Osaka, Japan

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Here are some photos from our quick trip to Japan in October. We headed back to Todd's old stomping grounds, Osaka. Many of his friends are still working at Universal Studios so he was really looking forward to seeing them. Aki, who used to perform in the Back to the Future show with Todd, was our tour guide for most of our trip.

Our first night, we went out for sushi and then to catch Aki's performance at a comedy/nightclub. There really are no words to describe what we witnessed, so let the pictures do the talking. Japanese humor is quite different!

The next day Todd and I went to Osaka castle. We enjoyed the picturesque views, I ate my first tako-yaki (the famous streetstand octopus dish) and Todd infiltrated a group of schoolchildren on a field trip. He even grabbed one of their yellow hats and fell into line with them. Then we went to the seaside town Todd used to live in, Tempozan. We met up with some of his friends and had Korean barbecue for dinner (woops). That evening Aki took us to a trendy dance club where we watched him dance the night away.

We headed to ancient Kyoto the next day. We started by hiking through bamboo forests on our way up to Monkey Mountain. Then we stopped for some tea and toured a traditional Japanese home and gardens from the 1930s. Unfortunately, by the time we reached the heart of Kyoto, the sun had gone down and many sights were closed. However, we found a beautiful shrine in a quiet courtyard and decided to offer prayers. It's customary to wash your hands before you pull the rope to ring the bell that awakens Buddha to hear your prayers. After that, we enjoyed traditional Japanese shabu shabu for dinner. Once we got back to Osaka, it was off to another club for an evening of debauchery.

On our last day, we went to Universal Studios to check out some of Todd's friends in action and surprise some of the staff who had no idea he was there. We wore ourselves out and were completely exhausted at the end of the day. Still, we took the ferry back to Tempozan to have a few beers at the complex where all the performers live.

It was only a short trip, but we had a fantastic time and hope to get back to Japan this year. Perhaps Tokyo next.......

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