Blogs from Osaka, Osaka, Japan, Asia - page 24

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Asia » Japan » Osaka » Osaka » Shinsaibashi April 21st 2007

Go to Osaka castle with Chris, it is not far from the central Osaka city but we need to catch a subway there. We get there rather late (about 2 pm) and spend some time wandering around the castle grounds, before going into the castle itself (costs about 500 yen). Inside there is an exhibition depicting samarai era weaponry, armour and history. It is very interesting but we dont have enough time to read all the plaques because Chris has to be back at 5 to ring his brother. We hurry through and get to the top layer, where we look out over osaka city. It is a pretty good view except its almost all blocked by fencing, probably to stop people jumping off. We walk out of the grounds through the park around Osaka castle, ... read more

Asia » Japan » Osaka » Osaka » Shinsaibashi April 21st 2007

As we sat Buddha style on the floor of the temple for Morning Prayer service, we couldn’t help but wonder how much practice was required before the diaphragm was strong enough to allow a monk to chant for minutes on end without taking a breath. As the monks chanted in sync for nearly an hour straight, we watched as other Buddhist followers inched their way over to the burning embers, sprinkled incense and bowed in praise to Buddha. Not sure whether it was disrespectful for a Catholic to pay tribute to Buddha, Gene and I sat out our turn in line. Gene, however, after being nudged by the Japanese man seated next to him, scrambled over to pay his respects. Feeling as though I was back in the first grade, I struggled to hold in a ... read more
I'll Have a Laxative-Asahi Bomb
Japanese Marketing
Sad, but True

Asia » Japan » Osaka » Osaka September 13th 2005

Day 3 in Osaka is coming to a close. And it has been entertaining. Yesterday setting out fairly early the first place that I went to was called Umeda Sky Building, located in the centre of the city. The building is relatively new, and in my guide book describes the architecture as very Lego-like, but I actually thought it was quite pretty, as far as skyscrapers go. The main reason for going there was to go to the top floor that has an open-air observatory. They call it the floating garden observatory, but that doesn't make any sense to me, there are no trees or flowers or anything to suggest that it is a garden. Also, when I say building I actually mean two buildings, or towers, covered with those mirror windows so that the sky ... read more
Unique Escalators
Osaka
Osaka

Asia » Japan » Osaka » Osaka September 11th 2005

I'm in Osaka!! And it is sooooo crazy and busy and noisy, I can imagine that Tokyo will be just as bad, if not worse! But it's good to see the big cities as well as the small ones. Last night I went back to the YH and was reading in the common room and another foreigner came in and we got to talking. He is from France and his English is not all that good so we were conversing in Japanese. It is really cool to think that two people from opposite sides of the world who have so many things not in common, except the fact that we speak Japanese can talk to each other. It's a little hard to explain how weird it felt, but good at the same time. Later on two ... read more
Osaka castle grounds
Osaka castle
Osaka streets




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