Last weekend in November
I went to Osaka on Friday night to meet up with Tristan and his friend David. We saw Casino Royale, which I thought was awesome, and then stayed the night at this budget hotel (no bunkbeds!). The next morning, after bagels and chai with David, Tristan and I headed to Kyoto, which was only about half an hour and 5 bucks away. I liked the layout of the city but wasn't looking forward to the intense, camera-flashin crowds huddled around the last vestiges of Kyoto's "legendary" autumn leaves. We went to Kiyomizudera, a very pretty temple complex on a hill with nice views of the city below...but jostling through all the people just kinda put me in a bad mood. I don't really see the draw in trying to enjoy "nature" in such a crowd. I also was almost predisposed not to love it because I had been told so many amazing things about it. Kyoto is totally cool, and I'll be back there in a few weeks anyway, but I hate the pressure of "must-see" attractions, you know? I was much happier when Tristan and I veered off the main thoroughfare and found a completely deserted hiking trail in Kiyomizudera that we explored for a little while.
At dusk, we saw quite a few geisha setting out for their evening appointments, and we walked along the river, past the outskirts of Gion and into the Sanjo-dori district, which is full of bars and restaurants. We ate pizza and drank cheap red wine (going into the cities usually means eating non-Japanese food for a change!) After dinner we just headed back to Osaka and the Hotel Raizan. In the morning, I skeptically made my way down to the Womens' Traditional-Style Public Bath, which actually was a lot of fun. There was only one other lady there, and she left while i was showering, so I had the whole place to myself. There was a changing room, with lockers where you put your clothes, etc. Then you walk into this big steamy room, a third of which is just a huge, 41 degree celsius bathtub, with new hot water constantly flowing in. Along the wall was a row of showerheads, with shampoo and soap, and little stools. You're supposed to wash yourself thoroughly before you get in the tub. Luckily, there was also one slightly partitioned showerhead, so I felt a little more comfortable. Then, after the other woman left, i splashed around in the big hot bath for a while. It was really relaxing. I didnt expect something like that from such a budget hotel.
Coming out again into the locker room, I put on a hotel robe and used the Hotel blowdryer and various tonics and lotions. So anyway, that combined with free hotel coffee and I was ready to start my day.
After lunch with David at the Hawaiian burger place near our hotel, Tristan and I went down to the harbor to visit the Osaka Aquarium. It was really really cool! They claim it's the biggest structure of its kind in the world, and the collection was mostly of Pacific Rim species, so there were a lot of interesting animals I had never seen before. Like the freakin ginormous Giant Spider Crabs and the turtle whose head was nearly as big, gnarled and hardened as his shell. Their most famous resident was the Whale Shark (biggest fish in the world) who swam around the four-storey high tank, flanked by a myriad of other creatures, while frenzied tourists oohed and ahhed. Everywhere we went, we were surrounded by shrill exclamations of "kawaii!!" or "segoi!", it was as if those were the only two words ("cute" and "cool") one could use to describe the wide range of creatures. With one notable exception. While we stared at the creeeepy looking giant spider crabs, i heard SEVERAL people come up and say "oishiiso..." which means "looks delicious..."
I devoted the bus ride back to Tokushima (2 hrs) to reading the Malaysia guidebook I got out of the TOPIA library. We leave for Malaysia the day after Christmas!
At dusk, we saw quite a few geisha setting out for their evening appointments, and we walked along the river, past the outskirts of Gion and into the Sanjo-dori district, which is full of bars and restaurants. We ate pizza and drank cheap red wine (going into the cities usually means eating non-Japanese food for a change!) After dinner we just headed back to Osaka and the Hotel Raizan. In the morning, I skeptically made my way down to the Womens' Traditional-Style Public Bath, which actually was a lot of fun. There was only one other lady there, and she left while i was showering, so I had the whole place to myself. There was a changing room, with lockers where you put your clothes, etc. Then you walk into this big steamy room, a third of which is just a huge, 41 degree celsius bathtub, with new hot water constantly flowing in. Along the wall was a row of showerheads, with shampoo and soap, and little stools. You're supposed to wash yourself thoroughly before you get in the tub. Luckily, there was also one slightly partitioned showerhead, so I felt a little more comfortable. Then, after the other woman left, i splashed around in the big hot bath for a while. It was really relaxing. I didnt expect something like that from such a budget hotel.
Coming out again into the locker room, I put on a hotel robe and used the Hotel blowdryer and various tonics and lotions. So anyway, that combined with free hotel coffee and I was ready to start my day.
After lunch with David at the Hawaiian burger place near our hotel, Tristan and I went down to the harbor to visit the Osaka Aquarium. It was really really cool! They claim it's the biggest structure of its kind in the world, and the collection was mostly of Pacific Rim species, so there were a lot of interesting animals I had never seen before. Like the freakin ginormous Giant Spider Crabs and the turtle whose head was nearly as big, gnarled and hardened as his shell. Their most famous resident was the Whale Shark (biggest fish in the world) who swam around the four-storey high tank, flanked by a myriad of other creatures, while frenzied tourists oohed and ahhed. Everywhere we went, we were surrounded by shrill exclamations of "kawaii!!" or "segoi!", it was as if those were the only two words ("cute" and "cool") one could use to describe the wide range of creatures. With one notable exception. While we stared at the creeeepy looking giant spider crabs, i heard SEVERAL people come up and say "oishiiso..." which means "looks delicious..."
I devoted the bus ride back to Tokushima (2 hrs) to reading the Malaysia guidebook I got out of the TOPIA library. We leave for Malaysia the day after Christmas!