Hotel Okura Kobe

Yesterday we made the trip back to Honshu, leaving our Okinawan experience behind us. It is quite nice to be back on the 'main land' and in the great city of Osaka. We are now definitely back to the Japan that I know.

Osaka is certainly a busier place than Naha -- definitely not as laid back here! There is obviously work to be done, people to see, and food to eat. The thing that always strikes me about Osaka is the sheer scale of eating establishments of all ...

... 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.

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... the deer and the cherry blossoms. It's pretty special that we're here during this time. The cherry blossoms come out once a year for only 2 weeks max, and they are just gorgeous. After we got back to the ship, we grabbed a bite to eat at the ship, and I arranged for a babysitter to hang with Bear from 8 until 10:30. Matthew ...

... Kobe. Besides being the namesake to the treaty to address global warming, Kyoto was the ancient capital of Japan. We went to Sanjusangen-do Temple, which has 1001 statues of the Buddhist deity Kannon - 1000 standing, and one giant one seated. We visited a 1293 Zen temple called Nanzenji. We went to Heinan shrine which is bright orange and green and famous for its huge garden (which we didn't see cause it was too cold.) Kyoto also used to be famous for its geisha ...

... We finally decided to get off after riding in what seemed like a circle, but it took us at least five minutes (holding up the bus as well) to figure out how much we owed and where to put the money. Despite all the hassles of travel we have found Japan to be an amazing place. We have explored the coastline, himejji castle, small fishing villages and Kobe. We thought it would be nice ...

... can't escape even the safest countries- as yesterday the mayor of Nagasaki was shot twice point blank and killed by a member of the Japanese mafia (the Yakuza). This is big news in Japan as handguns are strictly banned and only five politicians are known to have been killed since World War II. The headline reads "Nagasaki mayor dies after being shot by gangster." The assassin had lodged a complaint against the Nagasaki Government after his car was damaged several ...

... 33 spaces these columns create. Personally I would think the 1001 statues of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy are a lot more exciting than 33 spaces and I would have named the temple after them... the sen ichi temple. After this we went to the Imperial Palace. This is one place in Japan were foreigners get preference over Japanese citizens and are allowed inside the palace gardens. Japanese people have to apply for permission months in advance and the tour is only ...

... where I am, being half-asleep, and punch the wall, hoping to make enough noise to wake him...well, the Japanese screen doors aren't exactly as sturdy as the plaster American walls and my fist goes straight through the door!! I'm wide awake now! Whoops, sorry about that! OMG, I'm a big brother! My sister emailed me and said that my dad's wife, Joan had the baby on November 18! Not much info, she's one month premature and that's about all I know, but how cool is that?!!