Tokyu Inn Osaka

... lot of Shanghai is under construction at the moment because the city is holding the `Expo 2010` next year which means that China has invested billions of pounds into getting the city ready for the international attention it`s going to receive, just like they did for the Beijing Olympics. The adverts for the expo are on ever street corner and run on every tube in the city and every train in the country that has TVs. It looks pretty amazing, so much so that we were even ...

... kyytiä koko ukko lähti samantien vyörymään taaksepäin ja valtavan kolinan saattelemana kaikki hotellin esitetelineet nurin ja äijä selälleen lattialle! Onneksi ei käynyt pahemmin, mutta aivan hirvittävän nolona mies oli ja pyyteli anteeksi aiheuttamaansa häiriötä. Enemmän meitä kyllä hävetti, että oltiin annettu painavat laukut hänen kannettavakseen. No, seuraavaksi mennään huoneeseen ja siellä ei olekkaan kuin yksi tyyny ja yhdet ...

Now, if you are looking for some temples and shrines...Osaka's not the place to be. It's apparently the 3rd biggest city in Japan and filled with large buildings (quite daunting when you're used to the picturesque brick houses in the Dutch 'cities') and big traffic roads. With many gestures and drawings we managed to leave the bag at the baggage room in Osaka ...

... shady areas. People don't even lock up their bikes outside of pachinko parlors, or if they do, its only a tire lock, and it isn't attached to anything! Oh and we are now officially participating in the Japanese national sport - shopping! We found some discount shops near the train station and bought a couple of things! Osaka is a lot cheaper than Kyoto or Tokyo. Navigating the trains has been fun, we have only ...

... different levels. The center tank, which represents the Pacific Ocean, is around ten meters deep and holds a whale shark who looks like he is having a blast... with his one facial expression. I can tell. There was also a tank showing you what the dive sites around Japan's tropical mecca, Okiwana, are like. All I can say is, I'm coming back to Japan in spring.<br><br>Osaka's main castle was incredibly beautiful as well, but like many of the castles in Japan, was a replica and ...

... there. My fin*l word for this entry will be simply this; *lthough *ll the temples *nd shrines we visit *re spect*cul*r sites, I must s*y I grow quite w*ry of the J*p*nese tr*dition of removing ones shoes before entering such grounds. Not bec*use its * h*ssle *s such - *lthough my hiking shoes *re p*rticul*rly irrit*ting to do b*ck up *g*in - but bec*use *ll the s*nd*ls here seem like they were designed for leprech*uns to we*r *nd *bsolutely kill my gi*nt f*t-feet.<br><br>Until next time,<br>Tom out.<br>

... 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 ...

... t come cheap. On the plus side, its nice to have a break from some pretty intense traveling, the hostel is swanky and Kyoto is positively rich in cultural and historical attractions, one of the only places remaining relatively untouched by the effects of war. Some temple hopping and no doubt very scenic views will be had all round. Heck, we already took a visit inside Nijo Castle, which was beautiful and wandered the Nishiki Markets, in which all kinds of wonderful - yet ...

... included the flights from LAX to Tokyo, airport transfers to hotel, Tokyo morning tour, 3 nights hotel (Sunshine City Prince) in Tokyo, luggage transfer service from Tokyo to Osaka, Bullet Train to Osaka, 2 nights hotel in Osaka (New Hankyu), escorted Kyoto morning tour, transfer service to Osaka airport, flight to Bangkok, 3 night stay at a 5-star(!) hotel in Bangkok (Pathumwan Princess Hotel), Bangkok ...

... gine th*t the shininess on the wood is from oil or butter th*t they might h*ve tried to use to pull some guy who thought the hole w*s *n optic*l illusion. Since it's *lw*ys better to regret something you h*ve done, r*ther th*n something you h*ven't done, I decided to try it. After h*ving squeezed thru the "Winnie-the-Pooh" hole 120 ft under the streets of Bud*pest, Hung*ry, this looked like c*ke. Th*t hole w*s *bout the size of * sm*ll w*termelon. This one w*s like * to ...