Osaka and Kyoto

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In the spirit of Decision 2008, I’m here to give it straight to the American people. Here it is, your typical play-by-play from a great weekend spent in the Japanese dichotomy that is Kyoto and Osaka—aka “Real Japan” vs… ok that argument doesn’t hold weight here either. Here we go:
Don’t you love national holidays that result in three-day weekends? Would you feel guilty for not celebrating that holiday if it were “Culture Day”? Nevertheless, I took full advantage and took a short 3 hr bus with my English mate Danny to the Kansai area of Japan, which houses some of the best cities the country has to offer: Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto, and Nara. Osaka is considered a baby step behind Tokyo for nightlife, young urban culture, population density, fashion, and history. This is the city where young country bumpkins come to grow and dye their hair, don an expensive wardrobe, and live the good life. In other words, Osaka has stolen all the young people from my town, leaving me all by my lonesome. On a recommendation, we checked into a Capsule Hotel, only the greatest accommodation creation ever conceived. This place is located in the middle of all the action, has two floors of spa and sauna, recreation room with beer vending machines, and hundreds of individual sleeping capsules with TVs inside (I have to mention that Ch. 1 was…targeting the male clientele…if you catch my drift). This was Man Heaven—hanging out in your yukata (robe), alternating between pool, sauna, ice bath, hot tub, and eating and drinking from the ten different vending machines. And it is the cheapest accommodation available. These need to be in Manhattan and Boston.
Osaka draws tons of visiting foreigners and ex-pats, which is great because people are used to seeing white faces and can even speak English, as opposed to Kagawa where they run away. We made friends quickly with a girl who studied English at university in the States, and she acted as tour guide du jour. We ended up on a big, beautiful bridge where we had front row seats to the parade of Osaka’s best. I have to say, I could never fashion myself like an Osakan, with crazy hairstyles and clothes, yet it certainly makes a bold statement that says, “I’m kind of a big deal.” After a great dinner, Danny and I hit up the last Halloween Party of the season (sans costume), and clubbed away the rest of the night.
One of the pleasant surprises of the Kansai area is that these great cities are all less than an hour by train away from Osaka. Instead of wandering around Osaka during the day, we hopped a train to the heart of “Old Japan”. Kyoto is the only major Japanese city with original infrastructure, thanks to the Allied Forces agreeing not to carpet bomb it during WWII. Kyoto was the longtime capital of Japan and is famous for Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines, fall foliage and spring cherry blossoms, and tons of tourists. On this particular day, we headed to Kiyomizudera temple, which was so big and crowded it felt like the DisneyWorld of sacred sightseeing. In fact, there is a whole process and ceremony (of course, this is Japan) that comes with visiting a temple. There’s the double-clap prayer, followed by the gong-strike, then over to the lucky charm booth and purifying water fountain. All of these “rides” and “attractions” helped create an even stronger image that I was in the “Busch Gardens” of temples. Nonetheless, it was not at all tacky, pretentious, or farcical, while at the same time being beautiful and spiritually enriching. Trying getting THAT from DisneyWorld!
We headed back to Osaka, where we actually kept it low-key in a gaijin friendly bar. The spa was definitely calling us home, so we headed back on the early side. Next thing you know, I’m back in the countryside of Kagawa, wondering where all the people went, and having serious self-doubt about my clothing asthetic. Can’t wait to go back in a few weeks, courtesy of “Labor Thanksgiving Day” holiday weekend!

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Photos

Home sweet home
Spacious enough to not suffer from debilitating claustrophobia

Flashing Lights
Hanging on Shinsaibashi

Osaka
Osaka at night

Photo booth magic
This is quintessentially Japanese

Kiyomizudera
This is just the Entrance Gate

Kyoto
Entrance Gate with downtown Kyoto in the background

Kyoto
Not quite peak season for foliage, but pretty nonetheless

Purify thyself!
One sip is all you need!

Geisha
Beautiful, but definitely kind of freakish when you see them in living color