Day 10, October 4, Oh, Osaka!
Today was a significant step in our journey. The Gate City Bar Association portion of our trip ended; all of those travel companions were either going home or heading to Vietnam. However, the two of us were headed to Osaka, and then on to South Korea. We were headed to Osaka by way of a driver. The driver would pick us up at the hotel, but not until 1pm. Therefore, after breakfast, Patrise went to find a nail salon, to get one of her nails repaired. I stayed in the hotel room, finishing up the blog entry for yesterday’s (October 3’s) activities. I stayed until 11am, which was checkout time; then I moved all of our luggage and items downstairs and checked out of the room, but stayed in the hotel lobby, continuing to work on the blog.
Close to the time we were expecting the driver, Patrise made it back to the hotel. Unfortunately, she was damp and cold, because it was rainy in Kyoto today. As it so happens, it was rainy all day in Kyoto, Osaka, and all points in between the two cities. Our driver was a young man named Sochi. Very amiable and a good command of English. The car we rode in was spacious, complete with water, Wi-Fi, and a comfortable, controlled environment. As Sochi drove us the one-hour drive to Osaka, we intermittently napped. I tried taking some photos from the car window, but between the rain and the heavy eyelids, there was not much that could be reasonably captured, except in the sleepy mind’s eye.
We arrived in Osaka within the projected hour and Sochi made our way to the Swisshotel Nankai Osaka. A HUGE hotel and very busy. Lots of visitor traffic in the lobby and walking to and fro to unknown, unseen destinations. This was a classy hotel. (BTW, this portion of our travel, beginning with the pickup in Kyoto, time in Osaka, and subsequent touring in South Korea has been made possible by Kensington Tours of Toronto. They know the world and they are fantastic at helping you see it in the way you want to. Budget travel, short stays – no problem. Family or large group with varying needs – no problem. High end with a taste for luxury without a full luxury budget – absolutely, no problem! This last category is where your two intrepid bloggers fit in. We have worked with them three times now and have never been disappointed. We highly recommend them, and in fact we have recommended them to two friends who have been overjoyed with their service. Check them out, next time you want to see a new part of the world: www.keninsingtontours.com.)
We checked in and were assigned room 1422 – a suite in the Japanese style with seats on the floor around a low height table. Other than this tiny drawback, the hotel room was the best by far that we have yet stayed in. There were also two gifts waiting for us in the room. The first was/is a decorative set of chopsticks, courtesy of Kensington. The second is an assortment of cookies in a box, courtesy of the Swisshotel. Still, Patrise went downstairs to ask if it were possible to get a “Western” style suite, complete with a sofa. It so happens that this was possible and the hotel switched us to room 3408. Photos of both suites are shown below.
Row 1: Views of Room 1422, the traditional Japanese style suite
Row 2: Views of Room 3408, our western style suite.
About this time, it was time for us to proceed back to the lobby, to meet our driver and our guide for the evening. The driver was the same young man, Sochi. Our guide was Noe (“noh-Ay”) Aida (aye-EE-dah).
Noe had an excellent command of English, so she was both easy to understand, and she understood about 97% of what we had to say, including American idioms slang. She was a warm personality, and clearly she was knowledgeable about Osaka. In response to our questions, she told us that:
Ø She has only been a tour guide for two months.
Ø She quit her previous job with Eli Lily, to do this work.
Ø She learned her English by watching Ally McBeal when she was a teen and more recently watching Ellen DeGeneres videos on YouTube.
Ø She is married with two children – a 16-yr-old daughter and a 14-yr-old son.
She was surprised to learn that:
Ø We have two children in their 40’s.
Ø We have eight grandchildren and 1 great grandchild.
Ø That we have been married for 47 years. (The divorce rate in Japan is very high, we learned yesterday from Joyce.)
We went to Osaka Castle, and toured the grounds. We saw a statue to the great Unifier of Japan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and learned about his story, his times, and his impact on the history of Japan. We also learned about the history of the Osaka Castle, including the fact that the Shogun Tokugawa tore down the temple that was on the site and buried it under the fortress/castle he built over it. We rode an elevator to the 5th floor to see some of the exhibits, as Noe continued to tell us about the castle’s history, construction and the history of the relationships and struggles between imperial forces and shogunate forces. We walked up to the 8th floor, from where we got a 360-degree view of the entire city. I imagined being the Unifier or the Shogun and being able to see the rooftops of small huts, houses and businesses and that all I could see were in my domain and under my command, my care, and my protection.
Upon completing the tour of the castle, we headed first to a 7Eleven, so we could get money from an ATM and so that we could buy a raincoat for Patrise for tomorrow’s excursion. Finally, we headed to the main boutique shopping district in Osaka. It was trendy, it was well-lit, and it was crowded with cars and people. And getting out of the car and getting on foot, to head to a local restaurant, we were immediately immersed into a see of people, most of whom were high school, college and young adult ages. Even more fascinating than the size of the crowds was that these were young people from all over the world. Living in or visiting Japan for an extended period. I don’t know the name of the main street or the district but think Rodeo Drive on steroids. Three separate Cartier stores within two blocks of one another and across the street from Omega, and next door to Seiko or Rolex. If you don’t find the car you’re looking for at the Ferrari dealer, then check out the McLaren dealer. I’m sure he will give you a great deal! (One of the pre-owned, low end models goes for a mere 11,000,000 yen [~$69,000]. The most expensive, most exclusive high model goes for the bargain price of 310,000,000 yen [or $1.96 million]. Just whip out the old American Express Black card and don’t ask how much gas costs!)
Well, we were not there for the shopping but to go to a restaurant that Noe recommended based on Patrise’s preference to have chicken skewers. This was an establishment that Noe has eaten at on prior occasions. Kensington equipped her to pay for your meals and to join us as well. It turned out to be a great experience, after which we headed back to the hotel a bit early.
Both of us showered, pulled out clothes out for tomorrow, watched a little television – believe it or not, we watched a documentary series on Netflix about the Age of the Samurai. – then shut it down for the night. Tomorrow, we start early, meeting our driver at 8am, to head to the train station, to catch a train to Hiroshima. It will be an all-day adventure and our last planned excursion in Japan, before heading to Busan, South Korea.
Good night!
Comments