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Published: July 16th 2007
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On Saturday morning I headed off to Osaka for the long weekend. I knew it would be a wet weekend due to the Typhoon that had hit Japan. My boss was very concerned that I was heading west, I don't know what she thought would happen to me...... my theory is that she was more concerned that I wouldn't make it back to work on Tuesday rather than my actual safety!!!
Anyway I was excited about Osaka, my sole reason for going to Osaka was to go to Universal Studio's. I had heard great things about the place from other people that had been there. This weekend there would be no temples, no shires just fun at the theme park.
My first impressions of Osaka were that the people are extremely friendly and helpful. I was standing at the subway with my map and so many people asked if they could help me but I was pleased to say no thank you, Im ok, in Japanese of course. I found my way, very easily to the Guest House I was staying at. I loved this place instantly when I saw it online. It is very rustic and quaint. The
young people that own it, have restored it on their own and it is the most loviest place that I have stayed at in Japan so far. The owners are very friendly, helpful and speak English. If you go to Osaka stay there, it is U-en Guest House.
The weather was horrible, I have never seen so much rain in my life and it was so heavy........
I braved the rain and headed to the Osaka castle which was a 20 minute walk. The Castle was by far the most beautiful castle I have seen in Japan. The Castle Park was green and peaceful. I was shocked to see all these blue tarp houses if you can call it that eveywhere in the Park. People are actually living in these house, homeless people. I felt very sad for them, it is no way to live but I guess it is better than sleeping on the street. One of the Japanese people I met said that the people can sleep there if they work for a day a week.
After the castle I went to do a spot of shopping, mainly to get out of the rain. I went
to Tenjimbashi-Suji Shopping Sreet which is a crazy 2.6km long. It is Japan's longest shopping street, all undercover. It is a girls dream street, clothes, shoes and everything you could think off. My first day in Osaka was fantastic considering the rain and I had the most delicious meal for dinner.
I was so lucky that when I got up on Sunday that the rain had stopped and it was perfect day for Universal Studios. I headed off for my fun filled day........
I had the best day going on the rides, seeing shows and just enjoying the atmosphere. My favourite ride was Spiderman, it was 3D and at different points you get wet and feel like you are buring from the fire you ride through. It was so cool I have never been on a ride like that before. Other rides I went on were Back to the Future, E.T., Jurassic Park, Jaws and terminator 2. I saw a mini musical called 'Wicked', which is a version of the Wizard of OZ. The lines were very long and it seems crazy lining up for an hour or so for a 2 minute ride but it was well worth
it. I loved that the rides were animated, 3D, virtual reality and different from anything I had been on before. I stayed there for 11 hours so I must have had a great day.....
At 9pm I decided to head back to where I was staying only to discover the best ice cream place. It was so strange, the pour like a think milk stuff on a frozen plate and then add chocolate or fruit. When it is hard they roll it up. It was so interesting to watch and tasted amazing.....to me it tasted like chocolate rather than ice cream. (I know Amy I ate ice cream). Have a look at the photos abd you will see the process of making it.
Sunday night was fun, had interesting converations with people staying at the Guest house. I love that you get to meet people from different countries and hear about their lives and what they are doing in Japan. A few of us headed out for some drinks and food. I was trying to speak to Daiski, a Japanese guy so I was using what Japanese I have which is very little and my phrasebook some how we
all ended up reading all the strange phrases in there that you would never use. My favourite phrase in there is in the sex section that says, 'Don't worry I'll do it myself'.Yes my mind is always in the gutter. I had to try and explain to a group of Japanese people what Easy Tiger means,(Adam I always think of you when I hear easy tiger) it was a fun night!!!!
I headed back to Shizuoka on Monday early due to major delays on the train and subway lines. I didn't have the energy to deal with train delays when sight seeing.
It was a great weekend and I got to go to Universal Studio's.
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DantheMan
Dan
Here comes the rain again, Falling on my head like a memory, Falling on my head like a new emotion, I want to walk in the open wind, I want to talk like lovers do, I want to dive into your ocean, Is it raining with you...