Hotel Westin Osaka

--------------------------------------- -<br>091013<br><br>"Osaka: Slight Return"<br><br>by swami_worldtraveler<br><br>INTRO:<br><b r>"Thank you EVERYBODY for making my stay in Osaka GREAT!," I penned on a piece of scrap paper and pinned to the corkboard.<br><br>That was the last I would see of Lemon House and my new friends... I thought.<br><br>-----<br>MODORIMAS! (I'M BACK!)"<br><br>After a jaunt to Nara and Mt. Koya I expected to head south to the island of ...

... sijaitsee ja lopulta selvisi, että paikka on nimeltään Kishikawa, joka on keskellä maaseutua, totaalisen keskellä ei mitään. Lähdettiin heti aamulla aivan uskomattoman pitkä matka Shin-Osakasta aivan linjan päähän Wakaymaan, jossa vielä vaihto seuraavaan paikallisjunaan ja jälleen aivan linjan päähän Kishin asemalle. Huh, mikä matka! Onneksi viime reissusta viisastuneena muistin, että näissä Osakan ...

... floor is restaurants cafes and areas to sit and relax the ground floor is the entrance, gift shop and reception for the adjacent affiliated hotel. After this amazing experience I organised my travel back to Tokyo. In the evening I went to Sega World Osaka, observing some of the incredible games they have here. They have machines that use a special pack of cards that you buy and collect like a trading card game, the cards must ...

... parlours. A sort of cross between slot machines (or "pokies" as the Aussies endearingly call them) and pinball. The places are decked out in bright pink and neon and the music/noise is SO LOUD that it hurts to go in and look. They are very popular though and lucky/good players end up with racks and racks of ball bearings around them piled up on the floor. It's a bit beyond us how it works and to be honest at that volume you don't want to ...

... only spent a day in Osaka - as its only about half an hour away from Kyoto by Shinkansen - but even so, we still felt part of the action.<br>I think, the most impressive thing about Osaka we saw is its Aquarium. As soon as you lay eyes on it, you can already tell its huge. In fact, it holds around sixteen tanks displaying organisms from different aquatic environments around the world. The enclosures are amazing, and most tanks extend over a few floors so you can view every thing ...

... dis*gree, *s the complex is *stoundingly l*rge. The entire *qu*rium is built *round its enormous, five story t*ll center t*nk which is home to, *mong other things, the biggest-*ss m*nt* r*y you've ever set your eyes upon *nd its very own wh*le sh*rk. E*ch succeeding t*nk is view*ble from multiple levels, displ*ying * l*rge v*riety of se* life from *ll *cross the globe with stunning *nd surprisingly life-like enclosures to m*tch. Everything from dolphins to gi*nt otters w*s covered, *nd ...

... for two d*ys *nd spent the first d*y exploring Fukuok*: Which *ctu*lly only re*lly involved going to C*n*l City, * huge complex th*t h*s been n*med * 'city within * city'. It h*d ret*il stores from Gucci to Hello Kitty, Pokemon Centers, Hundreds of b*rs, * The*tre (Which w*s showing the Lion King music*l) *nd even Hotels. We ended up wondering *round *nd getting lost *nd eventu*lly found * Movie The*tre, *nd decided to go see Sweeney Todd. Lets just s*y, I ...

... trip to the bathroom is a game of Russian roulette; an experience some of us had to learn the hard way (Rachael).<br><br>That aside, we recently crossed on over to the other side, to briefly explore the great isle of Kyushu. For those of you playing the home game, we were - and presently now are - residing upon Honshu, the biggest of Japan's four islands. First up was ye olde town of Fukuoka, which, while not home to any extraordinary sights beyond its fantastic ramen ...

... perplexed at seeing four different exit signs and no indication of where the club might be. Noting that the three smelly girls had gotten off at the same stop, we decided to follow them at a subtle distance, figuring that if this club was really that cool, they must be headed there, particularly the way they were dressed. After following them down a passageway, up a few flights of stairs, out of the station, and around the corner, we ...