Osaka beckons

---

i think the last time I felt this tired was when Emily was born and I'd spent two nights sleeping in a bath. I wasn't sure how we were going to get up this morning but, fortunately, routine kicked in and we woke around 8:45. That gave us enough time to shower quickly and make it down for breakfast.

I have to say, while the marketing people had used every photographic trick in the book to get the rooms to look a decent size, they were spot on when it came to the food. They promised best buffet in Osaka and they delivered. An excellent selection of Asian and western food all cooked to perfection and presented excellently. A great start to the day.

We headed out very soon after eating and went down into the bowels of the subway system. It is a massive place that, I'm sure, will evolve into a living organism one day. There is every manner of shop down there and you can basically walk from suburb to suburb without coming up for air if the mood takes you.

We bought an "Amazing Osaka" train pass each which allows us to get around the city for a couple of days but also gets us in to virtually every attraction as well. We went to Osaka castle and the museum before heading off to see a number of temples.

Today's lesson was "don't trust directions from a 3-year old"!

We left the station looking for a temple and found ourselves following a large group of young kids who were heading in the same direction. We assumed they were on a school outing to the temple too. Turns out they had been on an excursion and were heading back to their kindergarten. Not to worry. We didn't get led to far astray and soon found ourselves where we wanted to go.

We had been wandering for a while when we stopped someone for directions. He took literally about two steps to the next corner and smiled - we had arrived. It was an interesting complex of Buddhist buildings with statues and some amazing architecture where we spent some time wandering around.

I had out together an itinerary for the time in osaka and, while we were scheduled to visit a number of other attraction, the hotter weather and our fatigue was taking its toll and we decided that we had seen enough shrines and temples for the day.

We went back to the hotel for a rest and then walked to the Umeda Sky Tower where we watched the sunset from the rooftop. It was lovely standing in the warm breeze and watching the city light up at night.

As we were leaving or dinner, we saw a sign for a restaurant in the basement which looked nice. We went down and the entire basement had been made to look like a traditional village. We had an excelent meal and then wandered back to the hotel for some rest. It had been a long day and we were both tired.

On the way back, we saw cars stacked and parked above one another in a Multi-storey car park in what looked like a residential building. Obviously space was at a premium and this was the only way to find space for cars.

after a good wash to get the sweat off, it was time for bed.

All in All, a very good first day in japan

---