Japan Exploration - Part 2

Day 5 - Osaka

Starting our day at 9:30, we all checked out of our respective hotels and made the trek with all our baggage to the Tokyo Train Station. With our tickets bought, it was near time to board the Shinkansen toward our next destination: Osaka. The Shinkansen is the Japan bullet train, traveling at speeds of 200 MPH and stopping at the major cities. throughout Japan. Our train left promptly at 11:02, with roomie seats, AC, and plenty of leg room. An American’s dream. We sat back and relaxed for the 2 hour journey, arriving a little after 1pm. The ride was so smooth, that it was easy to forget you were even on a train. 

Bullet train, also known as the Shinkansen

Breakfast

Pork and egg sandwich

Veiw, lots of green fields

And other greenery

After arriving in Osaka, we made our way to our hotel to wait around for check in at 3. Carly’s friend Kebby, was due to arrive soon by plane as well. Kebby lives in Virginia and would join us for the remainder of the trip. 

After check in while Armonie showered and Carly checked out art museums, I went to the mall on a hunt for a Labubu. This is a popular toy/bag charm at the moment, sold by a Chinese company Popmart. I hoped my chances of getting one would increase being in Asia, but my luck was not working that day. I couldn't even enter the store without a ticket. However the mall did have a Pokémon center, so I enjoyed window shopping. 

On the way to the mall

Another giant crab!

Afterwards we all met up at Osaka castle, and wondered the grounds for a little bit. It was really pretty, and with the heat of the day waning it was quite pleasant. 

Castle and moat

a second moat filled with ivy

a spot to wash your hands

a closer veiw of the castle

We started our journey towards and udon restaurant, close to our evening activity. Udon is a type of noodle, thicker than ramen, and typically in a meat broth. Armonie found a shop deep in a neighborhood, far away from the hotels and touristy areas. The restaurant had no english on the menu and was clear that only locals ate there. It was a very tasty and gave the energy boost we needed. 

Sake poured by Kebby

Dinner of Udon

Next we didn’t have to journey far to make it to the botanical gardens for a night art display. They gave us some fans, which I used mainly to shoo away any mosquitos. There ware lots of neat and interactive light displays throughout the gardens. 

Some fun art instialation

Floating lanterns

Carly and I sat for a while watching the bats enjoy a bug feast over the lake. There were so many, more than I have seen in one sitting before. It was a nice moment. 

Afterwards we journeyed back to the hotel. Kebby was exhausted from his travels, and the rest of us couldn’t stay up too much longer. We still had more journeys ahead of us. 

Day 6 - Kyoto

With a 6:30 wake up call, I packed up and headed downstairs to the hotel breakfast. We were checking out and yet again on our way to the train station. This time, the destination was Kyoto. 

Traditional Japanese breakfast through the hotel

Close up on the selection of fish that you ate with rice and poured broth over. 

Kyoto is about a 30 minute to an hour away from Osaka depending on what train you take. It is famous for its traditional architecture and was probably my favorite stop on our journey over far. Our first stop was for a traditional tea ceremony. We had booked a kimono rental as well, but we ended up being too late for that because we accidentally got on the hour long train ride. After putting our luggage in lockers at the train station, we headed to the ceremony. 

Another detailed manhole cover

A temple on the way to the ceremony

Pot for the water and the tea set up

Our guide pooring water into the matcha bowl

whisking the tea

Carly spooning her tea

Before whisking

After whisking

All of our bowls were unique

The traditional match was very tasty. We were able to froth it and I enjoyed it more than any matcha that I had had before. Afterwards we wandered through the shops, stopping for the AC and to look at the trinkets. 

I got a ring hand made to fit me

Store front our our lunch spot

Our only group photo from the entire trip

Wagyu Beef "sushi"

All the spices

Another temple

A side street

garden in another temple

quick stop of mid day coffee

After wondering through the old part of town, we headed to the train station. It had been the hottest day on our trip, so we spent the rest of the day walking through the mall at the station waiting for our 7:30 bullet train back to Tokyo. 

That night after arriving in Tokyo, we treated ourselves to a fried chicken feast ate in our hotel room. We stated in Shinjuku again, very close to our original hotel. 

Fried Chicken

Day 7 - Tokyo

Now that Kebby had joined our crew, we headed to the anime district of Tokyo, Akihabara. We looked at lots of different shops with anime comics, movies and tv shows, merch stores with clothes and character figures, and costumes or 'cosplay' stores. Unforunatly I couldn't take a lot of photos inside the stores. 

After we explored the area, we went to another shopping area that seemed more traditoinal than Harajuku(Day 3). It included market items, resturants and stores. Carly and I stopped for dinner and wandered in and out of shops. 

Market view

Candied fruit skewer

square watermelon

fresh fish

Giant Fish this time......

Carly and I stopped for dinner, and started with an egg appetizer

The start of our Okonomiyaki dinner

First the seafood is seared

The egg is mixed with the cabbage then put on the grill

Then the seafood is placed on top and the rest of the egg and cabbage mix is added

Then the whole thing is flipped

Finally to finish the dish, mayo and ad. teriyaki saue is added. Seafood was our filling, but any meat or veg can be added instead. 

Then the waiter started on our dessert. First mochi is grilled. Mochi is a sweet rice flour "cake"

slowly crepe batter was poured over top as he mixed it and broke up the mochi pieces

Finally read bean paste was added. 

The result was a very chewy and sort of sweet dessert. Yum!

Day 8 - Tokyo

Our trip was starting to wrap up, and I took this day to do any last minute shopping for things I had waited to get until later. I first stoped at the main Popmart store in Tokyo before they opened in the hopes of at least getting into this store. However an hour before the store opened, a line had already formed that stretched down the block. Getting a Labubu was not in the cards for me. Giving up on my hopes of owning one of these toys I wandered around the Shibuya shopping area and found a breakfast spot. After wandering into some stores, I was joined by Kebby and Carly. I ended the afternoon with some new shoes, t-shirts, and some souvenirs for family and friends. 

Fun ally way art

so much bread

donuts!

breakfast

Themed drinks with Kebby

Photos of Oregon!

Fun art in Shibuya

The famous Shibuya crossing, where the entire intersection closes for pedetrian crossing

Armonie left us that evening to catch her flight back to Prague, so the three of us went on a search for dinner. We stumbled upon a Koren BBQ grill that had a large selection of meats. We got to try the Wagyu beef, meat specific to Japan. It is famous for its marbleing and fat content, and was very similar to pork. I went into the night thinking Wagyu was overhyped and over rated, but I left understanding why so many people rave about it. 

All set up

Carly grilling us some meat

a close up on the wagyu

With our bellies full we rolled ourselves back to our hotel rooms prepareing for our last full day in Japan togeather. 

Wishing for the best on your adventures, 

Cienna