Kansai encompasses such cities as Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, and Kobe. Ambitious (and slightly crazy) self that I am, I aimed to hit all four major cities in just 5 days. Yeah... many of my co-workers laughed at me and said - Good luck! It was a crazy trip and so exhausting... but I got some great pics!
I'm honestly not up to writing a bunch of stories on my adventures; I know if I take the time to do that, I'll never finish posting these in any sort of timely manner. I'm already behind on some other events to share about. Anyways, so here's a summary of where I went each day and links to the pics:
Sun 11.10 - OSAKA
- Woke up at 4am and headed to the airport by 5am. Arrived at airport by 8am for flight 1 hour later. Flight experience was odd since they shuttled us off to the plane which was chilling in the middle of the runway, maybe 10 min bus ride away.
- Arrived in Osaka and headed to downtown area. Toured: Dotonbori (shops and food) and Osaka castle. Pouring rain by the time I hit the castle.
- Mid afternoon - I checked into my hostel. I was staying near the river in central Osaka, only 2500 yen a night - very cheap!
- Evening - I went down to the port area and visited Osaka Aquarium. It's very large (8 floors) and home to two whale sharks! It was pretty neat. I got there late and so I kinda rushed through things before they closed. I ate dinner at the Naniwa Food Theme park next door - good tendon (tempura rice bowl) and miso soup. Dessert was sesame ice cream; interestingly enough, it was this coal grey color.... still tasty.
- Headed back to the hostel to sleep.
** Link to Osaka pics
Mon 11.11 - MINOO PARK & KOBE
- Started day early by 9am and was off to Minoo Park to hike in the forest and see a large waterfall at the top. Weather was cool and cloudy.
- Very rustic town area and lots of little shops on the pathway at the base of the trail.
- Nature was beautiful, some leaves were starting to change colors. Took tons of pics and enjoyed the peaceful walk.
- Hike wasn't overly strenuous, but it had some steep areas. I saw all sorts of people making the venture - from kids (age 4+ walking), mothers with babies on their backs, old grannies and grandpas, a pregnant lady (she must have been 7 months along, so that was amazing)... even a man in a suit and tie.
- It sprinkled here or there on the way, but was full out raining by the time I hit the top and saw the waterfall. I had no umbrella, so I took some pics and quickly started heading back down the mountain. If I could get to the shop area without being too soaked, I could buy an umbrella there. I made it eventually, but after 45 min up the trail, it was a lot slower going down in the rain. On the way, I ate maple leaves tempura - seriously see the pics. This old lady friend leaves in a batter and sold them. It's popular here and they were super delicious! I regret not buying a bag to take back with me.
- After I got back to the station, I drank some hot milk tea to warm up and decided to head straight to Kobe. I wasn't too wet and figured I'd risk the potential cold rather than make a detour back to my hostel. It was a good decision - I never did get sick on my trip.
- In Kobe, I walked so much! I completely didn't think about using the local buses to speed things up until mid-day. I could have saved more time, but oh well. I walked through the Motomachi (Chinatown) area and then down to the Harborland. I saw the Kobe Port Tower and walked along the bay a bit. Then I took a bus up to see the Flower Clock (clock made only of flowers) and then further up to Shin Kobe station. There, I spotted an Arashi ad, which perked me up (Arashi's die-hard fan here). I had wanted to take the ropeway up Mt. Rokko, but it was suspended due to damage from typhoon 18. So, instead, I took a separate cable car up to an Herb Garden.
- The cable car venture was soooooo scary, since it got really windy when you have no tree coverage and the car kept swinging like crazy. I thought it was going to fall several times because of the odd noises and violent swings. I'm still not sure how I made it up and back without fainting.
- At the top, I took a lot of good pics. I also had this special herb tea which was super delicious - a blend of hibiscus, lemongrass, and rose hips.
- After I made it back down, much less traumatized than going up, I considered walking around more in the town but after a short while, I changed my mind and returned to the hostel. It was cold and I was tired again after a busy day.
** Link to Minoo Park pics ** Link to Kobe pics
Tues 11.12 - Kyoto
- Tired and sore when I woke, almost didn't go anywhere as I got up late - around 10am.
- First, went to southeast Kyoto - to Fushimi Inari shrine. I really liked this area. The shrine is only steps outside the station exit and extends for hours into the mountain area.
- I hiked up and explored the thousand-gate pathway for about 30-40 minutes before turning around.
- After, I ate some tempura udon in town and explored some shops for souvenirs and snacks. I really wanted some kitsune (fox) themed souvenirs, but I had a hard time finding something tasteful and not gaudy. I didn't want something I'd never display or use.
- I went to east Kyoto next and stayed there the rest of the day. There are so many places to go in Kyoto, but I only had one day and it's not realistic to spend a chunk of my day traveling around the city. So, I stayed on the east side of town.
- I visited Ginkakuji - more famous is Kinkakuji, for it's golden shrine, but I liked the more rustic and nature-inspired Ginkakuji. I've already seen some golden gates at shrines in Kamakura anyways.
- I explored a lot of local shops for souvenirs and snacks. There were tons of foreign tourists there and, after so much time in a smaller town area, seeing this many foreigners was kind of unsettling. I can only imagine the culture shock I'll get when I return back to America in a few months...
- I walked on Tetsugaku no Michi (Philosopher's Pathway) toward Kiyomizudera before it started raining again and I hopped on a bus for the rest of the way. The timing was bad, but I made it there before they closed and explored the area a bit at night. Finally, I took the bus through Gion - didn't see anything special there, just more shops, so I skipped along and eventually returned back to the hostel.
- Overall, I wasn't too impressed with Kyoto beyond the Inari area.
** Link to Kyoto pics
Wed 11.13 - Nara
- Last full day in the area, so I headed east into the countryside to see Nara.
- Nara is known for all the tame deer that wander the town and parks. They are everywhere! They will follow you too and attempt to eat anything that smells good. Vendors sell senbei (crackers) that you can feed them and they will eat from your hand.
- I walked through the parks and visited Todaiji temple, a very old wooden temple. Then, I hiked up further into the woods and mountain area.
- Ate lunch in a small restaurant at the base of the mountain - Yamato-cha soba noodles. They were green and so delicious!
- Near the town area, there is a big lake and I got some really classic photos of the lake and temple. A couple look like something that's in a calendar or on a puzzle. My favorite has the reflection of the autumn leaves in it, the temple tower in the background, and turtles climbing on a log resting in the middle of the lake.
- I walked through the town area, but spent most of the day up on the pathways in the mountains.
** Link to Nara pics
Thu 11.14 - OSAKA
- Slept in and checked out of the hostel before noon. I had a couple hours to burn before my flight, so I hung out around Nanba station, where there are lots of shopping areas and food.
- By now, i was thoroughly bored and had enough of Osaka area. It really reminded me of Tokyo and that wasn't new and exciting to me anymore.
- My flight was early afternoon and I finally walked in my apartment door around 7pm after all the train rides to get back to my small city. I unpacked, did some laundry (even walked to the local laundromat for a drier machine) and cleaned up so I could start my work day fresh.
- It was a good thing I did so - since even though I had only 2 days left in my work week, somehow my manager had arranged 15 classes for me in that time... ugh it was not a light, welcome-back-to-work-after-a-vacation day. I was so glad for the weekend after those 2 work days to really lay down, do nothing, and relax.
Somehow, this turned out much longer than expected... oh well, hope you enjoyed!
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