So, My original plan of making one day a day failed... It mostly has to do to the fact that we were go! go! go! for the whole trip.
Today is date 22 and Stephen is currently on his way back to the airport... and I am on at work on Lunch Break. I would have liked to have sent him off at the airport but I don't have anymore holiday days left..... I used them all.
Anyways, still in Osaka. A friends of mine that I went to school in Chiba, just happened to be visiting her parents in Osaka at the same time!
I got up a little before Stephen and met her at the station!
And got some ice cream.... for breakfast .... Osaka was really hot....
I love Häagen-Dazs!!!!
Anyways, we met up with Stephen and went of to see ¿Osaka Tower?
(Stephen, Me and Anna)
It gave us a good view of the city...
Everyone looks soo tiny!!!
Anyways, after we looked around for a bit. We started getting hungry again and started to look for a place to eat...
Anna suggested we eat at this really popular Takoyaki place called Yamamoto... Only problem...
They we too popular... There was a 30 min wait for lunch!!!!!
So we walked over the a noodle shop just across the road and order a kind of ramen noodle called tsukemen. A very flavorful soup severed in a small bowl with the noodles in another.. Dipping the noodles in the gravy like soup as you eat them... We weren't able to eat at Yamamoto but the noodles were awesome!!
We slurped down our noodles and head out to the cup noodle factory
!! Thats right!! The Cup Noodle Factory!!
We bought cups of noodle for ￥300
SMILE!!
We bought our cups and then took out some pens and designed our cups!
I got in line with my personalized noodle cups and got to choose what toppings we wanted inside...
Green onion with double shrimp!!!!
Really old package of Chicken Ramen!!!
The next day, we took a train and walked to Osaka Castle!!
Walking to the first gate
Walked over the bridge, crossing the moat.
In to the castle complex.
Looking down from the Castle
Night Shot
With again hungry stomach we head over to Dotonbori to see the lights and met......
TAIYU!!!!
Taiyu and I were friends in high school almost 10 years ago!! I had always wondered what had happened to him till just resonantly reconnected over Facebook.
As soon as I had mentions that I was heading over to Osaka he quickly wrote back and we met up for drinks and Okonomiyaki !!!
We had so much to catch up on! He is getting married in a few months !!
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So! The next day! We got up bright and early and jumped on the train down to Kobe!
Yeah!!! Kobe!!!
With no time to waste, we dropped our stuff all at the hotel and got directions to the cable car up Rokko Mt. ( Or at least we tried too )
When I asked the lady in the hotel lobby, she looked like she had never hear of it before.... She took me over to the guest computer *Which was off* and tried to search for it... She didn't know how to turn on the computer..
Then when she did... She didn't know how to start Internet Explore.... She was trying really hard.... Really.... I felt almost bad for her....
Anyways, I said thank you and me and Stephen walked over to Family Mart (A convenient store) and asked there... Hahaha
Anyways, We got to the cable car and headed up the 950 meter mountain!!! !
Heading up!
Now thats a way down!!!
As we headed up one of my teeth started to bug me really bad.... I just ignored it, thinking to might self that I really need to see the dentist soon.... again..
We got to the top and I'm in a really bad mood.... My tooth hurts.... We got on a bus to keep going the remanding 50 meters up a swerving road..
By this time.. I had pull my camera in my bag and was just sitting in the corour of the bus in pain.... ( Oh ... I'm gonna die )
We got off a bus and we went to see the city from the top..... and... Clouds ... We couldn't see much .... I found a small cafe on the top of the mountain and stumbled my way inside and order a cup of tea.. ( Thats mine British side of my trying to save my life )
I got my cup tea and a really good slip and let it sit in my mouth...
UGHAHAH!!!! It hurt even more!!
Anyways ... Old story short... Stephen basically said.. Ok we're going to a dentist... and we took the next bus to the train and headed back down the mountain...
I'm sitting in the corner of the cable car nursing my mouth on the way down.... But as we heading back down... the pain started to go away!!
Till we reached the bottom the pain was almost gone!!
Anyways... I went to see a dentist... (Which was blood hard to do during the Obon holiday season ) and got him to check me out....
Basically there was cavity that had formed under an old filling that had make a pocket of air in one of my teeth... We wasn't 100% but that was his best guess....
Apparently this type of problem only happens to air plane pilots as the conditions need to cause actual pain are quite rare..... In a nutshell... The dentist thinks I will need to get a root canal in this tooth to solve the problem...
That was the end of that day... I went to the hotel and down a hand full of pain killers....
Next day, we had breakfast and head out out for a small walk...
\And we end up at the Sea port at the Oriental Hotel....
We contemplated staying a night there and charging it to Uncle Peters credit card but managed to just settle with a quick look inside....
Shot of the water fountain from the top floor....
The next day!!!! ( Aug 14th )
We followed our plans took us to Nara.. A city famous for Deer!!
Why??? Deer?
Because they are everywhere!!!
And they are super friendly!! The deers over run a park and the nearing temples and although are very friendly... are actually wild!!
I was able to get a really CLOSE SHOT.... Much closer then my iPhone probability would have liked....
I pull a cookie on top of my phone and let the deer at it!!
Heading though the park to one of the larger temples
Little candle in of the the shrines....
Now Kansai is famous for Warabi Mochi a type of Mochi ( Rice cake ) that really isn't made of rice.... but rather a leafy plant..
It was served in a bowl with sweet water with ice.... I spooned chucks of the Mochi and dripped / rolled the chucks in different surgely drips...
Oh... So great!!!
By this time it was dark and we continued to follow the weakly lite paths to the other temples....
A really big Daibutsu !!
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Do you remember the movie the Memories of a Geisha??
Click the movie to jog your memory!
That scene was taken from this temple... To be honest.. the scene doesn't makes much sence... The girl is running away right?!?
The red gates (Tori) path is just a circling loop around the montain.... She wouldn't get very far...
I think a part of the movie was shot here....
A water foutain at the along the path...
We ended the day with a big plate of curry .... Gotta love Coco's!!
Ok... My fingers hurt.... I'll have the post the rest later...
A very tired ....
-Tom
