Plaza Kobe

... Osaka is definitely known for food and we have not been disappointed. We immediately went for the Kansai specialty of okonomiaki (Japanese pancake). Washed down with some shochu, our okonomiaki meal was excellent.

Our travels also took us through a very exclusive part of Osaka with many upscale shops such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton, etc... I was asked if I would write in this blog something that would make fun of these establishments. At the time I said that I ...

... 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

... at the station in Osaka. I surprised her with a couchsurfing adventure planned for the nearby Nara Prefecture and the old city of Nara (site of the original capital of Japan). She was excited!

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NIGHT #1:

Our first night was spent with Eri (age 25) and her family. They feed us a wonderful Japanese dinner and set us up in a traditional tatami guest room. Wonderful hosts:) I only wished we'd had more time ...

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... We spent $30 on 2 very large glasses of sake with giant round balls of ice (cold sake, not hot). We had a wonderful (but broken) conversation with the bartender and barmistress. They were very friendly and we talked about languages, japan, the US, politics and religion all without anyone really being able to speak the ...

... and chairs are on the floor. It was really neat! Tokyo The next day we took the Shinkasen (bullet train) from Kyoto to Tokyo where we spent 2 nights in a Western-style hotel before heading back home. Tokyo is a huge city connected by networks of trains and subways. We visited different areas of the city including Harajuku, Shinjuku, Hibya, and Ginza. We didn't make it to the famous electronics area as it was farther away and we didn't have much time. We did go to ...

We arrived at Kobe JR Sannomiya Station around 3pm and after picking up ur bags, we headed to our hotel, just to freshen up a bit. From the hotel brochure given by our travel agent, it was mention that it took about 7 minutes walk from the station. So we opt to walk to the hotel but we end up walking for more than 15 minutes since we did lost our way. Hhmm... that is usual for us in Japan. Managed to find the hotel and not bad since it is only a 3 star hotel. I would say its ...

... to-the-ones-who-left" party. Why did people leave? Because it's that time of year-the annual Japanese work shuffle! Every 3-5 years, government employees are 'shuffled' to a different job. Why? I don't know why. How can anyone ever be good at what they do if they are constantly changing? How does one have training for such drastically different occupations? For example, my supervisor Shima-san, started out working for the bank, then was transferred to Social ...

... being so much improved, I was able to take some great photos of some of the geisha and maiko (trainee geishas) heading to work or lessons. It was also a great opportunity to explore some of the pretty back lanes that make up the older parts of Kyoto. Dinner was a cliché fulfilled- a sushi bar with a conveyor belt slowly circling the room. I ate next to a local lady who, whilst our entire conversation was limited only to my 10-word ...

... alone if necessary, to catch the sites. I plan on heading to a small national park on Monday and then to Kyoto for some temple seeing on Tuesday. After a few hours at the castle we go to Hard Rock Café Osaka, I know, I wouldn't even think about going to HRC in the US, but the thought of a nice burger was too tempting, plus it was happy hour and half-priced drinks! ;) Ahhh, beef!! I will have to find a way to treat myself once a week to ...