So, I went to Himeji to see the famous Himeji Castle as a half-day trip, hoping to return back to Osaka to see some of its sights during the remaining half...I never expected my trip to Himeji to last as long as it did, but more on that later. It was a pretty short train ride thanks to the shinkansen. I ended up picking one of the worst times to go though - it was Silver Week in Japan...a string of 3 public holidays that coincidentally happen to follow one another after the weekend, resulting in a 5 day holiday. It doesn't happen very often because the public holidays don't always land on the same date every year, so when it does happen, the Japanese make good use of the time off. So you can imagine how packed a popular tourist attraction like Himeji Castle would have been during this time.
At Himeji. The second photo is of the area directly outside the station...it's quite conveniently set up to get to the star attraction - the main road leading from the train station goes directly to the castle.
After a short 10 minute walk from the station, I made it to the castle vicinity. You can even see it as you're approaching the area because it's so tall and it's perched on top of higher ground compared to the rest of the city. Even from afar, it looked quite majestic with its white walls, intricately designed grey roofs, and tapered design - I could see why it was such an attraction for tourists, especially the Japanese wishing to see a part of their history. When I made it into the outer castle grounds, there was already quite a line-up just to purchase the tickets to get into the castle (it was around 9-10am by now)! So thinking that it probably couldn't get any longer because it was already so long, I decided to look around the outer castle grounds first before committing to lining up...well that ended up being a mistake, because the line actually doubled in length by the time I had finished walking around the castle along the outer castle wall. And when I finally got my ticket (after a good 30 minute wait), the line didn't stop there...it continued and continued and continued along the entire walking route (to get into the castle itself)...again, huge amount of people and super long line-up. In fact, the line-up was so long, that despite paying for the ticket, I never actually got to go inside the castle itself and see the view from the top floor of the main tower - quite disappointing, and definitely not my money's worth, but there was no way I was going to wait that long just to get inside the castle (it would have easily been a 1-1.5 hour wait just to get inside without any exaggeration)...I'll let the pictures do the talking. If had chosen to stay and wait, I wouldn't have gotten to see as much of Osaka as I did (and I didn't even really see all that Osaka supposedly had to offer). Plus the timing sort of seemed to work out. As I left the castle, it started to rain...not pouring rain, but I would have definitely gotten wet standing in line that long.
Outside the main gate to the castle; you can see in the moat in the background. It was quite sunny (for now) as you might be able to tell.
The main gate.
Some photos from my walk around the castle. The first photo is of the rock wall on which the inner castle grounds stood on. The sixth photo is of one of the many wild cats wandering the outer grounds...this particular cat decided to walk towards me and just sat there beside my shoe until I finally walked away. I decided to not risk letting it rub up against my leg - it looked kind of dirty as you can imagine, and it had a couple of strange looking bugs around it's bum area (which you can see in the photo).
Walking on the outer castle wall. You can see the moat to one side.
I don't know if this is considered a flower or a weed (I thought it might be a weed based on how it looked), but there was just this small group of them growing near the moat, seemingly isolated from anything else. They looked really delicate. (I ended up noticing this same plant in other central and southern parts of Japan during the latter parts of my trip growing in the same isolated style.) Don't ask me what the name is, I never bothered finding out, but if you know its name, feel free to let me know.
A photo of the famous (at least in Japan) Japanese heron, overlooking the moat.
Lining up...just to buy a ticket to get into the inner castle grounds! The line was so long I couldn't even capture the end of it in the photo (plus the leaves sort of got in the way).
And the line continued...
A performer (I can only assume) dressed in a ninja costume trying to entertain the many, many people waiting in line.
And the line continued...(it looks similar to the photo 2 photos above, but it's actually a different gate...took about 20-25 minutes between the 2 points which would have taken a 2 minute walk if it weren't for the line-up).
Looking out one of the many holes in the walls (for shooting arrows?).
And again, the line continues (directly outside the main tower of the castle)...it looks like a huge square because the line was compacted (similar to how lines are formed for any tourist attraction or roller coaster ride with a line-up)...it took about 45 minutes to reach this point, and this was taken at the end of this line on the grounds directly beside the main tower.
A close-up shot of the main tower of the castle; the closest I ever got to it (and it wasn't that close, this was taken with zoom).
Overlooking the inner castle grounds from outside the main tower. You can see part of the line-up to get to the main tower.
Another view of the main tower, and the line-up leading into it. Like I've mentioned numerous times now, the line up was huge (its width spanned the entire length of the base of the main tower, and don't forget it was a folded line-up!). You even tell from the photo how dense the line-up was - there was basically no spacing between the people in the line. So you might understand why I didn't feel like enduring the long wait.
A snack I picked up at the Himeji train station. I had to try it when I saw it in the convenie...a slice of chocolate in chocolate cream between sealed crust-less white bread...I had never seen white bread used like this before (well not with chocolate, I know it's plenty common to seal things like ham and cheese between slices of white bread).
Back in Osaka, I decided to check out the Umeda area first, mainly to see the peculiarly designed Umeda Sky Building. It's 2 40-story towers connected near the top, and a 360 observation deck at the very top called the Floating Garden Observatory...obviously it cost money to enter the open-air observation deck, which I didn't really feel like paying for (plus the sky was grey so it wouldn't have made for the best views). Luckily for budget travellers like me, the organizers of the tourist attraction haven't really thought the whole thing through...you can actually go all the way to the top floor just below the observation deck for free, where you can still get some nice views (mostly during the elevator ride)...point is, I didn't have to pay to go to almost the top haha.
Umeda Sky Building up-close, between the 2 towers.
The view from the elevator...see it's quite decent for a free view.
View from the top floor the elevator goes to (it doesn't go all the way to the top floor below the observation deck).
The escalator up to the floor below the Floating Garden Observatory (with observatory deck in view).
From the top floor below the Floating Garden Observatory. The Floating Garden Observatory is in view in the first photo, and the two escalators to reach/leave the top floor are in view in the second photo.
View from the elevator ride back down.
In the basement floor of the Umeda Sky Building, inside the Takimi-koji restaurant alley, which was designed as a replica of a Japanese street from the early Showa period.
Another view of the Umeda Sky Building.
Then I headed off to ride the JR Osaka Loop line (for those that ever visit Osaka, be warned it seemed a bit slower than the subway) to the second castle of the day (which I had no intention of visiting at first, but it was along the way), the Osaka Castle. I can see why the Himeji Castle was rated as the most beautiful one in Japan...the Osaka one didn't even compare. Plus, according to the guidebooks, the Osaka Castle was recently rebuilt, so it just looked too new...it's hard to explain but I'm sure you know what I'm getting at. I didn't get to go into this castle either...well I wasn't going to pay to go in, and it was closed anyway by the time I got there.
Approaching the castle.
A block arrangement (I think from one of the older reconstructions of the castle) in the outer castle grounds.
Heading towards the inner castle grounds.
The time capsule from Expo '70, placed in the inner castle grounds.
No comment hahaha.
Enjoying ice cream at the Osaka Castle. I got the "awa okoshi" flavour...it sort of tasted like ginger?
After the second castle of the day, I hopped back onto the JR Osaka loop line to another district of Osaka known as Shin-sekai, where the formerly popular (but still a well-visited tourist attraction) Tsutenkaku Tower stood. The guidebooks describe the area as "retro" and a bit sketchy now, and the tower is now regarded as outdated (since it was originally built in 1912 and rebuilt in 1969 as a symbol of the excitement the once-popular district was known for). Well I agree that the certainly looks run down a bit in certain areas. I accidentally got off at the station before the station that leads to the district, so I had to wander the streets a bit to get there. I ended up accidentally passing through a short underground walking tunnel that led to the district...it smelled of stale urine, had a sickish yellow glow (due to the lights reflecting off the dirty walls), and was lined with a few tiny stalls selling cheap wares. The streets on Shin-sekai thankfully were nowhere near as dirty, but it was evident that the shops and many restaurants had been around for a while. But there was still a lot of bright lights around, thanks in part to the many pachinko parlours lining the streets. I managed to find my way to the front of the tower, and I'd have to agree with the guidebooks - a sense of former glory seemed to radiate from it as I looked upon it.
A group of street performers singing on the overpass outside the train station I exited.
Outside the underground tunnel, leading to Shin-sekai.
The largest (that I found) of the many statues of Billiken, the funny-looking (supposedly) good luck charm, which is why many businesses in the area had at least small statues of Billiken outside their front door. Some of the bigger statues also had an English inscription on the base describing Billiken as "the god of things as they out to be".
The popular big puffer fish lantern hanging over the main alley in Shin-sekai leading to the Tsutenkaku Tower. There were quite a number of these lanterns, as they hang often are hung outside fugu specialty restaurants, and there were many of these in Shin-sekai. You can already see a glimpse of Tsutenkaku Tower in the background.
Tsutenkaku Tower.
On the way back to the JR Osaka Loop Line from Shin-sekai, I unknowingly passed by a building known as Spa World, an entire building devoted to different spa treatments and hot spring baths. I found the English translations amusing, especially the second one.
With nightfall set in, I felt it would have been too confusing (and expensive) trying to figure out the subway system to get to the harbour area of Osaka, so I didn't get to see that area. Instead I headed back up north towards the Dotonbori area to try okonomiyaki, another Osaka specialty. I first wandered through Namba Walk, an long underground shopping arcade...the Japanese really love their underground arcades.
Inside Namba Walk. I accidentally stumbled upon the Chicago Gallery, a section lined with artwork along the walls (show in the second and third photos).
On the way to Dotonbori, where a person dressed as a panda bear is promoting a pachinko parlour...the Japanese have some amusing ideas.
Back at Dotonbori Arcade, I chose Chibo Okonomiyaki to try okonomiyaki (I remembered seeing a really long line-up to get in the night before, so I figured it served good okonomiyaki). It turns out Chibo was actually a Lonely Planet guidebook recommendation (which I didn't know going in), but it was a good pick because the okonomiyaki was amazing (despite being my most expensive meal in Japan to date at almost $20 CDN). It was sooo filling and delicious though that it was worth every penny. It doesn't look that big in the photos, but I was the most stuffed I had ever been in Japan. I ordered the house specialty, Dotombori yaki, a fully loaded okonomiyaki filled with pork, beef, squid, shrimp, and cheese!
Another interesting building along the Dotonbori Arcade. I had a bit of time after finishing my dinner, so I just wandered around the arcade and the surrounding arcades, not looking for anything in particular, but wandering down random alleys and passing through the game centres.
A stall selling Turkish ice cream - the attraction was the show the guy selling the ice cream put on for his customers. I didn't try it myself, I found a small single scoop of ice cream for over $4 CDN a bit expensive. Because the ice cream is thicker than normal ice cream, he was able to use the ice cream on the scoop stick to pretend to serve his customers and then pull it away at the last moment. I think a video would have shown it better, but again, another time I wish I had a compact camera.
Along the Dotonbori Canal...very picturesque with the bright lights reflecting off the canal, and it was very relaxing with jazz music being played aloud along the canal. You can see the boat that was playing the music in the third picture on the left side.
A store selling only toy models (large and small) near the Dotonbori Arcade.
Enjoying another Japanese frozen dessert, an ice milk fruit bar, outside one of the many game centres in the arcades around Dotonbori (I won a prize in this particular one). I chose the berry one, and there were actual frozen chunks of berry in an ice milk bar (it's more icy and slushier than ice cream).
Another prize I won from a UFO catcher game! As you can see in the second photo, they're only available as prizes, and only in Japan! I actually won another prize at the same time (the claw accidentally dislodged another prize while I was trying to grab my prize), but it was a Goku model which I didn't really want (yes another Dragon Ball Z character haha) and didn't have room for in my bag, so I gave it to a Japanese guy standing nearby who was watching me play.
My next stop after Osaka was Kyoto, but because Kyoto is so close to Osaka (less than 15 minutes by shinkansen), I decided to catch a noon train so that I could spend the morning visiting another district in Osaka known as Amerikamura, a shopping district with shops selling American brand clothes, but trust me, the many young Japanese that frequent the area turn the fashion into something else. It was about a 15 minute walk to get there from the hostel, and because it was still morning, there weren't many people walking around yet, but it was still an interesting area to visit.
Along the way to Amerikamura...yes the Japanese are very clean people, but that doesn't mean there isn't any dirt and trash lying around, you just need to look a little harder to find it. In fact, the cleanliness of Japan is all relative in my opinion - yes it's really clean for Asia. Japan is basically as clean as Canada, often cleaner (I'm sure everyone knows some parts of Toronto are a bit gross), but it ain't as spotless as visitors often report (mostly European visitors...I guess it isn't that clean in Europe).
Some of the things I found interesting in Amerikamura. The lamp posts were really cool - they look like robotic people! The last photo is at the entrance of the Amerikamura district...I don't know what the long line of strangely dressed Japanese girls were waiting for.
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