Osaka

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21st Sept: We arrived at Osaka Station pretty late, about eight o'clock. The signage wasn't great, but we found the right platform to take the train to our hostel. We let the first train go by as we didn't think it was the right one and we didn't really want to end up somewhere random. The second train looked a lot more promising and we got on that feeling slightly more confident. I think it was only one stop, maybe two, to our hostel. The walk from the subway was about five minutes and really easy, we didn't get lost. The staff at the hostel were lovely and helped us plan what to do that evening. We had our own room, which was nice, although it was right up on the fifth floor, that was a lot of stairs! We were knackered by the time we got to the top. We dumped our stuff and the lasses got changed. Well, I'm far to lazy to do that. Then we headed out see what Osaka was like.

We walked down to Osaka station. The walk didn't take too long and it nice to wander. The city is a complete contrast from Kyoto. We saw this gorgeous little bar built into the railway arches, I think we all regret not stopping there for a glass of vino. We made it to the main station and then beyond that to the subway station we needed. It was a bit of a mish to find the right subway line, as they all had different entrances, this reminded me of Tokyo and how annoying it was. The subway deffo needs to be better signposted, as it took us a while to find it inside, too. Another point for the amazingly simplistic Seoul subway system. Also more ghetto ticket machines, I can't believe that they make you figure out your own fare, and you have to press the fare button, an actual button, they aren't touchscreen. And I thought Japan was meant to be high tech!

The subway ride was pretty quick and we arrived in Namba, which is the nightlife district. We took a wander around, but it didn't really feel like we were in the right area. It was just a bit too quiet for a Saturday night. We made it down to the river, wandered along some random back streets and then finally found the right place. We stood on the bridge looking at all the neon displays along the river. It was fab. We took a walk along the river, it was really nice. There were loads of people hanging out and having a few drinks on the benches and steps. There was a great atmosphere. We wandered along and then we found this massive shop, Don Quixote, we spent ages in there. They had tonnes of stuff. We bought some Japanese food and chocolates to take home and we got some cans of fruity beer and headed down to the river and sat on a bench drinking them and I was also stuffing my face with seaweed crisps as I love them. We had a good natter and people watched for a while.

After we went back to Don Quixote to look around the other floors. There were about eight floors, but I think we gave up, when we got to four or five. We decided to check out the rest of Dotomburi. The place was heaving the streets were full of people, well it was Saturday night. We spent some time wandering in the entertainment district. We could of happily stayed there, watching what was going on all night. It was so interesting. The streets are full of guys, trying to get the salarymen into their clubs to chat to their girls. It was so funny watching them in operation. They had mics and earphones connecting them to their clubs, making sure the girls and rooms were ready and waiting. Also some of the guys had one of the girls, who was working at their clubs with them. It was fascinating to watch them give the girl the eye to approach a group of blokes. It was quite sneaky, too, as they made the girls wear their coats and have their handbags with them, so they looked like ordinary girls.

It wasn't only men that were targeted. There were also pretty boys (who weren't exactly pretty, they were too skinny and had bad hair), trying to entice women into their clubs. Luckily being foreigner women we were given a wide berth. We then went on the hunt for Karaoke. We found a place. It was huge, a whole building dedicated to karaoke. We paid for half an hour, and then were shown to the elevator and then our room. The room was pretty ghetto and small. We were given unlimited soft drinks too, so I went out to the machines at the end of the floor and filled some glasses up. It took us a while to figure out how to use the controller, but we got there in the end and had a good old sing song. We also ended up staying for an hour and not getting charged any extra. The perks of being a foreigner!

We wandered the streets for a bit longer and found a pub to have some food and a drink in. We ordered a plum liquor on the rocks each. It was nice, just like the stuff you get in Korea, though. It was hilarious ordering food. The bloke brought us a stack of laminated cards, each card had a picture of different item from the menu on it. We worked our way through the stack picking thing we liked the look of and then whittling it down to five dishes. We ordered chips (dead original I know), croquettes, pork and beansprouts, and chicken skewers. We did order another dish, I've forgotten what it was now, but it never turned up. We enjoyed the food and drink, and the decided we should head home as it was well after three in the morning.

Because we had stayed out so late, the only way for us to get home was by taxi.We were buzzing about this! Taxis in Japan are known for being ridiculously expensive, but me and Mel have being dying to ride in one, since our trip to Fukuoka, where the taxi drivers were dressed like pilots. We found a main road with a few taxis parked up. We wanted the middle one, as that taxi and driver looked the coolest. Luckily for us some one came along and took the first taxi, leaving the one we wanted for us. Our taxi driver was proper cute! He was a proper granddad wearing a bow tie. Amazing! He also had two pairs of glasses on at the same time to read the business card of the hostel to find out where we wanted to go. In hindsight, it would been easier for him and us, if we'd just said the name of the subway stop, as the hostel was in spitting distance.

Wandering down the street, we saw a bloke spark out asleep on the road. Good job it wasn't a busy neighbourhood. And I thought it was only Koreans, who passed out drunk in the streets. We couldn't get into the hostel, the door code wouldn't work. It wax the last thing we all needed as we were knackered and wanted to get to sleep asap. We rang the phone and someone came and let us in. We staggered up the stairs and flopped. It was well after four by this point.

22nd Sept: Our alarms cruelly woke us at 10 am. I'm sure the bags under my eyes must of been horrific. We headed down to the showers. I'm surprised the hostel didn't have more showers as it seemed pretty big. We were a little late for the 11 am check out, but the staff weren't bothered. The lovely lady on the reception desk told us what stop to get off at for Osaka Castle. She actually recommended a different stop as we could then have a nice walk through a park to reach the castle. We hopped on the subway. It was a lot easier than yesterday night's journey. As we were using the subway line at the end of the street. It was only about five or six stops to where we wanted to be.

We found an amazing bakery in the subway station, before we even left the turnstiles. We purchased a tonne of food. I had a corn cream bread, a tuna pastry, and some cake. It was a canny nice brunch. The weather was scorching and the sun was beating down on us, as we ate our food and wandered through the park. The park was really pretty and full of families out enjoying their weekend. There was a stream running through the park and we stopped to take our shoes off and dip our feet in.

The walk through the park was lovely and we arrived at the edge of the castle walls. There was a moat as an added layer of defense from invading forces. We wandered onto the castle grounds. There was a small orchard there and we have a wander through it. We came to the proper gateway that took us into the inner castle grounds. The queue to get into the castle was pretty long and it seemed to be moving quite slowly. We debated whether to join it as we were limited with how much time we could spend there. We decided to visit the castle, although our timing would be a bit tight. The reason the ticket queue was moving so slowly was because the tickets were dispensed from a vending machine, and loads of people were having bother with it. We got our tickets no problem and hurried into the castle. The queue for the lift to the top was ridiculously long, so we opted for the stairs. There was about seven or eight flights of them to the top.

We frogmarched ourselves up the stairs. On each floor of the castle there were exhibits but we didn't have time to stop and look at any of them. We were knackered and huffing and puffing, by the time we got to the top. After a moment to collect ourselves we went outside to check out the views. The views were great we could see all the tall building of Osaka, and the mountains beyond that. We walked all the way around so we could soak in all the views. After our fill of taking photos we legged it back down the stairs to the ground floor. I was so thirsty by this point I've never been happier to see a vending machine full of drinks. I got a bottle of water and guzzled down on it.

We walked round the back of the castle, the opposite way to the way we came in, to take some more photos. A girl can never have too many selfies! Then we had to peg it to the subway station. We weren't really sure if we were heading in the right direction, and the walk to the subway station took a while. But we got there in the end, and hopped on the train back to the hostel. We got back to the hostel and grabbed our stuff from the storage room, and headed back to the subway station to take the train to the airport. The trains to the airport are a rip-off because you have to travel over a bridge and they need to make the bridge money back. The staff at the hostel told us what time train to get and from what platform. We made it to the station with tonnes of time to spare. We managed to get a seat after a couple of stops when some people got off. The train journey only took about 45 minutes, if I remember correctly.

At the airport, we headed to Terminal One as that had restaurants and Malia was flying from there. We found a place selling Tonkatsu and since we were all starving we headed in there. We eat the Korean equivalent of Donkass, quire a bit. So it was nice to try the real deal in Japan. We all ordered the special Osakan Tonkatsu set. There was a tonne of food. We were served salad with it. We were also given some pickled veggies, rice, and Miso soup. The pork was legit pork, not of that reconstituted crap, it was a proper cut of meat with fat. The meal was really good and were stuffed by the end of it.

After a quick goodbye, we left Malia to check-in and we headed over to get the bus to Terminal Two. We checked in at the self check-in booth and then dropped our checked luggage off. We spent some time looking around the shops, but couldn't find any blueberry cheesecake Kit-Kats, which we had spied when we had arrived. After going through immigration we were greeted by more shops, and not a lot of seating. We spent some time looking around the shops and found the blueberry cheesecake Kit-Kats (they weren't actually that nice). We bought some bits and bobs and then it was time to board. Mel went ahead and I had a tab before joining the queue. The queue was massive. I got on the plane, found my seat and got settled. The plane must of been running late, as people weren't even seated and we were taxiing to the runway. Time to get back to Korea, after a fabulous Chuseok holiday!

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