Shaune and I packed our backpacks and some snacks and headed to the Shinkansen (bullet train) on our way to Osaka. The train ride was about a 3 hour ride from Tokyo. Once we arrived in Osaka we checked into our hotel that had one of the smallest double rooms I had ever seen. I think rooms are bigger on a cruise ship! The room consisted of two twin beds with bedspreads that felt like plastic, a TV, small stool, two pairs of slippers, two robes, and a broom. Yes, I said a broom! There was no closet. The bathtub looked like a mini swimming pool because it was so deep. I know that my knee had to touch my chest just so I could step in the tub. There was also a heated toilet.
After checking in, we went exploring and found what appeared to be Osaka’s version of Las Vegas. There were Pachinko casinos everywhere. The area almost reminded you of a China Town. We did some sightseeing to see what Osaka had to offer and ate our favorite meal, gyudon. Gyudon kinda reminds you of a bowl of rice with chitterlings and onions on top, uhmm tasty! Osaka is very different from Tokyo, it almost seems country in comparison. We also noticed that we received more stares in Osaka. Everywhere else we have been people acted as though we didn’t exist. We smile and people look back with stone faces.
The style of dress is also different in Osaka. Tokyo has more of a trendy, hip-hop style going on; Osaka has taken it back to the days of leg warmers, tapered-legged jeans and Sunday shoes. Osaka style is very 80’s. Since I’ve been here I’ve noticed that my style has changed too, but only out of necessity. When you backpack you can only carry but so much. I was wearing outfits I wouldn’t dare wear inside my house, let alone out in public! In Japan you can get away with all sort of fashion faux pauxs, but some of this stuff needs to be outlawed. School uniforms are another story! The girls all wear a blazer with a short Britney Spears plaid skirt and leg warmers. A female student in America would be sent home if she came to school in skirts as short as they wear them here. Forget about the fingertip touching the bottom of the skirt rule; they would do good if their wrists touched the bottom of their skirts.
After hours of walking and sightseeing we decided to eat dinner at an American-style restaurant called Charlie's because everything on the menu was 300 yen. We had some kind of salmon wrap, spare ribs, spaghetti and two complimentary glasses of wine. The food was on point! After dinner we headed back to the area that looked like Vegas. By this time it was about 10 or 11 o’clock and the area we had ventured through earlier in the day with its slot machines, restaurants, shops, and kiddie games had now turned into prostitute row. We were in shock! The signs that once advertised the casino or restaurants now had suggestive pictures of women on them. There were 3-5 men on every corner, each dressed in a dark suit and equipped with cell phones soliciting for the women of the night. There, the women don’t stand on corners, Japan is a little more high tech than that!
The next day we decided to go to Osaka Castle. It was beautiful! Typical Japanese architecture. I took plenty of pictures. While we were there we met two Japanese women who conversed with us in Japanese, I must say my Japanese is improving. We met several different people that day. After visiting the castle we made our way back to the Shinkansen headed towards Kyoto.
We also stayed the night in Kyoto. This time the hotel room was about normal size, but it still had a broom in it. Shaune and I had one of our first problems with the language barrier. We went into a Mom and Pop type of Onomiyaki restaurant (Onomiyaki is a savory Japanese pancake that can contain a variety of ingredients. Don’t think of sweet American-style pancakes, onomiyaki is more of a savory entrée and not a sweet). We thought we might be able to order by picture, but were sadly mistaken! We tried to tell the old woman that we wanted a pancake with pork, but didn’t know the Japanese word for pork. I put my hands on top of my head like pig ears and she was like “Huuhh!!!” (in her Japanese tone) and sneered up her face like a pig. It was so cute! She ended up giving us some free food.
Kyoto was beautiful! While there, we visited a temple and zen garden. The space was so serene and surreal. Japanese culture and architecture is really amazing. We decided to take a ride in a rickshaw. It was quite an experience! Kyoto is one of the most beautiful areas I’ve seen yet. We did more shopping in Kyoto and met some girls who were visiting Japan as part of the Semester at Sea program. I am mad I didn’t know about programs like that when I was in school! We headed back to Tokyo.
