Osaka, March 5
Door: Yaru
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Yaru
05 Maart 2020 | Japan, Osaka
10:1M JST - “Old and New”
We’re only staying in Osaka for 3 whole days so tomorrow will be our last full day :,)
Today we went to Osaka castle! We went there by train and walked through the park surrounding the castle. Usually you can also take a look inside but unfortunately due to precautions (COVID-19) the inside was closed. Still we could marvel at the castle’s outer view and let me tell you that it is stunning. The castle itself is build at a high point from the city and the architecture is very pretty! There were golden tigers on the wall and gold lining on the rooftops. The castle is surrounded by cherry blossom trees which weren’t in bloom yet XD (Hopefully we’ll see that Tokyo!) I would have loved to see the inside but alright. The weather was in our favor as when we arrived at the inner circle of the palace grounds the sun shined nicely. Though the weather forecast said it wouldn’t rain today we had 2-3 small downpours which we immediately followed by sun again XD
After Osaka Castle we decided to go explore Umeda, the North district of Osaka. This district was very different from the rest we had visited. A lot of tall business buildings and expensive looking brands. Umeda in general had a much fancier atmosphere to it than per example Dotonbori. We explored Osaka Station as it was a 14-story-high building with many things to see.
Suddenly we saw a really Big ferris wheel which was located inside another big department store and decided we wanted to ride it! The fee was ¥600, which is roughly €5, and we got an amazing view of the city from there. I don’t know how high we were exactly but we were on par with the skyscrapers!
When we were done walking through Umeda we went to Kuromon market trying our hand at some streetfood... which we didn’t buy because it didn’t really look appealing hahahha. Sea urchin, mini octopuses with quail egg inside it’s head, live crab, it just wasn’t our cup of tea for today maybe next time XD what we did buy was an Onigiri burger! It looked really funny; seaweed paper with rice on top and then you could choose what you wanted on tol of it. Jo-anne had fried tempura and something else I forgot XD and I had Spocy Korean pork belly with egg and the usual like salad and sauce. It was tasty and the price was really cheap! In between ¥500-¥600.
Yesterday we had seen a Shiba Inu cafe in dotonbori and we really wanted to visit it! Japan really has a lot of animal cafes and there is a whole diversity of them; dogs and cats are the usual but you also have hedgehog cafes, birds, snakes, they even have a penguin cafe! Some animals are in my eyes questionable both in fun and in animal protection rights but yeah, the cafes exists XD
Anyway we went to the Shiba Inu cafe and the doggos were soooo cuuteee!! They had a bunch of them, black and blonde ones and they were really playful~ I pet a few but they were really shy towards strangers which was a pity but there was an employee there who spoke english and let the dogs to us with toys. She was really kind and asked us if we had dogs ourselves and where we came from. All in all we could spent 30min there and I wouldn’t have wanted to miss it!
We walked the whole day long again and so we decided to head home early. Tomorrow Nara deer park is on the schedule!
As most of you know Japan has a polite culture of bowing. They bow everywhere, when you enter the store, when you go out of your way to let someone pass, when you let them leave the elevator first before you step in etc. etc. And it’s really weird as we see bowing as something you maybe do for a god or when you’re on stage. Of course it’s not a full 90 degree bow but just the gesture of putting one’s head down and slightly bending has something respectful. It’s also something you unconsciously return, especially as you’re surrounded by the culture you just feel the need to bow back to them. In a big fancy dep. store we wanted to take the elevator and a woman stood watch there. She pushed the button for us and pointed us to the elevator we could enter then she pushed the button to shut the doors for us and did a full 90 degree bow until the doors were closed. That is a weird feeling, as if you’re someone special instead of just a tourist XD Sure it’s because we are customers but it’s just something you’re not used to.
Speaking of bowing it’s such a nationwide thing that even some animals will know the gesture. More on that tomorrow!
Goodnight!
こんばんわ!
Kon-ban-wa!
~ Good evening!
~ Yaru
P.S. Here is the fun fact that I had forgotten yesterday!
Funfact: It’s considered rude to talk loudly or make a phone call on public transport! The train rides here are really quiet even if you’re with a friend, usually everyone is on their phone and if not seated they’re faced towards the windows/doors. It’s different when you’re used to trains which are a bit more lively~
We’re only staying in Osaka for 3 whole days so tomorrow will be our last full day :,)
Today we went to Osaka castle! We went there by train and walked through the park surrounding the castle. Usually you can also take a look inside but unfortunately due to precautions (COVID-19) the inside was closed. Still we could marvel at the castle’s outer view and let me tell you that it is stunning. The castle itself is build at a high point from the city and the architecture is very pretty! There were golden tigers on the wall and gold lining on the rooftops. The castle is surrounded by cherry blossom trees which weren’t in bloom yet XD (Hopefully we’ll see that Tokyo!) I would have loved to see the inside but alright. The weather was in our favor as when we arrived at the inner circle of the palace grounds the sun shined nicely. Though the weather forecast said it wouldn’t rain today we had 2-3 small downpours which we immediately followed by sun again XD
After Osaka Castle we decided to go explore Umeda, the North district of Osaka. This district was very different from the rest we had visited. A lot of tall business buildings and expensive looking brands. Umeda in general had a much fancier atmosphere to it than per example Dotonbori. We explored Osaka Station as it was a 14-story-high building with many things to see.
Suddenly we saw a really Big ferris wheel which was located inside another big department store and decided we wanted to ride it! The fee was ¥600, which is roughly €5, and we got an amazing view of the city from there. I don’t know how high we were exactly but we were on par with the skyscrapers!
When we were done walking through Umeda we went to Kuromon market trying our hand at some streetfood... which we didn’t buy because it didn’t really look appealing hahahha. Sea urchin, mini octopuses with quail egg inside it’s head, live crab, it just wasn’t our cup of tea for today maybe next time XD what we did buy was an Onigiri burger! It looked really funny; seaweed paper with rice on top and then you could choose what you wanted on tol of it. Jo-anne had fried tempura and something else I forgot XD and I had Spocy Korean pork belly with egg and the usual like salad and sauce. It was tasty and the price was really cheap! In between ¥500-¥600.
Yesterday we had seen a Shiba Inu cafe in dotonbori and we really wanted to visit it! Japan really has a lot of animal cafes and there is a whole diversity of them; dogs and cats are the usual but you also have hedgehog cafes, birds, snakes, they even have a penguin cafe! Some animals are in my eyes questionable both in fun and in animal protection rights but yeah, the cafes exists XD
Anyway we went to the Shiba Inu cafe and the doggos were soooo cuuteee!! They had a bunch of them, black and blonde ones and they were really playful~ I pet a few but they were really shy towards strangers which was a pity but there was an employee there who spoke english and let the dogs to us with toys. She was really kind and asked us if we had dogs ourselves and where we came from. All in all we could spent 30min there and I wouldn’t have wanted to miss it!
We walked the whole day long again and so we decided to head home early. Tomorrow Nara deer park is on the schedule!
As most of you know Japan has a polite culture of bowing. They bow everywhere, when you enter the store, when you go out of your way to let someone pass, when you let them leave the elevator first before you step in etc. etc. And it’s really weird as we see bowing as something you maybe do for a god or when you’re on stage. Of course it’s not a full 90 degree bow but just the gesture of putting one’s head down and slightly bending has something respectful. It’s also something you unconsciously return, especially as you’re surrounded by the culture you just feel the need to bow back to them. In a big fancy dep. store we wanted to take the elevator and a woman stood watch there. She pushed the button for us and pointed us to the elevator we could enter then she pushed the button to shut the doors for us and did a full 90 degree bow until the doors were closed. That is a weird feeling, as if you’re someone special instead of just a tourist XD Sure it’s because we are customers but it’s just something you’re not used to.
Speaking of bowing it’s such a nationwide thing that even some animals will know the gesture. More on that tomorrow!
Goodnight!
こんばんわ!
Kon-ban-wa!
~ Good evening!
~ Yaru
P.S. Here is the fun fact that I had forgotten yesterday!
Funfact: It’s considered rude to talk loudly or make a phone call on public transport! The train rides here are really quiet even if you’re with a friend, usually everyone is on their phone and if not seated they’re faced towards the windows/doors. It’s different when you’re used to trains which are a bit more lively~
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Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley
