Sansaido Hotel 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.

... de la zona. Acabamos comiendo pastel y tomando cafe en un centro comercial cercano (con Chanel al lado).
Las senoras de Kobe pagaron por todo. Nos dejaron alucinadas.
Cuando nos despedimos, Nicola y yo nos fuimos a ver el muelle de Kobe, que tiene varios edificios emblematicos y volvimos a Osaka a eso de las nueve de la tarde.
Por la noche, salimos de fiesta a Wax 69 y Kamasutra, a ...

... bag and pulls out some form of sugar in a box. I watch him nonchalantly pop one in his mouth amidst all of us sardines packed into the back row. At this point I'm thinking mean thoughts, 'yeah, you just eat that sugar, you lazy little...' and at that moment he turns to me and offers me a piece of candy. I am dumbfounded. Not only do people never offer up their seats, but they never EVER share food with strangers. I could not believe my luck. I took the candy, not because I ...

... one wins. Heehee. The shrine's ceiling was covered with beautiful pictures of nature: the cranes for longevity, and a lot of natural landscapes. There was a central shrine/altar type thing, but no Buddha, which is how I knew it was a Shinto shrine, no real images. So I threw in a couple coins, formed a wish in my head, then clapped twice and pulled the rope. The lady that had gone right before me saw me being a tourist and smiled at me. Then, we headed out to Mt ...

... proceeded to congregate downstairs to go to Nagatosan's place. The hike to Nagatosan's was well worth it. Like always we ended up waiting a time for our food. Aside from the large portion of chicken and fried rice I ordered he gave us little hamburger patties (quite common in Japan), ebi (fried shrimp), egg, and goma (red bean paste balls). To top things off he gave us a fruity jello like dessert and a green tea/milk blend drink. Even ...

... and is settling into a wonderful neighborhood near the water and the mountains. It was so good to be there and to spend time with a friend. Sally has written a description of our visit at her blog: www.sallysensei.blogspot.com and she included photos! Whew, I'm going to ride her coattails right here and now. We'll write other entries for the sight-seeing we did, but this should get you started.

... his own position as were the lords underneath him that he so sought to control. And thus we brought an end to our visit to Kyoto. We know we just scratched the surface of the city, teeming, as it is, with history, culture, religion, art, and nature. But we also have a better understanding of Japan as a whole because of our visit there. So, at the very least, we can echo the exhortations of those who know much more and those who know just as little - if you are in Japan, you must see Kyoto!

... clean citizens of Kyoto. They were lined with stores and stalls selling all manner of useless ****. Open-front alcoves hocked shirts, shoes, electronics, and everything else while local ex-pat black guys from America and Australia tried to hustle tourists into the stores. In short, it looked and sounded exactly like Canal Street down around Chinatown. There were even bunches of guys selling ****** homemade hip hop tapes. The whole area was a swirl with sights and sounds ...