My feet hurts! And it is only the first day in Japan! :O i can barely stand at all now. Haha.
My flight was at 1am today and we reached at 8:15am Japan time. I was not really that excited as i should be before trips. Probably because i am not really a fan of Japan and also maybe the reality of going to Japan had not sunk in. But now, i am slowly accepting the fact that i am in this place! About time! After we got out from the Kansai International Airport, we went to search for our hotel in Osaka. During the process there, we met a lot of friendly Japanese. Despite not being fluent and some, not even able to speak any English at all, they offered help in guiding us to the right direction. Pretty good. Everyone here is very warm and polite. Especially those who are in service. On one occasion when we were in the train leaving the airport, the train operator, when walking through the coaches, simply troubled himself in bowing to everyone when he entered and left each of them, even when no one was paying any attention to him! Kinda impressive, to me, because if it was me, i would not even think it necessary! Japanese is Japanese. Anyway, seriously, it is really not easy for those who dont know how to read Chinese characters when traveling in Japan. They rarely translate anything to English, except the signboards at the train stations. We could not even find an English leaflet about the underground train.
We needed a little time to get used to the train system as there were many lines, in which some of the lines we were not allowed to take as we purchased the one day ticket Kansai Thru Pass. The ticket only provides transportation from the airport and anywhere that can be reached by subway. But anyway, it is sufficient for us.
As i was too hungry until i could barely talk and not turn pale, we had our lunch in a classic Japanese stall called Yoshinoya. It is a small restaurant where you have to sit on high stools facing the kitchen to be served. I ordered a set which consists of peppered beef, smoked salmon, soup and rice. It was quite good.
After checking in at Sheraton Miyako Hotel, which is just right beside of the subway, we headed to the famous Osaka Castle in Chuoku. It is a castle built on top of a hill. It looks kind of ordinary, like a
temple only. Surrounding it are gardens and parks. Quite a relaxing place for those who want to take a break from the city. Indeed, i saw many old people strolling with their dogs or just simply enjoying the view. The place would be much more beautiful during spring as you can see sakura flowers everywhere. During winter, like now, all you can see are brown trees, trees with no leaves and browns. Quite dull-lah. Must come here again during the two-week spring when the sakuras are present! We bought ice cream on our walk back. I tried the millet cake soft ice cream which is a specialty from Osaka. Love it. Oh, one thing i like about winter is that ice cream will not melt easily even if you enjoyed it slowly. I just felt like i was eating ice cream in a fridge!
So after that, we went to Shin Sai Bashi-Suji! Very cool place! It is a bit like Petaling Street back at home except, it is a thousand times more splendid! You can just see all kinds of shops. Girls will love this place very much. Hehe. We walked only half of that loooooong street and changed our course to another street called Soemon-Cho. This street is much much much quiter. Probably only during the day. Not at night tho as it is filled with pubs and bars and places where you can hire prostitutes and gigolos! Man, the gigolos are very handsome! Like those you can see on the screen!
For dinner, we went to search for food in Hi Hi Town. Inside this "town", it is like a maze filled with cute little Japanese restaurants at every corner. At last, we went to one, which i dont know what name it is cuz its in Jap again. I ordered tempuras with rice. It is quite good too. Except, after the meal, i am feeling a bit bored with the bland Japanese food. On the first day! Again. Haha.
After makan, went to walk around a supermarket called Harves. The place and the surroundings simply reminded me of Melbourne.
So, thats Day One. :)
P/s: sorry for no pictures. Next time!
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