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Published: June 29th 2011
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Two Days has passed on my Classic 9 Days Tours, time certainly do fly when one is having fun. I had a great night sleep on the futon bed over the tatami floor. I woke up to the gentle sound of waves crashing onto rocks below. It was starting to get bright outside, but the sun hasn’t risen yet. I thought this would be a great chance to see the sun rise over the Pacific Ocean. I made a fresh pot of tea and sat by the window. I noticed several fishing boats were already out getting their daily catch. And also couple fisher standing on the rock surface casting line into the water. I sat there at awed as the sun slowly rises from the horizon, as if rising out of the water. Loaded with my camera, I went outside to catch the first light of day on quaint little sea side town of Atami. Breathing in cool sea breeze is a great way of getting rid of any hangover and travel fatigue… well for me anyways. Before heading to breakfast I decided to take another dip into the hot spring. Feeling all warmed and relaxed I head over to
the main dining hall for breakfast. Since the hotel, Hotel New Akao, is a seaside hot spring resort so naturally they offered freshly grilled fish for breakfast along with Western style hot breakfast. Nothing is more satisfying than eating freshly grilled fish and drinking a hot cup of joe.
We boarded the Shinkansen (Japan Bullet Train) from Atami to Osaka. I was very excited about riding the bullet train. It reminded me of my youth, traveling with my parents in Asia riding the slow train and eating a bento box (lunch box) while watching the scenery goes by. We were given a sushi combo bento box and iced tea. I waited till the train ran in full speed before eating. With every bite of sushi and watching the gorgeous scenery of Japan’s country side makes the train riding experience much more enjoyable. With the gentle sway and rhythm of the train, I felt my eyelids getting heavier and heavier soon after … Snooooooooooooooore.
Once we got to Osaka we visited the Osaka Castle, the largest castle in Japan. It’s here over 600 years ago where the final decisive battle was fought and cemented the Tokugawa Dynasty to rule
over unified Japan. As we tour the castle ground the tour guide explained the loyalty and the conflicted betrayal of Tokugawa Ieyasu to the Master of the Castle, son of his sworn lord of the alliance, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. When we enter the castle we saw many art works and miniatures depicting the battles of the surrounding area. Osaka Castle main tower was damage during the bombing raid in World War II, the current one is a rebuild to the original likeness. With one minor addition, a state of the art… modern elevator! The Castle reflects the Japanese culture, though its tall and impressive viewing it from a distant. The size of the castle pales in comparison to European Castle and Keep. Just like the modern day Japanese Corporate company, higher ranking executive doesn’t necessary mean bigger office or better view. To them these are just distraction, which can be said about these Japanese style castles. This castle though is small but yet it signifies the importance of the lord, also its design provides greater defense against invader. The outer wall offers vantage point for the archers and the surrounding moat prevent wall breach. But in the case of Osaka Castle,
the young lord was tricked into filling its moat therefore allowing Tokugawa’s troop to easily cross over and breach the castle wall. I took the elevator to the top floor of the castle, which offers a great view of the Osaka City. Here I imagine myself as an old Samurai of the past, readied with my sword to defend my lord and keep. I screamed out “For the alliance!!!” and received a slap in back of my head by my roommate. She said “This is not world of Warcraft”. Oh alright.
After leaving the Osaka we were taken to a Sake brewery in Nada, a district in Osaka. We were given a walkthrough of the facility. We saw the age old technique of sake making, I was quite surprise with how many man power was needed to create a barrel of sake. The Facility guide mentioned even now they still preferred the hands on approach of sake making, which makes the sake smoother and tastier. We were given samples of their sake; I decide to hold a little party in my hotel that evening. So my roommate and I bought a few bottles of their sake and invited our
newly met friends on tour to join us.
Kobe… what’s the first thing that comes to mind about Kobe? Nope not the basketball player, but Kobe beef. Kobe beef dinner isn’t just a dinner… it’s a show! We are seated around a large teppanyaki grill/table. The Chef will start cutting and cooking the meat right in front of us, nonstop hands movements with blade and spatula dancing over the counter top. After few minutes of oohs and aahs, the chef began to serve us. The meat was tender and juice, melts in the mouth like butter. It was a huge portion of fine Kobe steak; I wasn’t able to finish my steak, luckily for me my fellow tour mates was there to help me. After dinner we were given time to walk around and view the Kobe harbor side. There were few little Café along the waterfront; I parked myself at the patio table to take in the sights. Several boats left the harbor for the evening cruise along the waterway. In this quiet setting I started to get sleepy, no amount of espresso can conquer the fatigue of the huge dinner. I thought back to my day’s event,
riding the modern invention of Japanese bullet train and touring the Historical Osaka Castle. In my years of travel I have never given a chance to experience and explore things of 2 very different time period on a single day.
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