Osaka

~Exploring Osaka~

During our Winter Break, Elise and I decided to do a bit of traveling.  We decided to spend three days in Osaka.  We decided to go for three days and two nights.

Night Buses, not pleasant but cost efficient.

We took a night bus to arrive.  It cost us around 5000 yen one way to take the bus.  We thought it would be easier to sleep on the vehicle, but neither of us slept more than an hour for the 7 hour drive.

Arriving bright and early in Osaka, the first thing I noted was how empty the place looked.  It was a far cry from the (not lively but) crowded Tokyo.  I realized later that we were in the emptier part of the city area.

 My first reaction:  :T where are the buildings??

Still, being in a new place, Elise and I decided to look around.  Though, it wasn't like there was much to see, everything was still closed for another few hours.  We walked around anyways.

 That building in the background is a bookstore.  We spent the first hour or so in there, looking and books.

 Interesting clock.

 Very complex looking building.  Just kidding there are three of them there.

Ghasp, people!

Pffffffffft.

For lunch, Udon and Oden.  It was a nice quaint shop.  Cheap.  Lots of food.  Close to the station.  We really enjoyed it there.  The only thing I can't stand is all the slurping taking place around us.  That stuff sprays everywhere.

Alas, I could not finish the broth for it was filled with onions...my mortal enemy.

The Udon shop.  Nice decorations.

Eventually, the time came for us to head to our lodgings for the night.  Our check-in time was at 2PM.

On the way, we spotted a store dedicated to the Milky company.

How I wish my mother was here.  Hahaha.

We actually got lost for a while.  We eventually went back to the station for directions.  The guy got up and walked us to the building.

 I actually only took the top two pictures of our place.  I forgot to take pictures of our room for the night, or even what the outside looked like.  We just went to our rooms, got changed, and slept until the next day.  It was only 3 or 4 in the afternoon at the time too!

Before we left, we did take the time to go up to their roof to look at their bonsai garden.

Not bad for the location.

Our breakfast was not the healthiest that fine morning.  We stopped off at....

 Mister Donut!

 Best Breakfast ever.  ;)

I always wondered what these were when I saw the drawings of them online.  Now I know.  They tasted like honey by the way.

This time, we went into the more known part of Osaka, where all the tall buildings and all the stores are located.  It was quite different from where we had spent the last day and a half.

First stop was at the Capsule Hotel, where we had decided to spend our second night, for the experience.

 You have to unlock the door to the "rooms" before you can get in.  Boys and girls are separate.

 It's like having bunk beds!  Ha.

My bed for the night.  I found out that they have porn.  LOL.  Who would want to get busy, by themselves, in a capsule hotel?!  It's not exactly private.

 Elise really likes Starbucks, so we stopped off and got some.

Meanwhile, i pulled out the little toy I had bought at a convenience store we stopped at (for directions for our capsule hotel).  It's....like, a mini excavation toy.  You dig through the sand until you get the gem free.

This is what I expected for Osaka.  My expectations were not let down. ;)