Umeda sky Building
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Birthdayparty and Umedaskybuilding.
Funnfact: I did'nt even know her (the birthday child)! 😂
Christmasfeeling, music, food and lights, beautiful.
Iceskating? Sure, but not alone. Maybe nextRead more
Birthdayparty and Umedaskybuilding.
Funnfact: I did'nt even know her (the birthday child)! 😂
Christmasfeeling, music, food and lights, beautiful.
Iceskating? Sure, but not alone. Maybe next time☺️
たのしでづRead more
Nach dem Museumsbesuch habe ich mir Dumplings zum Frühstück besorgt (hab heut früh eventuell verschlafen), bin die Einkaufspassage noch ein Stück entlang und über eine Crêperie gestolpert und kurz zum Ōgimachi-Park abgebogen. Die dort pink blühenden Bäume waren Magnolien mit riesigen Blüten und sahen auch ganz hübsch aus. Über Kirschblüten hätte ich mich jedoch mehr gefreut, aber da wären auch mehr Japaner*innen drumrum gewesen.
Eine Station weiter habe ich den Temmangū-Schrein aufgesucht, einen Talisman sowie ein Omikuri ("heiliges Los") käuflich erworben, zu den Shintō-Göttern gebetet und einen blühenden Pfirsichbaum gespottet. Auch hübsch.
Dann ging es ein ganzes Stück weiter Richtung Süden zum Shitennōji-Tempel. Hier konnte ich einige buddhistische Mönche beobachten (Fotos verboten) und durch die Tempel und den Turm streifen.
Zum Schluss ging es über den Horikoshi-Schrein zum Keitaku-Garten.
Durch Zufall bin ich an Teilen der Berliner Mauer vorbei, daneben eine Spendenbox: "Bitte spenden Sie für die Reparatur der Berliner Mauer" - 1. Warum steht ein Teil der Mauer mitten in Ōsaka, 2. ich hoffe, sie wollen nur diese Teile erhalten und nicht die ganze Mauer wiederaufbauen 🤣
So langsam bricht auch der Foto-Wahn wieder aus. Alles ist hübsch, alles muss fotografiert werden. Auch wenn das Wetter heut nicht mitgespielt hat.Read more
Traveler Erstmal heißt das „verspottet“. Zweitens, du sollst keine Pflanzen spotten, nur weil es keine Kirschblüten sind. Drittens, Pfirsich ist lecker. Viertens, weiter so und noch viel Spaß! 😁
Nachdem der Regen aufgehört hat, holen wir unsere Koffer aus dem Hotel und fahren in aller Gemütlichkeit nach Kyoto. Die beiden Städte liegen mit einer Art S-Bahn eine knappe Stunde auseinander, wodurch man von der Entfernung eigentlich fast schon von einer Stadt sprechen kann. Osaka ist mit 2,7 Millionen Einwohnern die größere der beiden Städte, Kyoto hat nur knapp 1,5 Millionen Einwohner. Kyoto soll die kulturelle und historische Hauptstadt Japans sein. Wie sind gespannt.
Mittlerweile hat auch unser Airbnb den Code für die Haustür übermittelt und so fahren wir bei mittlerweile wieder strahlendem Sonnenschein zu unserem nächsten Reiseziel.Read more
Traveler Tragen wir hier in der Bahn und an Stellen, wo viele Menschen sind, immer. Machen hier viele.
Traveler Erstmal gehört das hier zum guten Ton. Außerdem haben wir in diesen Metropolen wenig Lust unseren Urlaub durch Krankheit zu vermiesen. Last but not least hat uns Hartmut lieberweise darauf aufmerksam gemacht, dass vor allem in Tokio STSS umgeht. Brauchen wir auch nicht. Insofern 😷 und mehr Bier trinken. 😆
Dr Yasaka Schrein isch z Symbol vom Gion Viertel. D Bsunderheit vo däm Schrein isch die grossi Statue vom "Shishi". Die Kreature gälte im Buddhismus & Shintoismus als "Wächterlöwe" wo magischi chräft hei bösi geischter abzwehrä. Näbscht däm söll die Shishi aber oh d bedütig ha für Sieg, Glück & Erfolg - drum wird dä Schrein oh vo Schüeler & Sportler oftmals bsuecht.Read more
Day 39
Today we left Yamaguchi and headed all the way back up to Osaka as we begin our journey up north. After a few hours of travelling we made it to Osaka station and took the metro to our hostel, dumped our bags here and then went out again.
Now today (being the 8th of April) is Buddhas birthday in Japan known as Hana matsuri, japan actually celebrate this earlier than the rest of Asia due to them swapping their calendar! Having researched heavily online I couldn’t find any form of real celebrations happening in Japan today which I thought was strange until I came across one article that said to go to the main temple of that city and they tend to have some kind of display and ceremony. So we headed to Shitennoji which has a beautiful pagoda and grounds with wonderful cherry blossoms. As we wandered around we noticed a statue of Buddha with flowers decorating it as an offering to Buddha. Around the statue a small seating area had been set up with some of the locals sat there. Shortly after we noticed this all the monks came out of the temple and walked over chanting to this area. Watching slightly from afar as we wanted to be respectful they began burning incense and clearly preparing from a ceremony. Then, very sweetly one of the security that escorted the monks invited us to come and stand closer so we got to stand and watch their ceremony! They had many mantras and it was an incredible experience and I think pretty amazing that we got to witness it as we were the only tourists there so not sure how we managed that one! But it didn’t seem a very largely advertised event today if I hadn’t looked it up I wouldn’t have known it was Buddhas birthday today!
During hana matsuri there is also a tradition to pour green tea over the statues of Buddha but we didn’t see this today but we did get very lucky to see the ceremony!
After this we wandered around the grounds for a little while before catching the metro out to our activity of the day- sushi making! Those who have kept up well with my blog will be slightly perplexed as we have already done sushi making, expect it wasn’t the classic “proper” sushi if you like and Jacob really wanted to learn and make the proper sushi, so reluctantly I agreed and I’m so glad I did!
We met the chef outside a metro station with another British couple who were doing the experience and then our chef - Yuki lead us away from the station and we reached a block of apartments where she welcomed us into her home! I was very shocked by this as it didn’t say on the activity description that it was in her home! We took our shoes off as we entered and Yuki gave us some sliders to wear, she welcomed us into her small flat that had sliding door panels and a little kitchen table that we all gathered around to make sushi! We made a few different types of sushi and completely from scratch as we learnt how to properly prepare the rice too! We made Nigiri, sashimi, Maki and Tamago. I discovered that I actually quite like Maki to my absolute surprise! This is the sushi that is rice with fish and vegetables wrapped in a sheet of seaweed. I think the reason I probably liked it was the proportion of fish to rice but this is a huge step forward for me as I seriously don’t eat any fish- until now!!! Making the sushi was also so fun, Yuki was lovely and very helpful and open to lots of questions about cuisine but also Japan in general and her lifestyle. She worked in restaurants for 10 years and now teaches classes for a living! It was a really genuinely authentic experience and was so much fun and it really pushed me as I ate raw octopus! Now that I didn’t like but it’s always good to try new things and it just goes to show that it can work as I now like some fish! Not to dampen anyone’s hopes reading this but I still hated the other types of sushi but progress is progress!
Day 40
We had a slow morning today and headed over to Osaka castle which is one of the most famous in Japan as it signifies the end of the wars in Japan and unifying the country. Standing at 55m the gold and green embellished castle is really beautiful. Surrounded by a moat and extensive gardens it’s very easy to waste a few hours enjoying the scenery and wandering through the cherry blossoms to enjoy them before they disappear!
We then headed to Tenjinbashi-suji Shopping Street which is the longest shopping street in Japan at over a mile long!! I have to say we were a bit disappointed with this as it really wasn’t aimed at tourists at all which is fair enough reallt but there wasn’t really anything that caught our eye. However, we still enjoyed strolling down it and looking through the food markets and stores. After a mile of walking I wanted a quick pit stop so we stopped to grab a late lunch before setting off to our last destination of today- Dotonbori!
Now I feel that Osaka has been a very laid back city with actually very little energy so far until you get to Dotonbori! Large screens with adverts and posters and light up signs line the buildings- a little like a mini Times Square that leads you to the food street of Dotonbori which is completely bonkers. A long street filled with street food and restaurants with some very wacky eye catching sights. Large plastic moving crabs and cows and fish attached and hanging from buildings advertising restaurants and street food line the street. This is the most busy bustling part of Osaka and it’s so much fun. It feels a bit like a fever dream walking through a sleepy city to then reach noise and smells and lights and people on mass, everywhere!
We tried two different street food vendors, one selling strawberries on a skewer coated in melted sugar which were delicious and awful for you I’m sure and also a wagyu beef skewer which was mouth wateringly good! So overall today has been pretty varied and once again so much fun!Read more
Traveler Well done Jacob! Mission accomplished !- you got her to eat and like fish! 💓 Though I have to say raw octopus does not appeal ! That restaurant street looks utterly insane - so much fun!
Today is our last full day in Osaka so we started at the famous Osaka aquarium which was the largest in the world at one point and it really is massive. Huge tanks of fish from all over the world with several floors it takes about 2 hours to walk around! We enjoyed looking at the different types of fish before having a quick coffee and then walking around a nearby plaza. Wondering around the shops we saw a rather odd looking shop that looked like a puppy daycare. Curious we wondered up and you literally pay to go and cuddle puppies, so of course we did. A big room full of about 20 different dogs all running around and playing with each other and all very cuddly it really made me miss my doggies at home! But it was very strange but very cute!
After this we went on the Osaka equivalent of the London eye and got some lovely panoramic views over the Osaka Bay Area before heading to a rather quirky restaurant! Arriving 20 minutes before opening in order to be the first in the queue we went to Zauo fishing restaurant where they have a large pond full with fish that you catch and then the chef cooks for you! It’s a surreal experience! Shown to our table we were handed a fishing rod. Fishing from our table I waited nervously to catch my fish, we decided to try catch a sea bream as Jacob thought this would be the most “tame” fish for me to try eat.
Feeling a litttle nibble I tried to catch my first fish but it slipped away with my bait! Eventually after about 15 minutes i managed to hook one and put it in the net before it could get away and handed it quickly over to our waitress to deal with! She handed it back to me for a quick picture before taking it away to the kitchen to be grilled!
Now it was jacobs turn and after a while he managed to catch another large sea bream! Now whilst the experience is really fun it came to eating the fish. When the fish was served whole- head and tail intact my heart dropped out of my stomach. For those who don’t know I really struggle to eat fish partly because I don’t like the taste but also because they kind of freak me out so this was really challenging me to the extreme! After a bit of a pep talk from Jacob which pretty much consisted of “man up and eat it you’ll be fine” I managed to eat about half of the fish before I timed out. It felt very cruel eating the fish next to its siblings! Jacob happily polished off the rest of my fish before heading off to our last activity today.
This was the team lab immersive art exhibition in a huge outdoor botanical gardens. With art projected onto huge rocks, lantern like lights on the water, colour changing globes, and a forest full of what looked like rain drops changing colour it was stunning! What was also nice is that the art changes depending on the behaviour of the people in the space, for example if you get closer to something it might get brighter or if you touch one of the globes in changes colour- it’s all very fun actually! All whilst winding through a garden it’s really breathtaking! I absolutely love this kind of modern art and it’s just such a fun way to experience and explore different spaces and forms of art.Read more
Traveler What a fun day! Fishing from your table dues not get fresher than that! Well done for trying to eat and will done Jacob for pushing Kristyna to man up 🤣. The puppy cuddle shop is a genius idea. They get paid by the owners and also by the punters who just want to cuddle a pooch!
Traveler Two brilliant concepts! Dog owners pay for their dogs to be looked after, and then you pay to cuddle them! Genius business idea! Then to actually fish for your dinner from your table is insane! Love the idea of being handed a fishing rod as you arrive. Though strange decision to go to an aquarium to enjoy looking at them and then go and eat one straight after !! The indoor part of the light show looks very similar to the one we just went to in London.
The art exhibition looks rather like the balloon exhibition sarah gave mum and me tickets too! [Auntie penny]
Journée visite bien chargée,plus de 60 photos aujourd'hui ça va être dur dans sélectionner 20^^
Je vais essayer de faire un post un peu plus concis, moins détaillé pour pas que ça me prenne la journée à voir si j'y arrive ^^
On a commencer par un petit dej dans un boulangerie Française que Mister gourmand avait repéré sur maps (Oui oui j'ai trouvé plus gourmand que moi!) avant d'aller visiter le château 🏰 d'Osaka. Quand ils disent château ça ressemble fortement à un temple mais sur un promontoire entouré de douves comme chez nous!
La zone du château est immense, il est entouré de vastes jardins et d'autres jolis bâtiments et minis temples, c'est vraiment stylé ça fait un havre de paix et de verdure au centre de la ville. Le château est vraiment magnifique vert blanc et noir, il y a quelques restes de Sakura en fleur. L'intérieur du château à été transformé en musée avec des lettres anciennes, des infos sur le château, etc,...il reste rien de l'intérieur de l'époque c'est un peu dommage. Mais l'observatoire en haut et bien stylé, plus haut qu'on ne le pensait.
Ensuite on file à pied en direction d'un autre temple (tenmangu) dans un autre quartier de la ville. Une heure à travers la ville, c'est la ville des ponts il y en a vraiment partout dans tous les sens qui se passent par dessus par dessous c'est impressionnant. Pas mal de rives aménagées avec des beaux espaces verts le long des diverses rivières/bras de mer qui traverse la ville c'est pas mal. Le temple est au milieu des bâtiments ça fait un gros contraste. Joli temple, simple, très mimi, pas très touristique c'est cool.
Ensuite c'est direction le sud de la ville en métro 🚇(enfin le sud du centre qui est immense) pour y visiter le quartier de Shinsenkai, un quartier rétro, avec des enseignes colorés, flashy de partout. C'est vraiment marrant on se croirait presque dans un parc d'attraction. Il y a des restaurants et boutiques de spécialités sucrées de partout, on ère un peu avant de se décider pour manger des sushis 🍣, on se régle avec le saumon surtout qui est d'un tendre de ouf.
L'après-midi on se dirige vers la tour d'Abeno Hakura,🏢 le plus haut building du Japon (300m de haut) qui est très récent c'est le 10ème anniversaire cette année. Au passage on craque pour une tarte aux fraises 🍓 et un Taiyaki ( spécialité sucrée en forme de poisson fourré de crème pâtissière qu'ont avait déjà pris a Tokyo) 🤤🤤. On monte 'seulement' au 16ème étage au café/jardin dont l'accès est gratuit, l'obervatoire est au 60ème!! car ce soir on va visiter l'observatoire d'une autre tour. La vue est déjà ouf, et c'est impressionnant ce nombre de buildings, presque à perte de vue avec au fond une chaîne de basse montagnes d'un côté et la mer de l'autre (mais on a pas vraiment accès à ce côté).
On se ballade ensuite dans le Tenoji parc à côté, il y a un concert de rap/métal qui nous semble décalé par rapport au peuple Japonais. C'est blindé de monde, beaucoup sont assis sur leur petite couverture c'est marrant. On arrive à passer de l'autre côté du parc où l'on tombe sur un cours d'eau avec un petit pont rouge so cute et un petit temple (Isshin-ji) magnifique.
Puis métro 🚇 direction Umeda le quartier d'affaires de la ville où se trouve l'Umeda Sky Building. On marche encore pas mal sur le trajet car les stations de métro sont assez éloignées. Les alentours de la gare d'Osaka sont vraiment fou niveau building, routes et ponts dans tous les sens, on se croirait dans un film! L'Umeda Sky a une architecture folle avec deux escalators à plus de 150m qui relient deux tour dont une avec un observatoire 173m. On monte tout en haut c'est bien stylé, on arrive juste au coucher du soleil du coup on voit la ville d'en haut de jour et aussi de nuit avec toutes les lumières. La ville est vraiment immense. C'est un angle de vue super différent de l'autre tour dans laquelle on est monté donc c'est bien d'avoir fait les 2! Je vous laisse découvrir les quelques photos.
En sortant on passe voir le Gate Tower building où il y a une autoroute qui passe à travers un bâtiment, oui oui vous m'avez bien lu^^ c'est ouf, ils sont fou c'est japonnais! Dommage le building est fermé donc nous ne pouvons pas monter voir les fameux étages 5-6-7 qui n'existe plus et qui laissent passer l'autoroute. Je vous laisse découvrir la vidéo et une photo de cette bizarrerie.
On repasse ensuite à l'hôtel prendre des vêtements plus chaud car ça c'est bien rafraîchit puis on file manger dans le quartier avec le canal. On a plus de jambe je pense on a dépassé les 20km today. On tourne pas mal de temps comme d'hab et Jerem choisit un resto de Yakitori (BBQ) avec du boeuf Waygu et des légumes surtout de la courge et des champignons, bien bon que l'on fait griller nous mêmes. Moins bon que le boeuf d'Hida mais quand même bien goutu. On rentre en roulant et en rampant façon de dire, presque minuit quand on se met au lit on est KO😴😴.
Verdict du compteur: 🚶🚶Record de 24Km!!Read more
ausgeschlafen und ohne jetzt lag starteten wir in tag 2. erst mit ongiri - das sind gefüllte reisbällchen, umhüllt mit einem algenblatt und meist dreieckig. also eigentlich wie sushi, nur eben doch nicht 😉 - dann mit espresso blood orange. mmmh, wieder was gutes neues entdeckt. weiter ging’s richtung osaka castle. so schön, ruhig und natur pur. absolute empfehlung. muss man unbedingt gemacht haben. direkt gegenüber ist das business viertel, wo viele bekannte firmen ansässig sind und deren skysraper die gegensätze der city zeigen. was sonst noch geschah: ein wenig kultur und wieder essen essen essen. soba. matcha mit dango (gedämpfte Kugeln aus reismehl) und zum schluss izakaya #japanischetapasRead more
Gestern trennten sich unsere Wege. Für uns ging es nach Hiroshima und für Corinna und Felix nach Seoul Korea.
Der Hello-Kitty-Shinkansen fährt an Betriebstagen morgens von Fukuoka (Bahnhof Hakata) nach Ōsaka (Bahnhof Shin-Osaka) und mittags wieder zurück. Obwohl er im Hello-Kitty-Design gestaltet ist, ist es ein normaler Kodama-Zug, der an jeder Station zwischen Hakata und Shin-Osaka hält.
Natürlich darf die obligatorische Bento Box nicht fehlen. Am Bahnhof kann man sie in verschiedenen take out Läden kaufen und auf die Reise mitnehmen. Bento Boxen werden tagesfrisch hergestellt und schmecken deswegen hervorragend.
In Wagon 1 befindet sich ein Hello Kitty Merchandise Shop und eine Foto Ecke, wo es jemanden gibt, der für einen das beste Foto schießt. In Wagon 2 findet man den Boden und Kopfstützen im Hello Kitty Design und wenn man genauer hinschaut auch die Sonnenblenden und Türen. Alles war so süß. Ich habe mich endlos gefreut.
Da der Hello Kitty Shinkansen etwas älter ist, sollte man für seine großen Koffer einen Platz reservieren. Unser mittelgroßer Koffer, hat gerade so in die Gepäckaufbewahrung über uns gepasst. Diese war viel kleiner als beim normalen Shinkansen. Wir fuhren ca. 2h und kamen in Hiroshima an.Read more
There were so many people walking around with actual mugs so of course I had to find out where they were all coming from
This resulted in me getting my own cup of red wine in a mug. Let's say it's mulled. My mom was confused about why they would heat up wine but then proceeded to get her own mug
And now we are bringing back two random mugsRead more
You might also know this place by the following names:
Ōsaka-fu, Osaka-fu, Ōsaka, 大阪府, 오사카 부, OSQ
Traveler
Alter krass😍😍
Traveler Random auf der Straße gesehen. Sehr cool.
Traveler
Lecker🤤🤤