JAPAN 2019
Osaka is a major commercial center in Japan, and the countries 3rd largest city. It is centrally located to many sights and is a very vibrant city with similarities to Tokyo.
Osaka
February 3
It was a nice surprise to arrive at Hotel Mystays Dojima early, and they let us check-in right away, most hotels make you wait until 3:00. It's a very nice hotel, close to the train station, and it even has a convenience store attached to the lobby.
After briefly settling in, we headed out to the streets of Osaka.
Not far from our hotel is the Tsuyu Tenjinja temple, it seemed kind of lame but had an interesting story. Tusyu-no-Tenjinja Shrine is the guardian shrine of the Umeda area and is said to have been founded 1,300 years ago on an island in what was then a marshy bay.
Today the shrine is better known for its romantic associations as it is a key setting of the bunraku puppet play: The Love Suicides of Sonezaki. The play tells the tragic story of two star-crossed lovers, the geisha Ohatsu and the apprentice trader Tokubei, and it was supposedly based on a historical double suicide that took place at the shrine in 1703. In the play an unfortunate combination of family pressures, financial misfortune, and the betrayal of a friend, threaten to keep the lovers apart. Unable to live without each other, they meet at the shrine and take their own lives. You can read the full story at the shrine, which is now a popular spot both for young couples, and for those who are seeking true love. People write their prayers for success in love on special wooden plaques, many of which bear the image of Ohatsu and Tokubei.
Using our SUICA cards we took the Subway to Osaka Castle.
Japan uses the drive on the left system, much like the UK and Australia, they also use a Walk or Stand on the left system. When you are walking on sidewalks you should walk on the left side. Most people do, and if they aren't they are tourists. If you are going up/down an escalator you are supposed to stand on the left side, allowing those walking to pass you on the right. It's all very orderly.
Unless you are in Osaka, they do everything opposite here... Stand on the Right, walk on the left, I have no idea why.
The construction of Osaka Castle started in 1583. Toyotomi Hideyoshi intended the castle to become the center of a new, unified Japan under Toyotomi rule. It was the largest castle at the time. However, a few years after Hideyoshi's death, Tokugawa troops attacked and destroyed the castle and terminated the Toyotomi lineage in 1615. Osaka Castle was rebuilt by Tokugawa Hidetada in the 1620s, but its main castle tower and gunpowder storage was struck by lightening in 1665 and burnt down. It was not until 1931 that the present ferro-concrete reconstruction of the castle tower was built. During the war it miraculously survived the city wide air raids. Major repair works gave the castle new glamor in 1997.
The gold details on the side of the building are stunning, its hard to see in the castle photos, but giant golden tigers and fish adorn the upper floor area. these giant samples were the one indoor picture I was allowed to take.
Unlike the other castles we had entered, this one had a lot of information signs and videos showing the history of the castle and area on each floor, unfortunately you were only allowed to take pictures out of the windows and not inside. At least the views were great.
When we left the hotel in the morning, Norine says to me "Do you think we should bring our umbrellas?" Of course not, I replied. As we are waiting for the Bus to the Shitennoji temple, it starts to rain. Luckily for us, in front of the temple there is a swap meet, and a guy selling nice used umbrellas for 50 ¥, that's less than a dollar.
Shitennoji is one of Japan's oldest temples and the first ever to be built by the state. It was founded in 593 by Prince Shotoku, who supported the introduction of Buddhism into Japan. Although the temple's buildings burned down several times throughout the centuries, they were always carefully reconstructed to reflect the original 6th century design.
Kannon and the Four Heavenly Kings of Shitenno-ji
Much like other pagodas, there was no views as you wound your way up the narrow staircases, just a whole bunch of mini golden pagodas.
Tucked away off the main street is the Shikitsumatsunomiya Okuninushi shrine, apparently a mouse rescued him from a burning fire, so he built a shrine to honour the mouse?
By this time, we had probably seen enough temples and shrines for the day, but there was one more spot I wanted to see, so we took the Subway to Namba Yasaka-Jinja. When you first walk into the temple grounds, it seems normal, then you look to your left...
Namba Yasaka-Jinja was once a flourishing vast temple, it was mostly destroyed during the Meiji Restoration in 1868, which separated Shinto from Buddhism. Damaged by World War 2 bombings and rebuilt afterwards with Ema-Den, a giant lion head shaped building.
Apparently this temple is famous for it's yearly Tug-of-War event held annually on the third Sunday in January. It is based on a Japanese myth that Susano-no-Mikoto, the enshrined deity, killed the large serpent god, Yamata-no-orochi, freeing the people from hardship.
It's not a long walk to the Dotonbori area of Osaka, but if we are going to make it, we would need some turtle shaped cream filled nourishment. This little cup of turtles from a street vendor barely made it to the end of the block.
The Dotonbori area in Osaka is a series of connected streets running along the Dotonbori Canal. It's one part outdoor mall, one part restaurant/bar district and 98 parts neon and signs.
You always hear the stories of Japan's crazy cafes, Cat Cafes, Dog Cafes, Pokemon Cafes, well, we decided to try the Sunset Owl Cafe. You go down some stairs into basement room, there is a fee that includes a cold drink and instructions on washing your hands. Then you are taken into a long room with owls attached to poles down both sides.
It was a very weird feeling during and after visiting this owl cafe, they are beautiful birds and so interesting to see and interact with them up close... but it just doesn't seem like the best place for these magnificent creatures, tethered in a room and forced to entertain us. They had some designated as resting, so they get a break from beak rubs and being held, but we probably would never do this again.
Saw-Whet Owl
Screech Owl
Tawny Owl
Sleepy Barn Owl
Snowy Owl
Spectacled Owl
Great Horned Owl
Eastern Screech Owl
Tootsie Roll Owl
Norepork Grumpy Owl
Spotted Owl
Northern White Faced Owl
Indian Eagle Owl
After spending some time meeting each of the owls and petting some of their beaks, we were each given a chance to hold some of them.
Leaving the Owl Cafe with a bit of an Icky feeling, we figured we better go get something to eat and get the bad taste out of our mouths.
We found a place that looked pretty good called Fujiyama for dinner. Their sushi and tempura were very good. Based on the wide range of currency on the wall, apparently Fujiyama is popular with people from all around the globe.
With our stomachs full, we head back out into the bright lights of the Dotonbori area... prepared to be overwhelmed.
Amongst the multitudes of Bars, Restaurants, Karaoke, Dance Dance Revolution and arcades is quirky stores like this one that sells costumes for your pets.
Many of the signs are animated, this ones not just a sign, it's also a Ferris wheel.
Octopii are everywhere!
After hours of brain overload, it's time to take the Subway home, through the Hello Kitty mall, and down the underground Museum walkway.
It's still hard to get over just how orderly and quiet the people are on the Subway and trains... it's like a library.
Feb 4
One of the great advantages of Osaka, is it's close proximity to the town of Nara. This morning we would get up and catch the train to Nara park, famous for it's friendly deer population.
From the train station we decided to take the Bus to Nara Park to save some time, and as we are going, we see a couple deer by a fence and think we may have missed our stop. We get off at the next stop where we see one deer, and are just thinking about walking back to where the 2 deer were, when we notice there is a dozen or more across the street. There is deer everywhere!
Nara Park is huge, full of temples and shrines, and little old ladies with stands selling crackers that you can give to the deer. The park is home to hundreds of freely roaming deer. Considered in Shinto to be messengers of the gods, Nara's nearly 1200 deer have become a symbol of the city and have even been designated as a natural treasure.
Sacred deer have been in Nara since the 7th century and Nara's deer are surprisingly tame, although they can sometimes be aggressive if they think you will feed them and you tease them or don't give them a cracker. The tradition is to approach the deer (or more likely they approach you) and bow to them, they in turn bow back to you and you give them a cracker.
As you can see, they are quite terrifying, it's a good thing they have these warning signs. The only people I see having troubles are those teasing them trying to get a selfie, those carrying a plastic bag, or those with crackers in their pockets not paying attention.
Our first planned stop in the park was the Todai-ji temple to see a giant Buddha, as we had already seen his giant hands. Just as we are walking up, a huge tourist group has just taken over the ticket center for access to the Buddha inhabited temple. We decided to take a chance and come back later. We took a few pictures as we walked by, just in case.
It's a nice walk between the different temples, and as you get away from the main crowds, crackers are only begged for one deer at a time.
The Nigatsu-do (Hall of the Second Month) and the Hokke-do (Hall of the Third Month) are located within the grounds of Nara Park. Nigatsu-do dates back to 752 during the Nara Period and is famous for its Omizutori ("drawing water") ceremony believed to have been started by the monk Jitchu in 760 as a repentance service to the Boddhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Eleven Headed Kannon). Hokke-do is located just to the south of Nigatsu-do and is considered to be the oldest building in the Todaiji temple precinct. it was founded in 733 by the priest Roben, the first abbot of Todaiji. The name comes from the practice of holding a yearly service for the Hokekyo sutra in March by the lunar calendar - hence 'temple of the third month.'
Tamukeyama Hachimangu Shrine was established in 749 in order to protect Todaiji Temple. It was separated from Todaiji Temple in the Meiji Period due to the separation of Buddhism and Shintoism.
Kasuga-taisha is a Shinto shrine established in 768 and rebuilt several times over the centuries. The interior is famous for its many bronze lanterns, as well as the thousands of stone lanterns that lead up the shrine.
So many lanterns, and cute little deer all around them... we ran out of crackers.
How many deer pictures do you really need?
After navigating the lantern trails, we headed back to the Todai-ji Buddha temple, and were able to walk right up to get tickets, apparently our decision to come back later worked out as a bunch of the tourist buses had left.
Todaiji (Great Eastern Temple) is one of Japan's most famous and historically significant temples and a landmark of Nara. The temple was constructed in 752 as the head temple of all provincial Buddhist temples of Japan and grew so powerful that the capital was moved from Nara to Nagaoka in 784 in order to lower the temple's influence on government affairs. Todaiji's main hall, the Daibutsuden (Big Buddha Hall) is the world's largest wooden building, despite the fact that the present reconstruction of 1692 is only two thirds of the original temple hall's size. The massive building houses one of Japan's largest bronze statues of Buddha.
It's hard to explain just how big this buddha is, that open hand is taller than a person. The 15 meter tall Buddha (Daibutsu) is flanked by two Bodhisattvas (a person who is able to reach nirvana but delays doing so out of compassion in order to save suffering beings).
Along with Buddha and his Bodhisattvas are two additional giant guardians, Komokuten and Bishamonten.
Having finally seen the giant Buddha, we made our way out the gates of the temple, and said our goodbyes to the deer of Nara Park.
One last cracker
Hoping for handouts
Little did we know there was deer all around the town, including this sneaky pickpocket where we stopped to rest on a park bench. I think this guy has had a tracker put on him for a reason, and apparently he has friends.
Now that another stack of deer crackers were gone, we headed into the grounds of Kofuku-ji.
Central Golden HallEast Golden Hall
Kofuku-ji used to be the family temple of the Fujiwara, the most powerful aristocratic clan during much of the Nara and Heian Periods. The temple was established in Nara at the same time as the capital in 710. At the height of Fujiwara power, the temple consisted of over 150 buildings. The temple features several buildings of great historic value, including a five-storied pagoda and a three-storied pagoda. At 50 meters, the five-storied pagoda is Japan's second tallest, just seven meters shorter than the five-storied pagoda at Kyoto's Toji Temple.
We left the deer and the town's creepy little mascot Sento-kun behind and walked to the train station to head back to Osaka. We grabbed some baked goods from a little shop for the train ride, and the friendly ladies gave us a free bun for our travels.
The first night we walked the Dotonbori area, we saw the low river boats cruising up and down the Tombori river, so we went back to the area to do a river Cruise before heading to our friend Nadia's favourite Japanese food.
From the moment we got on, we knew we had been suckered into a tourist trap. The Japanese cheerleader, I mean tour guide, was non-stop loud talking, yelling, screeching, and saying things that I'm pretty sure even life-long Japanese wouldn't understand. She was trying to get people to chant, and yell... we sat near the front of the boat and just tried to tune her out.
The river here isn't very long so at least the screeching tour here isn't very long, but it was interesting to see the crazy signed city from the water, did I mention that that sign is also a Ferris Wheel?
The boat comes to a stop in front of this Octopus, and it does a really lame laser/light effect with sound effects. With our tour guide describing it and squealing, you would think it was a Spielberg/Lucas feature.
After our exhausting tour, we found the restaurant that was recommended to us, Ichiran Ramen.
It's a little confusing at first, and took some assistance to figure it out the first time. You are shown to a room with vending machines, and you basically choose The Bowl of Noodles, and any extras you may want in the bowl and pay right away. The machine spits out a ticket and you head to the restaurant area. It's just long lunch counters with separated solo booths.
You check the display board to see where any empty seats are, and then sit down. You place your vending machine tickets and fill out a brief questionnaire about your bowl preferences and leave that on the counter too. A magic window opens, a hand reaches out and takes your slips away. Each seat includes its own water dispenser, and an order sheet if you want to order more noodles or any extras.
Then after just a minute or two, the magic window opens again and a delicious bowl of Ramen noodles is placed before you, and the window closes again. Suddenly we are experts, and we'll have to do this again, do we order the hard boiled eggs? Do I want Extra Pork? Does Norine want more Onions and mushrooms? Should she really have ordered that bowl with a little hot sauce?
Feeling very full, we jumped back on the Subway and headed back to our hotel. After that long day on our feet, it was sure nice that the hotel included a free bottle of Air Freshener, our shoes definitely needed it.
We should talk a little about bowing in Japan. Even the deer of Nara understand how greeting and respect in Japan works.
In Japan, people greet each other by bowing. A bow can ranges from a small nod of the head to a deep bend at the waist. A deeper, longer bow indicates respect and conversely a small nod with the head is casual and informal. Bowing with your palms together at chest level is not customary in Japan. If the greeting takes place on tatami floor, people get on their knees to bow. Bowing is also used to thank, apologize, make a request or ask someone a favor.
Most Japanese do not expect foreigners to know proper bowing rules, and a nod of the head is usually sufficient. Shaking hands is uncommon, but exceptions are made. At shops and restaurants, customers are typically welcomed by the staff with the greeting "Irasshaimase". No response from the customer is required, although a small nod with the head would suffice for those who want to reciprocate the greeting.
Watch the people of Japan around you; a janitor leaves a room, turns around and bows at guests in the room. When riding the trains, the conductor will bow upon entering, and turn around and bow at the car when exiting, it's all very polite.
February 5
Another very interesting city tour ends and now we are heading to some of Japan's most tragic cities, time to head to the train station to catch the first of several trains we would need to get to Hiroshima.
