Outside of My Ishikawa Bubble - Osaka and Kyoto Pt.I

WARNING:

This is an extremely long post,

so it will be split into 5 parts.

At the end of December, I was able to take some time off and visit other parts of Japan. Although it was only two months ago, I have forgotten a lot of details. Consider this a blessing. I love putting in as much detail as possible and this post would probably be even longer if it weren't for my short term memory loss. Or is is long term memory loss? I don't remember.
Anyway, lets start with my first few days in Osaka. Classes for the 2nd term ended and I was able to take five days off on top of the days every teacher had off. This sounds confusing, but basically the students have two weeks off at school, while the teachers continue working at the school with the exception of 4 days off at the end of December.

12/28/2009

Liz with Rainbow while on the train

Me and the rainbow while on the train :P

The scenery on the way to Osaka

Outside of the Osaka Station

(It was my first time outside of the countryside in Japan)

The Monday of the 28th was the beginning of my trip. I bought tickets a few nights before with my friend Liz and we headed down to Osaka together in the morning. It was a comfortable trip with swivel-enabled padded chairs and it lasted less than 3 hours. When we arrived at the main Osaka station, we walked out into the busy streets of Osaka and proceeded to find the subway line we needed. The walk was farther than we thought and we realized that we should have taken advantage of the connecting subway lines while we were still at the station. In any case, we made it to our first destination: The Osaka Aquarium! Kaiyukan!

Kaiyukan

The ferris wheel next door

At the entrance to the fishy world

The closest I will ever get to touching a whale shark

These are what blowfish usually look like...until you get them ANGRY!

THEN HULK MAD!
Penguins...I think Sea World was better...

Why HELLO there. Huge Whale Shark alert!

Osaka has one of the largest tanks in the world because of this guy.

Jellyfish = Dangerously purdy

The Osaka Aquarium is one of the largest public aquariums in the world and holds a pair of huge sharks, called the whale shark. Of course, there are other sea creatures that are cuter in comparison! Unfortunately, Liz and I didn't realize there was an area where you could see the babies and also a touch pool. So we left after an hour of wandering the first section. We went and grabbed some snacks and then headed back to the area just outside of the aquarium where all the decorative lights were set up. That was pretty much our whole day including the travel time.

I love sunsets in Japan...they're so much prettier for some reason. JK

All the gaudy lights turn on

It's pretty in an overwhelming sort of way

We headed back to the station to meet up with our friends. My first Osaka meal was self-cooked Okonomiyaki. Okonomiyaki is one of the foods that Osaka is known for and its similar to a pancake, but there are various savory ingredients mixed in. After dinner, Liz, Kazuki, and I went to a nomihoudai. We had all you can drink in two hours for about 1,000yen per person. Before we missed the last train, we headed back to the station and parted with Liz. My new traveling buddy would be Kazuki.

Do-it-yourself Okonomiyaki

Having a drink with Liz (Above)

At nomihoudai with Kazuki (Below)