Osaka
Crack of dawn – taxi to the airport. Busy, busy – even at this time of the morning. I think this is the first time we’ve made it through security without one or other of our bags being flagged. An achievement! Full plane. We have a Mum and baby beside us … happiest little fellow, big smiles, slept half the trip … took an interest in everything going on.
Airport Express into Namba and encountered the first real rain of the trip … but not too bad as we walked through two huge, bustling covered markets to the hotel. It’s a do-it-yourself-registration (bit of a hassle) but the apartment is great. Brand new units … compact but with Japanese technology and perfectly thought out. The bathroom area allows people to do 3 or 4 separate things at the same time. The bathtub/shower has a bifold door so someone can have a shower … there’s a separate smart toilet (of course) but this one also has a faucet on top of the tank so when you flush, there’s water to wash your hands which then fills the tank …. the washing machine is right beside a hand sink and make-up mirror/hair dryer. But the best thing is when your washing is finished, it can be hung up in the bathroom, a heater/ fan turned on and your clothes dry. Absolutely brilliant.
“Hitchiker’s Guide” author Douglas Adams observed that the “James Bond-style boat” he was aboard while scuba diving in Australia required a full time attendant to open the sliding glass doors for guests “because they didn’t open automatically when you approached them, and some of their Japanese visitors would just stand in front of them for whole minutes getting increasingly bewildered and panic-stricken until someone slid them open by hand”. Our Osaka apartment lobby had two sets of automatic sliding glass doors. The only issue was that the lobby was so cramped that the glass doors would continuously open and close if we so much as flinched a muscle while completing the complex check in process. – Glen
“Feeling hungry, we grabbed a couple of big, clear umbrellas from the entry-way and went in search of food. Stalls at the Kuramon market apparently only operate until 6pm, but there are restaurants, bars, grills every few feet with tantalizing aromas to tickle even the fussiest palate. Some places were obvious favourites as line-ups of expectant patrons waited patiently … even in the rain. One place caught our eye … Chibo … specializing in Okonomiyaki Osaka’s famous cabbage pancakes. Finely-shredded cabbage mixed with beaten egg and just about any ingredient you want – from meat, seafood, tofu, veggies … then fried to a crunchy golden brown on a hot griddle right in front of you. Topped with a sunny-side up egg, dried bonito flakes, a dusting of seaweed … and the piece de resistance … the mayo beam … a fine stream of mayonnaise dispensed from a great distance in a zig-zag pattern on top. Transferred to the griddle in front of you to be cut and demolished with gusto. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyC4ej5sMiE We also had the flat gyozo – two paper-thin squares of dough with filling – cooked to crunchy heaven. Sooo tasty.
A block from the hotel is a great little convenience store – Family Market. They’re all over Osaka. Small but with an extensive choice of foods … including some really nice looking ready-to-eat meals. For tonight, just some milk and granola for breakfast will do … and some pre-mixed coffees. I’m dubious, but we’ll see.
First excursion is to Himeji Castle … an impressive feudal castle … also known as White Heron Castle. https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3501.html Google was not particularly helpful with directions for transferring from subway to train system(!), but thanks to two wonderful ladies (one of whom left her spot in line to actually show us the way!) … we made it.
Himeji is an impressive sight. Today the blue skies and pale pink cherry blossoms frame the castle which looks like an iced wedding cake atop the hill. Families everywhere enjoying picnics on the grass as petals drift down like delicate pink snow. Inside the castle the scale of construction is astonishing … with massive pillars and beams rising many floors, open windows – so probably pretty chilly in winter, unless there was some sort of covering – but a surprising lack of artifacts, implements or weapons of the period … there was just one spear and a single sword displayed on the rack. Crowds going up and crowds coming down, lots of bottlenecks … we were quite pleased to exit.
Our ticket also included entry to the attached gardens … about 10 minutes away. Past the moat where a single oarsman rowed tourists (all wearing conical hats) around. The gardens, though, were well worth a visit. Different types — traditional Japanese … lake and bridge … trees and bamboo … azaleas … flowers.
Next day – the vast 1600 acre park at Nara … famous for the herds of Sika deer that roam freely but also the magnificent Todaiji Temple – largest wooden structure in the world. As soon as you enter the park there are deer everywhere .. on the sidewalk … in the road … sharing bench areas with people. You’ll see people bowing to deer because they think the deer also bow. Some do indeed … more likely because they’ve figured out there could be food if they do. With so many deer (I believe there are somewhere around 1200-1500) my mind wandered to the possibility of deer ticks … people and kids especially were hugging and cuddling them, taking selfies. The only notices of warning were about aggressive male deer as it was mating season.. Me being me looked it up, and sure enough ticks and lime disease are a factor here. Some deer looked decidedly moth-eaten and one wonders if they are actually getting sufficient nutrition … not just relying on the ‘deer crackers’ being sold, because there’s very little grass or new shoots for them to graze on.
The Todaiji Temple is quite simply the biggest, most impressive temple we’ve seen anywhere (and there have been quite a few!). The entry gate alone is enormous and multi-layered, but the temple is staggering in size and complexity … it has to be to house the 15 meter tall bronze statue of Buddha. The original temple was built in 752 and was burned down or destroyed more than once. The one that stands today was constructed in 1709 (considerably smaller than the original) … and of course there have been many renovations since. Wikipedia’s article has a detailed history … scroll to the photos at the end for a good visual tour. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C5%8Ddai-ji
The Museum was also well worth a visit. (Unfortunately no photography allowed). Glorious figures in samurai armour, excavated pottery, swords and one particular ‘god’ with 16 arms, capable of many tasks. As Glen put it, Victorinox would have been proud! On to Kyoto tomorrow.
