Osaka: The castle, aquarium, and food
As you may have noticed, I’m a week behind in posting my blogs. Every day, as you will see in the coming blog posts, was a packed schedule of activities. Osaka is a city that is a feast for the senses as well as the belly, with no shortage of things to see and do. We were on an H.I.S. tour, so the days were planned for us, but there were many people on the chartered flight who bought the cheap fare and just landed and started exploring.
For example, my friend Nolan Buenconsejo landed with no plan. He and his friend just googled a few things, and off they went. I could see by his Facebook posts that he hit a lot of the same sights we did, plus a few different ones, and his days were full as well. He didn’t even know where to eat, but he said every meal was great. That’s how much there is in Osaka.
So I give that to you as my excuse for late posts, but you’ll see that each blog will have photos and video, and you can click over to my Flickr to see all other photos. On most trips, I take about 150 photos a day; on this trip, I took about 300 photos a day. Below are the highlights from Osaka Castle, the aquarium, Dotomburi, and Namba Park. For the rest of the photos, click here.
Ultimate Japan in Osaka
As mentioned in the gallery, we made our own takoyaki at Park Goryo restaurant. Here’s how we did:
Then, we went to the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan. I originally wanted soothing music to match the tranquility of the ocean, but I literally fell asleep while editing the video. So I changed the music, and this will keep you awake, as well!
Finally, in Dotomburi, here’s a video of the guys who sell Turkish ice cream. You need to try this when you go!
We didn’t spend nearly enough time in Dotomburi as we should have. I need to go back. Don’t I always say that after every trip?
Up next: A day trip to Nara, and my evening of eating for four hours with Kumiko. Four hours!
Mahalo to H.I.S. for sponsoring my trip to Osaka!
