lived there, of course). In a way, it was similar to the pyramids of Egypt. No one really knows how the stones were carried there or where they came from. They were humongous! We got to go inside the castle as well, and at the very top you could see a lot of Osaka. Unfortunately, there were a ton of elementary school kids running around so we didn't get to enjoy it to the fullest. Even so, it was very interesting and I was glad we got to see it.
From Osaka castle we traveled to the harbor where we rode on Osaka's biggest ferris wheel. From the top there were buildings as far as the eye could see. After our ride, we quickly ate lunch before riding the Santa Maria around the harbor (a sight seeing boat.) Truth be told, it was actually pretty boring, because Osaka harbor isn't really that pretty. We only got to see construction sites and industrial ships.
After our relaxing boat ride, we set out for Shinsekai, which literally means "new world." It used to be a very rich part of Japan until its "bubble economy" collapsed. Now it is the "ghetto" part of Osaka. Smack dab in the middle of it was Spa World, a huge building containing 19 different types of onsen (hot spring spas), each one inspired from a different part of the world. We got in for a bargain thanks to our Osaka passes, and enjoyed soaking in all of the spas and saunas for over two hours. Of course, I couldn't take pictures inside for obvious reasons, but it was absolutely amazing. I will definitely miss going to the onsen when I go back to America!
By the time we left Spa World, it was dark outside, which meant Osaka was just starting to come alive. Every restaurant in Shinsekai seemed to be a kushikatsu restaurant, and of course, Osaka is famous for kushikatsu so we had to eat some! Kushikatsu is basically deep fried food on sticks that you dip in a special sauce. Apparently every restaurant's sauce is different so you have to try them all to see which one you like best. We chose a restaurant that we could get a discount at and ate to our heart's content. My favorite kushikatsu was avacado!
We ended up taking the last train so we returned to Nara around midnight. We really went all over Osaka and got to see some amazing things! This blog is only a summary of the day so it doesn't really portray all of the nuances and emotions of the trip. Even so, I hope people can see from the pictures just how magical it was. NYC has got nothing on Osaka.
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