Life Shouldn’t Be Boring!
- Mar 8, 2017
- 8 min read
Location:
Osaka, Japan
After a nice few hours in Nara making friends with all the deer, it was time for us to get all our stuff together and catch the ‘Thunderbird’ train to Osaka. It was very quick as you can imagine. While the train from the outside was a piece of art, inside was a different story! It seemed to sway from side to side as it glided through the countryside, causing me to feel nauseous. What seemed to take longer were all the other trains we had to take when we got into Osaka as the main train station is located on the outskirts of the city. I was getting fed up with all the trains we had to get. Poor Jason had to listen to me moan! I just wanted to get to the hostel. Thankfully the last train ride only left us a short walk to our hostel ‘Khaosan World Namba Hostel.’ As we entered, there were a lovely young guy and a girl behind reception who were fascinated over all our travel stories. Not me, Jason!
After checking in, we went for a bite to eat in a nice restaurant just opposite the hostel. It was a bit pricier compared to other places we have been to, but to be fair the little tapas style dishes we got were very tasty. Our landlord Gordon in New Zealand who is very much into speciality whiskeys suggested we try some local whiskey while in Japan as the country has a very good reputation for the distilled drink. When you have an opportunity to try some and make up your own mind, you would be a fool not too. We were like too lords sipping on some rather fancy whiskey. If only Gordon was there to see us. I can just picture Gordon sitting there in fits of giggles! As we were leaving, our waitress noticed our matching engagement rings and confided in us ever so quietly that she was also part of the LGBT+ community. It was lovely that she had the courage to tell us.
As it was getting late and we were both a bit tired, we headed back over to the hostel where we could relax. I wanted to put a wash on as we were running low on clean stuff. Rather than hanging all our clothes around our two beds, I decided to put everything into the dryer. Worst mistake ever. Before we left New Zealand, I got all new tops which I was very happy with. They were all pure cotton in really nice colours and being in the gym, I lost a lot of weight so I felt really nice. The problem with dryers in hostels is that there is no option to change the temperature. It’s hot and that’s just the way it is! Most of my lovely tops that fitted so well had all shrunk. I was so annoyed!
The next day we got the train out to ‘Umeda’ district. There really isn’t much there apart from the city’s main train station and a large shopping centre where there was an extensive range of food places to choose from. After much deliberation, we finally decided on somewhere nice to eat, purely because the chef cooks your food in front of you. Like everything we have tried previously, I couldn’t fault it. Food cooked to perfection. It was pretty cool having someone prepare the food right in front of you in a restaurant setting. Note the word ‘Restaurant’ and not ‘Kitchen.’ We are too sophisticated to be eating at home in a normal kitchen! Like I said, two lords!
Speaking of lords, another thing that Gordon had us wanting to do was to visit a traditional ‘Sentō’ which is essentially a bath house. They have been around for many years and are part of Japanese culture. One must be very careful when entering a sentō for the first time as there is certain etiquette you must follow. Like nearly every home in Japan, you must remove your shoes upon entry, and here is no exception. A wall runs through the building separating the men from the women. In the changing rooms, you must remove every piece of clothing, yes, even your underwear (No swim suits are allowed!) before you can enter the main bathing area. The main rule you must remember is not too dirty the water in any way. It should be left the way it was before you entered. For that reason, it is very important that one wash themselves thoroughly at one of the many washing stations before even attempting to bathe their feet in one of the baths. If you decide to try another bath, you must follow the same cleaning ritual. Most bath houses have a variety of different types of baths that have different functions. My advice to you is to test the water first before you enter. You never know what you could be getting yourself into. Water that electrocutes you is not something I have ever had a craving for. Granted, I am sure after a few attempts bathing in it, you come out feeling amazing. Still, not something a beginner wants to try. Back to etiquette, it is seen as rude to have any foreign object such as ones hair, bathing suit or a towel even tip the water as it can dirty this pure spring water, hence the complete nudity. Being able to walk around naked, is simply liberating! Yes, it might seem awkward at first but you soon realise that nobody seems to care. It just took Jason a bit longer than me to feel comfortable. After a while, it was time to leave. After we dried ourselves off and got changed, I had to sit down because I felt very faint, probably from the intensity of the heat and the onset of dehydration. It wasn’t a nice feeling, however, our first visit to a traditional bath house, was an experience like no other!
One memorable outing we made in the city was to the ‘Osaka Castle’ which sits on around 15 acres of land including the castle grounds. The castle and grounds are protected by two moats that wrap around the site, that are created from the construction of large walls with big, massive granite boulders interlocked together. How they were able to create these giant walls by moving these massive boulders into place with no modern machinery is remarkable! This allowed complete protection from any attack. The original building dates back to the 1500’s. In 1868, the castle fell, with the majority of it destroyed through fire. It wasn’t until 1928 that the main tower of the castle was restored after a successful fund-raising exercise. During ‘World War 2’ much of the new castle was destroyed. In 1995 further restoration was carried out, including a reproduction of the original castle, with a more modern feel inside. When myself and Jason walked over to the castle, we joined a large queue for the elevator. I quickly informed Jason that we weren’t going to wait for the lift when we could use the stairs. On our way to the top, we stopped off at each floor to see what was on offer. When we reached the top, we were rewarded with stunning views of the castle grounds and impressive views of the city. Looking down at the grounds, we were both entertained by this young guy who was able to take quite a substantial leap from one rock to another. Quite impressive! After our tour of the castle, I dragged Jason over to the ‘Cherry blossom garden’ which was a feast for the eyes. You couldn’t help but just look and think, ‘This is amazing!’
My favourite place in Osaka is by far the ‘Tsūtenkaku’ tower and all the surrounding streets. At night, lit up in all its glory shows off a quirkier side to Japan, with random things hanging from the buildings including an oversized sea creature. Everywhere you look there is something that catch’s your eye. The tower itself is lit up in bright colours that change on a regular basis. Sticking our heads into a cardboard cut-out of some Sumo wrestlers, two young tourists ran up and popped their heads in the two vacant spots. We stood around talking to them for a few minutes, sharing a laugh or two. On the way home, we got chatting to a student on the train who had just moved to Japan and was planning on staying for at least a year. What an amazing experience that awaits him!
Since we have an extra day here, and less than 24 hours in our next destination, it was decided that we would use this time wisely by getting a bullet train over to Hiroshima and a short ferry ride to Miyajima Island AKA Itsukushima. It would have been easier to visit the island the following day when we are actually in Hiroshima, but when you have access to every bullet train in the country thanks to a certain ‘JR Travel Pass,’ travelling becomes effortless. As we approached the island, nearly everyone had their camera or smartphone in hand trying to get a personal photo of the UNESCO protected ‘Itsukushima Shrine.’ The shrine has become a symbol for the island and is one of the country’s most recognisable landmarks. While the ‘Miyajima Ropeway’ will bring you within a 30 minutes trek to the top of the island, Jason thought it was far too expensive and it would be better to walk to the peak of the 535 metres high ‘Mount Misen.’ While an easy ride up the top would have been nice, I was glad I was forced to trek all the way up. For a start, it was a gorgeous day and the mountainside was so peaceful and tranquil. It felt we were at one with nature. As we climbed to the top, we felt as if we were getting a good workout, while enjoying the beauty of what was around us. Getting closer to the top, every turn we took, every step we climbed, we hoped would be our last, until finally we were at the summit enjoying spectacular sea views. On our way down, we saw a family at the half way mark who were on their way up whom began their trek the same time as us. I think they were German. The husband/father seemed quite miserable making his wife and two young kids climb all the way to the top! When I reached the bottom, we stopped off at a small food place at the bottom of the mountain for a bowl of ramen. We were both starving. After a good hike, fuel for our bellies is just what we needed!
Another cool place to visit at night is the ‘Tonbori River’ which showcases a more modern feel of the country with neon lights lighting up the banks of the river. As you can imagine, it is a very busy area, with crowds of people, and many things happening. A popular way to enjoy the lights is by cruise. Of course, we were too miserable for that. Waiting on Jason, I got my camera out to get some nice pictures, when an elderly man came up and offered to take a photo of me. The Japanese are so friendly! For dinner that evening, we enjoyed some food that included a pizza that I had never tried before. It was a lot sweeter than one would expect. Yes, sweeter than pineapple! What could be sweeter than pineapple? Our pizza consisted of marshmallow, apple and caramel! That’s what you call different! I am sure any child’s dream! A whole one is a tad bit too sweet!
Haven’t only spend a couple of nights in Osaka, it is a city that I will never forget. It’s bright, colourful streets show a quirkier side to ‘The land of the rising sun!’ Like most other places we have visited on our Japan tour, Osaka has so much more to offer than just standout streets. There is a lot of heritage and experiences that anyone who finds themselves here can not only enjoy but marvel over! There are few places that stay in our hearts long afterwards, but Osaka is simply, an exception! Life is for living! It shouldn’t be boring! The colourful, the better!
By Andrew
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