What I like about Japan so far

People talk about the Japanese being so polite and courteous. Is it all real?

Well I think it's in the culture and the upbringing.

Thing is, you always feel safe wandering about.

The streets are generally quite clean and yet you hardly find any garbage bins as you walk about.

Remember these bicycle locks? There are bicycle parking lots with security but you also see lots of bikes 'locked' along the streets with just these simple locks. The ones I remember from my childhood. I gather there is not a lot of theft.

Cleaning the street in front of the office or so before the stay of a new work day.

Off to school with the older kids shepherding the little ones in the middle. 

You have J-pop and that's really popular not just with the younger ones but also the older folks. From what I can gather jpop is all about fun and dancing, much like the Stock Aitken and Waterman music mill from the 80s. Formulaic but sells to a nation that needs to be uplifted. 

Putting some of it all together tells a little bit about what being Japanese is all about and why foreigners find them so polite and courteous. I think.

So what do I like about Japan so far? I think it's s little bit of nostalgia of days gone pay when things were a lot simpler and you can go about your business without worrying too much about what you need to be careful about or being extra vigilant over everything. I think.  

Day 2 in Kyoto

And we are off to see the monkeys at Saga Arashiyama.

But first everything in Japan is kawaii or cute. Even barriers.

And clever parking for bikes.

It was a long day of walking again. 

Thing about Kyoto and Japan I guess is the abundance of temples and shrines. I guess when in Rome. Or rather, when in europe its cathedrals churches and castles. there's just so many you can see before they all blend into one. 

I think once we get to Nagiya and Tokyo that will be the end of endless temples!

First day in Kyoto!

Checked out of our airbnb apartment in Osaka and made or way to Kyoto. it was relatively easy.  Down to Daikokucho subway station to get to Shin Osaka. From there it was on to the JR Rapid train which only took 25 minutes to get to Kyoto Central.
Our airbnb apartment is about a15 minute walk away. lunch was a good one again. Japanese is Japanese I guess and they are all permutations of the same. However. ..

A seafood bowl with tempura prawns cooked on the spot

Tempura with ramen and a rice bowl with prawns and steamed egg

Pork cutlet with salad

Then it was off to the Golden pavilion temple which was pretty busy with tourists and school groups. the temple is set in beautiful gardens with maple trees just turning red.

In Osaka we went everywhere by subway or train which was quick.  Kyoto is quite different and this temple was a rather long bus ride away. 

While we found Osaka generally clean and that includes streets and shopping strips where you hardly see garbage on streets. 

Kyoto seemed more like other cities. Something I observed while wandering about Osaka in the morning was people out cleaning the streets outside their offices and shops early before work starts . Not cleaners but just office type people in office wear who don a vest and sweep and pick rubbish.

In Dotonbori you are expected to eat the food you buy at the stalls and then return the packaging. they discourage people from buying food and eating on the go. 

Kyoto on the other hand immediately feels different. not as neat and tidy and certainly older and not as garbage free.

Dinner was a simple affair. couldn't be bothered going out again to eat so we got stuff from a supermarket. you get really good stuff including packed food etc.

That's my katsu chicken with Japanese curry.

It's been a day of walking again so it was back home and taking it easy fairly early. I think we are off to the monkey park tomorrow?

Day 4

Nice and sunny day today to start with which was great for our trip to Nara. it's starting to get colder though and there's a nip in the air.

It's actually great that we ended up staying in Namba because it was quite easy to get to most places and is close to lots of places to go see and do things. Getting to Nara was also quite easy. Short walk to Daikokucho station and then onto the subway to Tennoji Station where we changed to the Yamatoji line for the JR Yamatoji Rapid which got us to Nara in 35 minutes.

Nara is very touristy and is where you get to get up close and personal to lots and lots of deer.

There's also several temples and shrines and would easily take up half a day quite easily. More if you are intent on stopping to see every temple and shrine.

After a late lunch it was then back to Osaka and the Nipponbash area for a walkabout. notice that lunch was very not - Japanese .

Dinner however was back to form.

Last night in Osaka tonight and it's off to Kyoto tomorrow.

To sum up Osaka?  I did enjoy being here.  5 days is just about right although we didn't try to do everything I think we did enough. didn't try to see everything but I think we saw enough. Osaka is a big city and you could always spend more time here and then you could experience life here a little more but that could be said for everything.

We wandered the streets and alleyways and checked out different restaurants and street stalls. Today I hit my record of 27,500 steps which according to fitbit is about 20 kms. so I think I have made as good a go at covering Osaka as I could have.

Advice for those thinking of visiting? Definitely and spend at least 3 or 4 days if you can. Japan as a rule is pretty expensive though and Osaka is pretty much the same. you can get by spending less but you will enjoy yourself more if you are able to be a little looser with your budget.

Day 3

Day 3 in Osaka and it's a cold rainy cloudy of day so it is off to the Osaka Aquarium we go.

It's a pretty impressive one as well with lots to see. Very well laid out and it took us about 3 hours to move through the whole area. Some of the tanks are massive and there are even two whale sharks in the most of sting rays, other sharks and if course lots of types of fish. I think it's well worth a visit for ¥2300 per adult.

Night time and after a rest back at the apartment its off to Dotonbori for some dinner. Thing is. Smoking is still quite prevalent and is only when you travel that you realise how smoke free australia and particularly perth is.

We were fortunate the first few times but tonight the restaurant we ate in was smoky. Not so bad that we were affected but you can definitely tell and it soured the experience a little. But this is what Japan is and what experiencing all that Japan had to offer should include I guess.

Day 2 in Osaka

1st full day in Osaka after arriving yesterday and getting our and about. Today was all about wandering around Osaka checking out some sights, the shops and food.

First up the Umeda sky tower floating gardens. Then on to Shinshibashi Dotonbori area. Osaka is big. Not the biggest in Japan but the number of tall towers and massive office and shopping complexes dwarfs most Australian cities Sydney included.

It's certainly an eye opener being here. Getting a little more used to going into tiny restaurants and sitting on the counter around the kitchen add the chefs cook in front of you. Strangely you would think that smaller more intimate restaurants like these that sit under 10 people around the chefs would mean more conversation but there isn't a lot of interaction.

Dotonbori really comes alive around

 early evening and the number of people milling around is mind boggling especially for a Monday night. There's just masses of people everywhere! Can't imagine if it were any busier.

Out for about 8 hours, 20000 steps and 14 kms later and we are pretty much knackered. Roll on day 3!

Dinner!

All the restaurants seem so small. Most don't seat more than a dozen or so patrons at a time.

Sushi train with a difference. standing room only and smoke away! 

Arrival in Osaka

Week. It actually is quite a long journey. Flying time was about 12 hours in total with a 3 hour transit brings it to a 15 hour trip.

Flying through the afternoon and night meant getting into Osaka first thing in the morning which had its benefits. Clearing immigration and customs didn't take that long and getting our luggage was a breeze.

Adding in the time to collect my pre ordered pocket wifi and messing about a little at the information stand meant leaving Kansai at 11, just a little under 2 hours after landing.

We were quite fortunate in being able to drop our luggage at our airbnb place early so we spent the day out and about.  It just so happened there was some sort of festival going on for the weekend and we stumbled upon some of the festivities. You could almost at we've got a large chunk of our immersion into Japanese culture all sorted on day 1!

Back at the apartment now to rest before heading out to dinner. Also a chance to see if I can pull the photos from my camera for sharing. Not traveling with a laptop this time so everything is going to be done "mobile".