Yesterday we were accompanied by Matt's friend from Kyoto, Yusuke. Who kindly offered to take us around Osaka to different locales. The first of which was Osaka Castle located in Chou-ko.
Yusuke have actually never been to Osaka Castle before, so this was a new experience for him as well.
Like the Shrine in Shumiyoshi, the Castle grounds is mostly covered in forestry.
There was also a large Shrine that was located just infront of the Castle but because of time constraints we opted not to go in.
The Castle is comprised of 8 floors, each floor had a different exhibit that chronicled the history behind it. Including the excavation of it as well as the events of Siege of Osaka. They didn't allow picture taking on certain floors to protect the historical artifacts from deteriorating.
But I was able to snap a picture of a large diorama they had of the castle grounds.
The top floor also offered an open view of the entire city. I however ended up more interested in the gold fish.
After reaching the top floor, we decided to head back down and grab something to eat from the vendors outside. While Matt and Yusuke waited in line to get some Takoyaki/Octopus Balls, Colin and I headed off to find something else to eat.
We happened on upon a really pretty koi pond.
While taking these pictures, a kind japanese man standing next to me started talking to me D=
His name was Saito Takashi who was also visiting the Castle. He was very nice and had some English skills.
He showed us around to the other side of the pond where there was a really really nice view of the castle.
He gave us each a bookmark as well as a origami dinosaur. While we offered to help proofread a letter he was sending to his friend in Germany. I would like to think we parted ways as new friends =)
With Osaka Castle done with, we decided to experience another famous shopping locale in Osaka, America Town/Amerikamura. The whole district was full of shops and restaurants. Neon lights and funky signs covered many of the buildings, most in an "Amerika" style ;P
Apparently this is a pet Shop.
There were also a bunch of strange statues.
We walked around the entire district trying to find a specific shop we wanted to go to but alas it was not to be. Feeling hungry, we decided on eating at a sushi restaurant. The sushi was priced similarly to what you expect from the west but it definitely tasted better than what we get over there. Yusuke sneaked off to the "washroom" where he payed for the entire meal. Its was very kind of him but now I feel guilty of having him pay. I'll definitely try to pay him back for his generosity.
Besides shops and restaurants. America Town also had game centers and other entertainments. We went to an arcade where we all tried out a few games there. We ended off the day with Karaoke. Sadly there weren't much English songs. Thankfully we made do with the many Disney songs they had =)
Here's a video of Matt and I singing the one anime song I know I can sing (it's in English =P). I'm sorry if the video hurts your ears, I'm what you call a bad singer. Sorry Matt for ruining the song.
The time flew by amazing fast. Our hour of karaoke was waaay too short. We parted ways with Yusuke and will try again to meet him when we're in Kyoto.
No comments:
Post a Comment