We have been taking trains all through our trip in Japan, and loving it. Green
cars (first class) when we could and Shinkansen (high speed) when available.
We are not quite sure what came over us when we decided to travel from Kyoto to Osaka on a local metro train with our luggage. It was only a 1 hour trip and cost less than $15CDN for the two of us so why not we thought. Well standing in a packed corner for the whole trip taught us that next time we’ll spend the $36CDN and be a bit more comfortable. It wasn’t that bad, but comfort is better.
With a population of around 2.67 million people, Osaka is the third most populous city in Japan. Honestly I felt more congested here than in Tokyo with their 8.96 million souls. Don’t misinterpret me, I enjoyed Osaka, but wholly smokes, the crowds.
One of the reasons I have enjoyed Japan so much is their love of order. It just appeals to a corner of my psyche. The hotel had their rules posted by the pool and the fact they specify “anti-social forces” as not being allowed just made me smile. I respect their opinions on tattoos as well. No need to cave to others opinions.Back to crowds. We checked out the famous Dotonbori when we arrived and it was quite nice. When we came back after dark things were a bit different.This canal is lined with shops, restaurants, and bars. And it is lively.It is a not to be missed opportunity for night photography.The street that runs parallel to the canal is a gong show. Shoulder to shoulder wandering aimlessly, but quite happy.Lots of chances to try a variety of street foods.And to enjoy the spectacular decorations on the fronts of the businesses along the street.And just to keep you on your toes, in the middle of this mayhem you find a small grocery plying their trade.The side streets all around it are beautifully lit with lots of establishments but people just have to experience the crush of humanity.
Honestly I was quite content once I had seen Dotonbori. But responsibility required we see some of the other sights. One thing we did not take in was the Osaka World Expo 2025. I just couldn’t come to terms with the hours of standing in lines with hundreds of thousands of others in the hot sun. So we skipped that. From everything I’ve heard from others, I’m glad we did.
Osaka castle was definitely worth a visit. Despite the crowds the organizers have people movement down to a science. The curators have done an excellent job with the museum/gallery on the levels as you make your way to the top of the castle.The view from the top is quite nice and people were great about sharing the best points to snap your photos.As the last castle was destroyed by bombing in WW2 the castle has been faithfully restored to allow people to experience some of the samurai era history.As I have mentioned before, the samurai knew how to build an impressive moat, and those too have been recreated.While having a rest in the castle grounds we enjoyed watching some of the local colour walk around. The funny thing is that this was not that unusual.For me, the coolest part of being on the castle grounds was getting a chance to peak through the slats in the Dojo on the grounds and watch a tiny bit of a Kendo competition that was taking place.
After a few days of wading through the crowds Karen expressed an interest in doing a day trip out to a forest area called Nara. Hugely popular, but out of the city which we needed at this point.
The first surprise was boarding the metro train out to Nara, a 55 minute train ride east of the city.The Japanese’s commitment to quality, beauty, and their trains is mind boggling.Everything down to the grass coloured flooring and seat upholstery was perfect. All for the price of a normal metro trip.
Fortunately we arrived fairly early in the day at Nara so the tours and crowds had not arrived yet. It is an oasis of peace after the big cities. And the deer, the deer are wonderful.
There are hundreds of deer wandering the area.They add a great accompaniment to the shrines that surround them.They sell special “Deer Crackers” for a couple of dollars which the deer have learned are for them. They are very comfortable approaching humans to be fed.If you bow to the deer they will bow in return. However then they do expect a cracker.They are not shy about cornering you and trying to force crackers from you. It is quite entertaining watching people panic when the deer become persistent. We didn’t have that problem as Karen just used her Mom voice on them.We were incredibly lucky to be able to see a brand new baby deer. It was so new the crows were still in the area cleaning up the mess. Watching Mom help her baby stand and clean her off was pretty amazing. I was also impressed that no-one stepped off the path in an effort to get closer.At one point we just stopped and had a seat by one of the shrines that are dotted all through the forest. To take the time and relax, take a deep breath and soak in the peace and quiet was incredibly soothing. I understood why the shrine was built there and why such great efforts are made to conserve it.
This was probably our favourite part of our stay in Osaka. The chance to get away from crowds and appreciate the beauty around us was refreshing.
There were a number of locals there enjoying the sights as well.And the deer were never far away.Osaka had one other neat experience for us. One evening we headed over to the Umeda Sky Building. It is an impressive building that is utilized for many different activities other than just being an office tower.The area in the middle hosts community events on the ground floors and sightseers on the top.Looking down you can see the two escalators that help transport you to the top of the building. Cleverly designed to pass through space. Very cool to ride.They are illuminated nicely at night.The evening we were there a festival celebrating Polynesian dance was taking place.I’ll leave you with one of our last experiences in Osaka. We walked around a corner and found ourselves in the middle of a J-Pop meet and greet session. Personally I found it a bit creepy, but it was popular. There were hundreds of fans lining up to pay their 1500yen to chat with their favourite J-Pop idol.
yeah Dotomburi was something else to see. glad I wandered through it but after a while had to get out of there. our hotel was a 10 min walk from it right on the same canal. crazy place. overload on senses, great people watching though.
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