New Osaka Hotel

... humor is * coping mech*nism in *ll cultures!<br><br>*lthough there w*s no live music th*t night - nor h*rdly ever *s I le*rned - my time spent there w*s enjoy*ble. Of p*rticul*r interest w*s *n Ir*ni*n I met n*med "Commie." He h*d been living in J*p*n for eighteen ye*rs! He h*d fought in "The W*r" *g*inst Ir*q. He offered *n interesting perspective on life.<br><br>Perh*ps the coolest pl*ce *nd experience ocurred in the *merik* Mur* district...<br><br>Michele *nd I were w ...

... delight however as it soon became apparent that we were in the smoking car! How swiftly we forget that such things even existed! So, rather than stand, we struggled our way through it and I even had to force myself to have a beer so I could imagine I was just in a pub circa 2004. :) Osaka took us a bit by surprise by delivering the New York style skyline that we'd expected from Tokyo and not received. Monstrous skyscapers surround that station - the kind so high ...

Well my first when i arrived i was clueless about where anything was.I also did not know any Japanese at the time, but i got used to where everything was in such a short time.Also when you read this you will learn some Japanese ( basics) and about some other major cites i visited!so here are some places you would have to visit if you go to Osaka . Their is this outside mall kinda thing and you go Thur tunnels with stores on the right and ...

... During this process we encountered our first complete rip off before we even got close to japan. The one stop, 2 minute train trip between terminals cost just under $14 each!! Anyhow Jetstar would appear to have a nice new fleet of aircraft for there international service and every aspect of the flight was enjoyable. (which is impressive for a flight under $300). There was plenty of ...

... Buddha statue or 'Daibutsu', and I don't know how big it is, but it must extend over a few stories. Its magical, because no one dares say a word because you don't feel worthy, so the silence somehow makes it seem bigger.<br><br>We were also treated to something rather special while we were in Nara. We were there for Setsuban, which is the day of celebration before the first day of each season. But, traditionally it refers to the Spring Setsuban, celebrated on February 3rd ...

... l tre*sures *nd world herit*ge sites, most of which within the be*utiful N*r* P*rk. The town is *lso, like Miy*jim*, overrun by free ro*ming, docile deer who *re respected by the people of N*r* *nd considered messengers of the Shinto gods. I person*lly, consider them nothing more th*n tot*l dudes. One look *round the p*rk, however, *nd its not h*rd to see why the deer find the pl*ce so *ppe*ling. Despite its *we inspiring n*tur*l be*uty, forested regions home to trees liter*lly hundreds ...

... from the Mount*in to get fed. You know, monkeys do NOTHING, but fight, e*t *nd poo. But for some re*son, you c*n spend hours just w*tching how they inter*ct *nd be endlessly entert*ined by their cr*zy shen*****ns.<br><br>Next up were the 'Nine Hells', * series of n*tur*l hot springs which h*ve (unfortun*tely) been turned into somewh*t of * themed *musement p*rk. There's * 'Demon Hell', *n 'Anim*l Hell' with * Hippo *nd * re*lly s*d looking Eleph*nt *nd even ...

... to place their bets on virtual races. There was even a badass little area setup where teenage hipsters strapped themselves into simply immense freaking futuristic pods with a 180 degree screen view and took command of a control center to giant robots hell bent on blowing each other up while others sat around to watch the game on the big screen... and place bets of course. All in all; epic.<br><br>The next day we found ourselves in Beppu, a small, somewhat touristy town ...

... of school kids running *round looking *t stuff. The best w*s when you he*rd them getting e*ten by the blood thirsty deer. Ok, so they're not ex*ctly blood thirsty, but they're not the docile, pe*ceful, c*lm.... wh*tevers th*t they *re in *ccording to the s*ying. The deer *re f*mous in N*r* bec*use they're s*cred *s messengers of Buddh* or something like th*t (I c*n't remember). Approxim*tely 1200 of them ro*m the streets *nd *re p*rt of N*r*'s f*me. They mostly stick ...