Osaka and Orix Buffaloes

We decided to sleep in today with a late night of packing. After breakfast, we were 5 minutes late to check out at 11 before the short walk to Kyoto Station. Unfortunately, it was then that we realized that we couldn’t find the boys’ SUICA cards for transport. While you can buy individual train tickets, it’s a hassle to do that for every single gate you go through and we can’t tap on for two people with a single phone. So, after digging through every suitcase, we made the painful decision to buy new cards - which meant a 15 minute search and then 30-45 minute wait in line with passports to buy new cards. After that frustrating mess was over, we finally boarded a rapid train to Osaka that arrived just over 35 minute later. From there it was 2 more metro rides and then the most confusing exit from a train station we have ever had to deal with. Took us almost as long to get out as the train ride itself. We finally arrived to our flat an hour before check-in but were allowed to leave our bags before heading back towards the train station on the way to our first stop, the Umeda Sky Building. Joce found a ramen place on the way to the metro station and we popped into ‘Hack’ for a delicious and cheap meal of ramen, gyoza and fried rice (yum!). We had a great and filling lunch before finally heading to the Osaka Station. Unfortunately, going back to that station to try to find the building was like getting trapped in a hedge maze that wasn’t fun or rational. 30 minutes later, we climb over a fence (though H slipped for about the 5th time in three days and paid a price) and finally found our goal. It was a very cold and windy day but the rain held off and we were able to get up to the look out on the 40th floor. It was a good view over the city. Osaka certainly has a different feel from Kyoto - at over 2.7M people, it’s about twice the size of Kyoto but still so much smaller than Tokyo. The Umeda Sky Building is actually two separate towers connected at the top by a circular structure that has glass bridges with escalators (not fun for Tige). Fortunately, we got there before a lot of crowds and spent about an hour walking around and seeing the views over the city. Aside from the rough adventure through the station, it was a nice way to start our time in Osaka. From there, it was time to get an Uber and head to the Kyocera Dome to see our first baseball game of the year. The Orix Buffaloes play in the Nippon (Japan) Baseball League and we were able to get seats in the 7th row. It was a very fun game (though lasted over 3 hours as they have not adopted the new MLB rules). The fans around us were mostly reserved but the left field (away team) and right field bleacher seats were chanting or singing for the entire game for every batter. They even had a ‘Miyagi’ on their team. All the boys instantly bought hats (as well as a shirt for Dad) and we were all thankful for the dome given the upper-40 degree temps outside. We got to try the popular Itemae Dog and had a foul ball bounce 12 feet away from us (much to Gid’s chagrin). We stayed til the end before hitting the souvenir shop one more time. On the short walk home (staying only 10 minutes from the stadium), we came across a huge grocery market (we couldn’t find a single real market - or produce - in all of Kyoto) so we stopped in to pick up some food, including Goose Island IPA. We finally got in to our Airbnb after 10 so another late night and lots of walking. But we have tons of space here with 7th floor views and a promise of nicer weather tomorrow for our first, and only, walking tour.Read more