Osaka - Day ... umm ...

The space bar on this thing is smaller than the shift key!

Osaka, it was explained to me, is a lot like Melbourne. The layout of the city, style of buildings, scenery, gardens, and more have nothing in common at all. But there is one vibe you get in Melbourne that is perfectly replicated in Osaka. The people here are just nice. Not to say people in other cities aren't nice (Hello Brisbane), but Melbourne is the only place before Osaka that I have been to where you can sit down for a drink and get to know the people at the table across from you. Yes, this happens in other cities, but it is almost unavoidable in Melbourne and Osaka.

This is not only the first holiday I've ever really had, it's also my first time overseas. I am travelling alone. So I've had to learn along the way how to travel. I know that sounds like a silly thing to be saying, but I really had no idea if I wanted to do tours, go to museums, amusement parks, bars, walking around, etc etc. But I'm happy to say that I've finally found my groove in aimless wandering. I've done it ever since Hong Kong, and I love it more and more every time. Yes, I have an agenda to a certain extent, things that I want to see, so i walk in the general direction of those things and then figure it out along the way. Getting lost is a reward within itself.

Yesterday is a shining example of how enjoyable this approach can be. I had two things that I knew I wanted to see in Osaka: Osaka Castle and the business district. These were both north, so without even looking at a map, I hit the road and headed in the general direction of north. I walked main roads, side streets, parks and laneways for a good 90 minutes. I had no idea where I was, but as I later discovered, I was headed north west. I had eventually hit, without even realising it, Osaka Castle. I came to the intersection of a convenience store, and a good looking park. I decided to pop in and get some sunscreen and water, and sit down in the park for a minute.

Identifying sunscreen in Japan is an experience in itself.

As I walked into the park I scanned around for a place to sit down when I noticed the castle off in the distance. If I hadn't stopped for sunscreen I would have walked right past it, but that's part of the experience I think.

Osaka castle rests at the top of the hill and stands eight stories tall but not very wide, which is pretty impressive. But, it is actually now the third castle to be constructed at this point. The first was razed just 32 years (1615) after it was built when Japan was in a long period of cival war. 10 years later, the victor rebuilt the castle and grounds which stood until 1868 when it was destroyed by retreating armies to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Meiji restoration's forces. It was rebuilt again a few years later, but is apparently smaller than it used to be.

You can walk into the castle and scale the 8 flights of steps or use the elevator. I opted for the steps. You then progress down the stairs and check out some various exhibits. Plenty of English to be found so a fair bit of time can be spent here familiarising yourself with the history of the castle, and as a result, Osaka. My favourite part, however, was certainly the castle grounds. The castle itself was part of a heavily fortified complex (ironically designed to be impregnable but conquered only 3 decades after its construction) and as you enter the complex you pass through not one but two moats and a gorgeous expanse of gardens. Had I been here two weeks ago when the Sakura were in bloom it could possibly have been one of the most beautiful man made places on earth.

I spent about an hour at the castle and strolling around the grounds before stumbling upon the business district which was just on the western side of the castle complex. After another 30 minutes of walking here I stopped for a drink and realised that I'd only been wandering for 3 hours but I had already seen the two items on my agenda. As a result, I decided to just walk and randomly picked directions to go in for another hour or so, and managed to get pretty lost inside a market. By 4 o'clock I had hit the river and deducted that I must be heading back south and this path would eventually lead me back towards home.

This is where it gets pretty stupid. I have a compass, but for most part I just navigate by the sun when i'm doing my walking. It's been effective, but I just wasn't thinking at this point and decided that if it was 4pm and the sun was on my left, then I must be heading south. Which is completely wrong. I was walking further and further way from my hotel and realised this in two stages. First, I crossed a river that I didn't remember crossing before. Second, I went into a district of town that was unlike anything you would expect to find in the central parts of the city. As I strolled on, I found rail yards, warehouses, low-low cost housing (still decent in very-wealthy Japan). I decided I was lost, but I really didn't care.

Or at least, I didn't care until I walked into a railing on the street and my leg started hurting. I was off day dreaming about something and looking at the sights when I suddenly smacked my thigh and knee straight into a metal post sticking about 3ft out of the ground, barely missing some very important possessions of mine. Fortunately the street was deserted and nobody saw me. My pride was a lot more wounded than my leg was ever going to be.

It was 6pm at this point, and I decided it was time to catch a train home. It took another 30 minutes to find a train station. I did the math on the train, and realised that, after taking away lunch and the castle, I had been doing nothing but walking for 5 hours, and even then I was walking around the castle but just at a much slower pace. It feels good.

Last night was another night at the darts bar, meeting the lovely folk of Osaka and having a little too much to drink and stumbling home far too late. Today I awoke late and went to the park with my friend to partake in some strange sport that he's got himself addicted to... he calls it hockey. I dunno.

Tonight, however, brings a sour note to my trip in Japan. James, my sport friend, is one of the fabulous people I met through my Japanese classes in Melbourne and I have had a great time catching up with him in Osaka and earlier, Hakuba. However James and I are now headed in entirely separate directions with him staying in Japan until May next year (hopefully longer) and me running off the London. It may be 1 to 3 years before we're in the same place at the same time, so tonight will be something of a big deal. Tomorrow I'm off to Hiroshima.

Hope you're all happy and healthy,
Mike