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Published: April 13th 2008
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Osaka immediately felt more real than Kyoto and Tokyo. The pursuit of perfection has been made subordinate to the pursuit of doing business and making money. The people on the streets are just a little less rarefied and cool, and dirt- actual dirt- can occasionally be seen outside agricultural areas. But not very often. This is Japan, after all.
We stayed in the rather characterless Hearton hotel near the railway station, which did have the advantage of being near the station’s boggling array of techy stores and cheap eating places. Just wandering around the computer stores together after dinner (and possibly an overpriced beer or two) is a cultural treat. I desperately wished I could read Japanese just so that I could figure out what all the nifty little gadgets did, and what the computer games with the excitable-looking manga characters on were all about.
Our guidebook (which has proved pretty accurate for Japan in general, better than for China) gave us two priorities while in Osaka. For me, it was the Aquarium. For Chris, it was Osaka castle and the nearby Himeji castle. I got to go first.
Osaka Aquarium is a short trainride outside the city
centre, and is located in a weird blue and red butterfly-shaped building next to some docks and a ferris wheel. Their slogan is ‘Ocean, you meet the Whale Shark!’ which gives you a general idea of Japanese English is like when they don’t get the professional interpreters in.
You pay your money, you put your bag in a locker (abundant at Japanese tourist attractions and a blessing) you get on an escalator and to up to the top floor. Where there are otters, water-living rodents whose names I don’t remember, and a few little freshwater fish. So far, so nice and cosy.
Then you descend a floor and go through a tunnel. Kind of a Bristol Zoo Penguin arrangement- the tunnel actually goes though a tank and you can see the fish swimming around you. And what fish. Colourful schools of little fish, bigger solid-looking serious fish, gigantic turtles, amazing squirly octopi and squid-like things, slightly threatening-looking crabs… I went through, I went back, I went through again, I tried to take photos and of course failed totally to take anything worthwhile.
Then past various tanks of fish, all of which were interesting for one reason or
Great sleepy fish
Even when fish are sleepy, it's blimmin hard to photograph them, 'cos they won't sit still. Even the ones the size of small cows. another. Down again, birds and mammals this time- different types of penguins. Different types of seals and giant otters and dolphins. Gaggles of Japanese school children going ‘ooh’ ‘waaaah!’ and standing right in front of the tanks and shoving in front of everyone else. Down again to take evasive action, and the most gigantic tanks this time. You meet the whale shark…
The whale shark is huge. The tank is huge. The whale shark is much bigger than I am. The tank could easily accommodate our flat in China and just about fit our house in Bristol. The whale shark glides serenely in figures of eight, smaller fish following in procession. The whale shark is very, very cool. Ocean, we met the whale shark indeed.
The next day we were wandering out of a Manga Museum that turned out to be surprisingly un-fun when we came across a park of show-houses. People go there to look at the houses, consider the various options available on the standard version of the house, and order one to be built on their plot of land. It was open to any interested people so we dropped our shoes at a couple of
Amazing ray
He has a curl-in-able mouth. He lives in the same tank as the Whale Shark. doormats and poked around a couple like the nosey gai-jin we are.
Most wealthy Japanese houses seem to have at least one tatami-floored room, usually as a sitting room or family room of some kind. The model houses we looked at also had at least two kitchens each, but we’re assuming that was to show the different options available rather than a little-hitherto-remarked-upon cultural difference. Dropped entry-porches with cupboards for shoes and ranks of spare slippers, obviously. Cunning devices to minimise earthquake impact, including lightweight wooden walls and roofs, minimal foundations, some of which can even shuffle about on concrete footings. A curiously minimal approach to privacy between family members. Toilets that defy reason and explanation. Altogether, I recommend nosing about show-homes as an ex-guidebook attraction.
Next, Himeji Castle, a bit of a journey out of town but very worthwhile Chris really, really enjoed this and I must admit I rather did too. I’ll leave the photos to describe it better than I can, and I wish I’d read ‘Shogun’ before seeing it rather than afterwards so that I could have had more food for my imagination, but it was excellent nonetheless. Again, everyone had to take their
Amazing Ray II
He is also hard to photograph because he likes to glide about quite fast. shoes off before entering the building, put slippers on, and carry the shoes around in plastic bags until exiting. We followed our little map around the outbuildings and women’s quarters before climbing to the top of the main keep and looking out over the town.
Near to the castle are a set of exquisite gardens giving flavours of gardening styles over the period of the castle’s heyday. We picked our way over carp ponds on stepping stones, watched some of the trees being manicured and trussed up for the new year, and took Japanese fluffy green tea at the garden’s tea house, seated on tatami (as best we could), served by superbly gracious little old ladies in kimono, contemplative silence all round apart from the pleases and thankyous, looking over the garden.
Himeji castle was basically taken down and rebuilt in the 1950’s as a gigantic restoration project. Osaka castle’s keep was rebuilt from nothing in the 1930’s and it’s a bit of a confection but still pretty cool. Inside is an excellent exhibition of various masters of the castle and one major battle that took place around the castle in the 1600’s. The castle used to extend
Giant turtle
A different part of the tank with the tunnel that so entranced me at the start of the aquarium. in a system of rings and moats far out into what is today the city, but today only the inner few rings of massive, massive stones remain.
And that about wrapped it up for our time in Japan. The weather forecasts were still full of stormy doom and gloom so we splashed out on flight tickets back to China rather than sailing ones. As it happened our journey coincided with some of the worst snowy weather China has had in living memory, with dozens of airports closed and thousands of air and rail travellers stranded. In the end we were only delayed by four or so hours, which we passed ensconced in a corner of the hangar-like Osaka airport lounge eating takeaway kare katsu and watching ‘Life on Mars’ on our laptop, while strange works of art like giant baby mobiles twirled slowly overhead.
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Kate
non-member comment
4 hours will seem like a few fleeting seconds if you return to the uk by the new 'Terminal 5', but i think i recall you will be using gatwick, so you will be ok.