Today is the day of travel! I rose super early and got myself together. There are so many Shinkansen trains all departing at different times, going to different places, and leaving from different station ports. I also can't ride some of them because my Foreign Japan Railpass doesn't allow passage on the Mizumi or Nozomi lines (I think it's those) for some reason. I don't know how they tell though, because once you are through the ticket gate (flash your pass) they don't know which train you hop on...I was careful though and stuck to the Hikari line trains, which along with the Nozomi line seems to be the most prominent.
The Shinkansen is DOPE. It travels so fast, it's exhilarating!! You look out the window and everything is just speeding past you fast, way too fast. The view point is like a car but the speed is like an airplane flying on the ground! Since my pass is already paid for and allows unlimited passage on the specified JR (Japan Rail) trains until my days are up, I am planning on just riding these Shinkansen trains all over for the fun of it haha. Regular tickets on the Shinkansen are very very expensive, often around $100 for one way. So I might as well milk my pass for all it's worth and have some fun while doing it :)
(~CORRECTION: it's $100 to get halfway there (Nagoya), but a whopping $200 to go one-way from Tokyo to Osaka o.0...so it's $400 just to go to Osaka and back. Holy criminy, now I'm wondering how come the Shinkansen was so packed lol. There's tons of trains leaving at all times but somehow with all the stops between Tokyo & Osaka, it somehow gets filled up...especially at Kyoto and Nagoya).
It was also fascinating seeing the raised roads, mini-truck cars, open fields, rivers, and buildings that I've only seen in Hayao Miyazaki movies, now on real life. The movies had always seemed so magical to me, like they were from a different world because of the different building structures and scenery and stuff. Seeing them in reality makes it seem like the magical movies have come to life! I also feel rather silly because these are regular everyday things that Japanese people are used to. I guess it's something like seeing the Hollywood sign on the hills...you see it in movies and stuff so it's widely recognized but LA residents don't even bat an eye or try to search for it because its just part of the usual scenery at home. Whatever. I'm just avidly staring out my window for ages while my seat mates are passed out lol.
The Shinkansen is DOPE. It travels so fast, it's exhilarating!! You look out the window and everything is just speeding past you fast, way too fast. The view point is like a car but the speed is like an airplane flying on the ground! Since my pass is already paid for and allows unlimited passage on the specified JR (Japan Rail) trains until my days are up, I am planning on just riding these Shinkansen trains all over for the fun of it haha. Regular tickets on the Shinkansen are very very expensive, often around $100 for one way. So I might as well milk my pass for all it's worth and have some fun while doing it :)
(~CORRECTION: it's $100 to get halfway there (Nagoya), but a whopping $200 to go one-way from Tokyo to Osaka o.0...so it's $400 just to go to Osaka and back. Holy criminy, now I'm wondering how come the Shinkansen was so packed lol. There's tons of trains leaving at all times but somehow with all the stops between Tokyo & Osaka, it somehow gets filled up...especially at Kyoto and Nagoya).
It was also fascinating seeing the raised roads, mini-truck cars, open fields, rivers, and buildings that I've only seen in Hayao Miyazaki movies, now on real life. The movies had always seemed so magical to me, like they were from a different world because of the different building structures and scenery and stuff. Seeing them in reality makes it seem like the magical movies have come to life! I also feel rather silly because these are regular everyday things that Japanese people are used to. I guess it's something like seeing the Hollywood sign on the hills...you see it in movies and stuff so it's widely recognized but LA residents don't even bat an eye or try to search for it because its just part of the usual scenery at home. Whatever. I'm just avidly staring out my window for ages while my seat mates are passed out lol.
So, I have a problem here. Because I have just adjusted to walking on the left side of the road, like a proper Japanese person (well not quite yet; I still frequently obstruct foot traffic when I walk on the wrong side of road, but I'm learning okay?!?) I was simultaneously dismayed and delighted to find that some places in Osaka WALK ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD. Note the arrows in the picture above. WHY JAPAN. You are seriously messing with my brainwaves. Hard core. I also spotted some trains that have doors labeled only for women to occupy those cars? Since I am female I appreciate this, but have no idea what purpose it serves other than to royally piss off the men. Which it absolutely must. And which, incidently, I am also all for so this speculation is pointless 0:)
It took me several wrong directions from 3 different station attendants to finally get to the correct tourist information booth (the first couple of attendants all pointed me to various station information booths, not tourist, even when what i was asking for was a tourist map -.-). They were all very nice and helpful though, which I always appreciate when lost, confused, and frustrated.
It took me several wrong directions from 3 different station attendants to finally get to the correct tourist information booth (the first couple of attendants all pointed me to various station information booths, not tourist, even when what i was asking for was a tourist map -.-). They were all very nice and helpful though, which I always appreciate when lost, confused, and frustrated.
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Bottom: their supermarkets here are unreal. Fresh foods EVERYWHERE, in all forms, just spilling over from baskets, loaded up on shelves, piled upon each other on stands. It was a feast just walking around and staring at everything haha. Also the bottom right photo is from the walkway on the Namba Walk, which led to restaurants and shops underground!
I struggled and agonized over my tiny and complicated map that I finally got (Mom you should've imparted your excellent map reading skills to me before I left) for a good 15 minutes, walking here and there in the giant station (theres 3 levels and separate JR line, Shinkansen, and subway terminals with different entrances and exits @.@ I eventually gave up and waited in a long line to ask a station attendant by the entrance turnstiles for help. He solved my problem of how to get to Namba JR station in about 2.5 seconds -.- He even gave me a helpful little pre-printed paper with a rough map on it. I used this to get to Universal Studios Japan as well as Namba Station and other notable places in Osaka!
I took a break for lunch and coffee eventually. I had been trying to find an okonomiyaki place, since Osaka is famous for it, but it was pouring rain outside, I was freezing, and was completely exhausted from searching for hours. I just went back down into a subway entrance and found a McDonalds to eat at; awesome rainy day comfort food. I will write more about this McDonalds experience in a later post when I have it a second time in Shinjuku.
I followed this with one of my favorite Marron Marron Lattes and dried off a little inside the coffeeshop before heading back out!
I followed this with one of my favorite Marron Marron Lattes and dried off a little inside the coffeeshop before heading back out!
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The few photos I got when it paused in the downpour while I was walking around! Also a photo of the central middle loops of subway trains in Osaka. It's a small area but packed with places. Note the subway lines, not only the amount of them but that they don't always stop at all the same stations and some break off and go in weird directions. This confused me to no end lol, I spent a good hour probably just getting back on track and taking trains back or forward a few stations because my previous train had missed the station I was aiming for.
Despite the dreary weather I was so excited to be roaming around Osaka!! Thanks to my experience in Korea, I was able to navigate the many many subway transfers and lines to get all over the city relatively easily at first. As I tooled around at my leisure I encounters a blip in my smooth sailing. I was utterly surprised when I arrived at a station that was past where I wanted to go...but I was positive I had been paying attention and we hadn't passed the station I wanted yet. Upon closer inspection of the map I noticed not all rail lines stopped at all the stations on the Loop. So I had to get off at some and backtrack to get to the station I wanted. Gotta pay better attention to the color of the train I'm boarding lol.
When evening fell and I was all tired out, I boarded the Shinkansen and took it to Nagoya where I transferred to another JR train that would take me to Gifu. Hatsue picked me up from the station and we drove back to Seki Gifu where her house was! It was wonderful getting to see her again and talk :) Their house is so beautiful! It is styled elegantly outside with a traditional Japanese look, and the first floor is all tatami mats, sliding wooden doors, and wood flooring. It was GORGEOUS, I couldn't stop staring haha. The second floor is more modern and has bedrooms and a bathroom.
Although we arrived rather late in the evening, Obaachan (Grandma in Japanese) and Ojiichan (Grandpa in Japanese) were still awake to greet me and sit with me and Hatsue while I ate a late dinner of some seriously delicious pork that Obaachan had made, a pot of oden that Obaachan had made, smoked salmon and mackerel sashimi that Obaachan had sliced, and drank tea that Obaachan had cut, dried, and boiled herself. Seriously is there nothing Obaachan can't do? :) She could take over the world in my opinion hahah. I love them both! They are so funny and congenial even though they can't speak English :)