July 5-6, 2019
My biggest takeaway from today was that Peach Airline is not a friend of mine. Part of the blame falls on me because Hopper (a flight reservation app) was too good to be true, but I fell for the trap. But the other part – and the larger part, in my opinion – is on the airline because not only was there no checked baggage included for my economy ticket, the airline refused cash to pay for a checked bag. In addition, the plane was incredibly shaky. I cannot remember the last time I felt any sort of motion sickness, be it on a car, train, plane, or boat. But on this Peach plane, I definitely felt a little nauseous. Takeoff and landing were absolute earthquake tremors. I would not recommend Peach Airline!
But still, we landed safely at Osaka International Airport and wow, I’m in Japan! This was my first time in Japan, and neither I nor my friend spoke a lick of Japanese. So we were definitely in for an experience.
Japan: a land of an overindulgent number of vending machines, an amazing array of desserts, and accommodation for anti-social tendencies.
It definitely feels like an actual foreign country for me – infinitely less comfortable for me than Korean. I had underestimated my ability to communicate via hand motions and overestimated Japan’s English ability. Beyond my clear inability to speak their language, the first thing I noticed in Japan was the stark and steep increase in prices. The trip to the Airbnb was not too painful – definitely in comparison to that first night in Korea.
Although it hadn’t been my intention, the hostel-style Airbnb we were staying at was Korean-run. It was amusing to hear them speaking without realizing that I understood them exactly. These accommodations are so nice! The room we were assigned to was a very long one, with two rows of bunk beds. Each bed had its own long curtain for privacy, and within the little nook, there was a lamp, as well as space for a backpack, towels, and an extension cord for chargers. For the price of these accommodations, I felt very satisfied.
After settling in a bit, we headed out 🙂 Dotonbori Night Market! The night is incredibly alive and it was almost a sensory overload of scents and sights. We knew that one meal high on our bucket list for Japan was wagyu beef, and seeing the sign, we headed into a restaurant. The atmosphere was casual and comfortable, although there were definite moments of hesitation due to the language barrier. But the wagyu beef was absolutely amazing – the meat was extremely tender and bursting with flavor. I wished we could get more but the price of food here is extremely steep in comparison to Korea. The meal was incredible but I was left feeling mildly unsatisfied – I could definitely eat more! We wandered the streets for a while ~ it was oddly amusing to see so many Western brands and chains mixed in with more traditional stores and food. There were many young children out, dressed in the traditional kimono and laughing.
Soon after dinner, while exploring, I realized the logic of the smaller meal sizes – the options for dessert made refusing not an option. We tried melon pan bread with vanilla ice cream inside and it was a surprisingly well-matched combination ~ I enjoyed it so much! Headed in for an earlier night~
Bright and early in the morning, we headed out to see Osaka in the day ~ It seems that a great number of the tourist attractions here are temples. Shitennoji Temple was within walking distance so we braved the heat to get there. It was beautiful for sure, and impressive to think of the history that it was sure to contain. But as a foreigner, it was definitely difficult to look around and take in more than the exterior of the temple without explanations in English… I just wish I could have appreciated more of the history and culture there ~
There was also a wishing tree that we could hang our written wishes on and it was an activity that brought us closer to the local community that was there to do exactly that ~ the tree was also beautifully aesthetic and very satisfying to see, with the hanging colorful strips of paper.
Osaka Castle! This was the location at the top of my personal bucket list! Although I am not a fan of their policy of having entrance fees for every single thing I want to visit, the awe-inspiring castle was more than worth the entrance fee. It soared eight floors high and was designed with a theme of beautiful mint green with gold overlays. It truly was a testament to the popularity of the castle that there were throngs of people fighting the damp heat to see the centuries-old site. We chose to take the stairs to see every floor before the balcony view on the eighth floor. It was designed with a museum layout in mind. It was very interesting to see the changes in the style of armor and weapons, as well as get to see a brief history of the castle, which had served the same purpose as any medieval European castle: defense. The view from the balcony was rather intimidating – it was clear what a vantage point the castle had had in the days it had served its original purpose.
After roughly a full day – combined – of exploring Osaka, I wish I can say that we fulfilled our tourist-y obligations. But in truth, we have barely scratched the surface. I can clearly see just how much we did not see on our short tour of Osaka. The history, culture, and fantastic food is enough to invigorate me for my next visit!