After our first night in Tokyo, we arose early to catch the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) to Osaka where we we navigated the transit system to get to our hotel in the Namba/Dotonbori area, a bright and busy tourist mecca.

On the train ride from Tokyo to Osaka on the Shinkansen, which took about two and half hours, we passed Mount Fuji and I saw it from several vantage points.  The houses appeared to have more traditional roofs further from Tokyo.  We passed many rice paddies and other agricultural plots, even amongst houses.

In Namba, we tried the Tokoyaki street food but took a pass on the Okonomiyaki, two foods recommended by an online source for must eat Osaka street food. We settled in at a yummy noodle shop for a big bowl of soup and noodles to share, with some sticky rice and dumplings.

We retired to the hotel and checked in for a rest, and then we took the subway to Osaka Castle to enjoy the grounds, the immense stone walls, the large moat.

I was fascinated by the ancient stone walls surrounding the castle compound

I become happy with each interaction I have.  The people are friendly, the women well dressed.  While in Namba, where you might see a few people dressed as maids or other characters, I most enjoyed the others who were classily dressed, with long skirts or dresses.

After returning from the castle, we rested again and then roamed through the small alley that is Hozenji Yokasha, finally settling on Chojiro, a sushi restaurant that we enjoyed.  I had a fun money exchange with the woman there, first taking a folded 10,000 yen note (apparently folding your bills so that they end up with a crease is taboo) and placing it in her hand. Being used to tourists, the woman gladly took the money from me, but I belatedly remembered and motioned to the tray on the counter, so she smoothed out the note and gave it back to me so I could put it on the tray (as is customary in Japan), and then she gave me my change, placing it in my hand. Ha!  We both chuckled over the whole exchange.

Contrast that with two separate exchanges Peter and I had with a gruff cashier at a store over money snafus, the clerk being annoyed that Peter handed him the money rather than placing it in the tray, and annoyed with me when I did not look at the display on the register and gave him the price of the item but neglected to add enough for the tax.

Notwithstanding that, I become happy with each exchange I have with another person and happy with each of the things that Peter and I do.  I am walking around Japan with a big smile on my face!

While visiting Osaka, we took a day trip to Nara. That visit is documented at Part 3 of this Travelogue.

Navigation Tip: You may click on the blue highlighted language >>>  Part 3: Nara and the Bowing Deer (or tap it with your finger on an iphone or ipad) to navigate to the next section.