Hotel Grand Vista Kobe

... be doing so but I've decided not to other than to state that I'm simply not impressed by this type of upscale product. I just don't see the value. I was more impressed with the Apple store that was in the same district. I guess that I'm simply a provincial 'otaku' (geek)...

For our two days here in Osaka it seems like all that we've done is
eat, walk around, and sleep. In a city like Osaka with such great food,
life doesn't get much better.

... at Steak Ron, delicious Sakuyaki at Hariju and more helpings of takoyaki/okonomuyaki/yakisoba.

S teak Ron
1-10-2 Sonezaki Shinchi, Kita-ku | Umeda, Osaka

Hariju
1-9-26 Nishishinsaibashi Chuo-ku Osaka

Takontetsu (Pizza Ball House)
1-9-20 Maru Bldg Umeda 1 Chome

Meaning to ruin oneself by extravagance in food. Heard another translation - "Eat, eat until you fall down." Why Osaka is my entry point to Japan. It also translates to eating as much Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki as possible. BTW Takoyaki - Octopus balls. Okonomiyaki - Pancake-ish dealies. Oh Osaka.

... So many interesting shops and buildings. The first thing we did was went up in the Kobe Harbour Tower to get another view of the harbour area. We then set out to find Kobe Harbour Earthquake Memorial, which I found to be very disturbing / fascinating. They actually kept a piece of the harbour area that had been destroyed during the earthquake and preserved it as a memorial. Around the memorial are numerous plaques and kiosks ...

... to the hotel to change before going out and ended up watching some Japanese baseball on the TV, talking, and using the internet before heading back out. Since it was a Tuesday night there wasn't much going on but we had fun in two different clubs before heading back to the hotel. We walked to our hotel down the street around 2am and were happy that despite the stress of getting to Roppongi earlier that day we had ended up in a great hotel and location.

... RFMO, which covers tuna fishing in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean. As you might guess, the decisions are based more on economics and politics than on science. As a result, all tuna species are being severely over-fished and many other species (sea turtles, seabirds, sharks, dolphins, etc.) are killed as bycatch in the process of fishing. Many of the target (tuna) and non-target (bycatch) species will be facing extinction if they continue to ignore the ...

I arrived in Japan safely yesterday. It is very nice here. Very clean. And not that I did not enjoy them in the other Asian countries, but it is refreshing to get away from the squatter toilets. lol. I am at this internet cafe not far from our port. Yesterday we just wandered around town, shopped a bit. (did not buy anything because it is super expensive here) went to a nice dinner. It is kinda hard for vegetarians here ...

... had been the best spring of my life thus far. All of my expectation had been met and surpassed. Never before had I led such a healthy lifestyle. Never before had I explored so many new things or seen so much beauty. The person in me who had studied Japan with such enthusiasm in High School had begun to fall asleep in College. Finally making it to Japan had reawakened this part of me. I had never been so awake. My spring in Kansai had ended, but it was just the beginning.

... a bus from osaka to tokyo where i will be staying with kay`s family. i`ll hopefully be spending the weekend with yuuichiro in nagano, then back to tokyo. that monday i`m going to tokyo disney with yoko, kiyo, and remi. and tuesday is disney sea. then i`ll be flying back on wednesday. so my days are packed but i couldn`t have planned a more perfect summer.�@it`s totally been a dream, and everything and everyone has been amazing. i`ll be extremely surprised ...

... would be $600!! Which brings me to the story of Craig and I trying to get our phones. Well, after going over all the various plans and prices, we notice a discount for family plans. So, suddenly we're cousins. Craig's saying I was adopted and am a ******* child and then I start in with how our Aunt Bootsie doesn't like it when Craig says things like that and the saleslady has no idea what we're talking about, even though she speaks very good English!! We both had to ...