Days 54-55: Kansai Adventure

On July 17, I traveled from Nagasaki to Hakata to Shin-Osaka to Takatsuki and back to Osaka, and thus started my first visit to the Kansai region of Japan. It's such a wonderful coincidence that my friend Alex and I are in Japan at the same time, so we could visit each other, I could stay with him, and he could show me around his area. This trip took a lot of stress and planning and I'm super glad it worked out the way it did.

I was only able to take this trip due to good fortune, good timing, and the graciousness of my boss. Our travel for work is July 20-30, but a rail pass is good for 14 days, so I left on the 17th instead and used those extra 3 days to visit. Unlimited free train and shinkansen travel, yes!

On a VERY VERY hot and humid day in Kyoto, Alex and his friend Shane showed me around the main parts of the city. I had the good luck to be visiting on the same day as a major festival, Gion Matsuri. Unfortunately, that meant that all the major thoroughfares and shrines were PACKED to the max with visitors and spectators, and weren't able to get much of a view. So we spent time wading in the river that runs through town, walking around smaller shrines, and Karaoke-ing it up at Jan-Kara. Karaoke with unlimited drinks (both alcoholic and not) for around $5!

At night we went to a part of Osaka called Nanba (THE FAMOUS PART!!!) Where I was able to see all the famous sights I wanted to see like: the giant crab and the Glico man. Also we ate YOGURTLAND which excited me greatly, because I miss it from home and it's still crazy to me that it exists in Japan. It feels like such an Irvine thing. I remember when there were only two locations, Fullerton and Irvine, then it expanded to NorCal and now it's in Japan! What the!

The next day I met up with my friend Yuki (my conversation partner from Doshisha '09!) In Kyoto, we went to two of the greatest places in Japan and in the world: The Fushimi Inari shine and the Kiyomizu-dera temple! Fushimi Inari is AMAZING for its row upon row of bright orange torii. They stack upon each other, creating a glowy tunnel with shafts of light shooting in. Unfortunately it was a rainy day, so the light effect didn't quite work, but it was amazing nonetheless. Kiyomizu boasts a gorgeous panoramic view of Kyoto and the surrounding hillside, plus a 'holy water' waterfall that Yuki and I were able to drink out of and wash our hands in. It was beautiful, serene, and a great opportunity to catch up.

In the evening, Yuki and I took advantage of the pleasures of city life in Osaka: karaoke, food and purikura! After an hour of cheap Karaoke (we both love singing!) we ate traditional Japanese udon and shave ice. THE SHAVE ICE IS WONDERFUL. A bed of mochi and anko (red bean paste) with soft fluffy shave ice on top, topped with matcha syrup and accompanied by hot tea. We ended our night by taking purikura (which, if you don't know, is like a photobooth except you can edit the pics by digitally drawing on them, your skin always looks perfect because of the lighting, and they digitally enlarge your eyes.) It's fun and silly. :)

Even though my Kansai experience was so short I am beyond elated that I got to experience these two amazing cities and I'm super excited to come back and delve more into their beauty when I come to Japan next time. :)