Japan - Osaka and Kyoto

I stayed in Osaka for a few days, and I admit I was slowing down a bit.  I originally planned to go to some temples, but then decided I had seen enough for a while.  Instead, I took a day and just wandered around the city.  Like Hiroshima, it had a fantastic covered shopping area, with plenty of street food vendors.  I have been really surprised at the price of fresh fruit since I’ve been in Japan.  You will see beautifully packaged fruit, say an apple.  It will be sitting in its own little protective sleeve.   The apples are grown locally, so they are not too expensive but others, like melons, strawberries, grapes etc. are outrageously expensive.  You can get a lovely wrapped bunch of about 20 green grapes, for just $22.  A slice of a melon might cost $3.  A slice being 1/16^th of the melon, so $48 for the whole thing.   One orange is about $4.  The rest of their food is not nearly as expensive, and I’m sure much of it is imported as well.  I’m told the reason its all so beautifully wrapped is because people frequently give it as gifts. 

I found a free walking tour that was excellent, called Osaka Free Walking Tour.  We walked through Dotonbori street, which is a busy tourist hub of restaurants, bars, and giant billboards like Time Square.  We also visited Kuromon Market, with its street food vendors selling everything imaginable.  They had a lot of seafood; some cooked, some not.  Not being a fan of sushi, I opted for a big chunk of grilled crab meat.  I had passed many stands with huge crab legs, or the entire crab and it looked so tempting.  While it was tasty, sadly, it was some kind of pressed imitation crab. 

There were a few stalls selling Kobe beef, which comes from a special breed of black cattle.  The cattle are raised according to a strict set of rules and their meat is a delicacy; known for flavor, tenderness, and marbled texture.  I hope it was super special, because a skewer with 5 bite sized chunks of regular beef was about $4.40 while a skewer of smaller chunks of Kobe beef was $22. 

Osaka is known as the “Kitchen of Japan” and judging from the areas we saw, it sure lived up to its name.  I had seen many street food stalls all over Japan, each with something a bit different.  This area had just about everything. 

I was lucky enough to be in Osaka when the autumn leaves were at their peak and everything was so beautiful.  Even the smallest garden or park was awash in beautiful red, orange, and yellow colors.  One place I had heard was a must see was the waterfall in Minno park.  It was a bit of a journey from my hotel about 1.5 hours.  I had managed to navigate the metro, trains and subway system in Japan with little difficulty.  Not so with the buses I was to find out.  The last leg of my trip I had to take a bus, from a large metro station, Senri-Chuo Station.  I walked outside and saw plenty of buses, but no idea how to find mine, bus 20. Over the course of the next 25 min, I asked several people, who pointed me in several different directions.   There were so many bays, and seemingly no pattern or organization that I could detect.  Usually there is a ticket booth, but I couldn’t find that either.  I had almost given up and was ready to hail a cab when there it was, the ticket office, on the one side of the building I had somehow managed not to pass.  And wouldn’t you know it, the bus was right outside the very door I had initially exited. Finally, I was underway again.   

Once I arrived, there was no doubt which way to go; the station was right next to a busy tourist street and there were people handing out maps and pointing the way.  Before getting to the park, you had to pass through a busy pedestrian street, which of course had plenty of food carts.  This time it was chestnuts roasting on open fires and believe it or not, fried maple leaves.  Yup, people went out and scooped up untold numbers of small maples leaves, then deep fried them in a thick sweet batter, more like a cookie than anything.  Of course, I had to try a bag and I must say, they were tasty.  Not the leaves inside, you couldn’t even see or taste them, but the cookie was good. 

I was expecting a large park with lots of hiking trails through the woods.  Instead I found one long road leading to the waterfall.  I felt like I was on a pilgrimage to see the holy grail; it was wall to wall people, all solemnly trudging along.   That could be because it was mostly uphill and fairly steep in places.  People were bundled up against the cold, with gloves, scarves, and heavy coats.  I’d say it was about 60 degrees; I was quite comfortable in a sweatshirt.  The longer they hiked, the more layers they pealed off, climbing is hard work! I saw lots of small dogs, almost all poodles or papillons. They are by far the most popular dog I saw the whole time in Japan.  All the dogs also wore little sweaters or jackets.  We hiked along a river and I could see a trail on the other side that had almost no one on it.  I decided as soon as I could, I’d make my way over there and escape the crowds.  Big mistake!  The road I had been on was steep, but it was level.  This was trail with lots of rocks and even worse, stone steps of varying heights, some pretty high.  My knees let me know pretty quick that they were not pleased! OK, now how do I get back to the busy road?

After a 30-minute climb, I finally made it to the end.  As expected, there were hundreds of people milling around, but at least there was a fence, so you could get a clear shot of the fall.  All along the trail, I was surprised and disappointed to see very little color in the trees, most were green.  There were a few red trees next to the fall, so it did make for a nice picture.  Next to the trail was a large open space and it was covered in blankets and people picnicking.  Seems the thing to do is make a full day of it.  There were people eating, lounging, and generally enjoying a beautiful day outdoors.  I must admit, the whole thing was a bit of a letdown.  I had read this was one of the top places to see the fall colors, but I thought the small parks in town were much prettier. Of course, it was still an enjoyable day out and its not everyday you get to eat real maple leaf cookies.

My last day I went to the Expo Memorial Park, it was amazing!  In 1970, Japan hosted the Japan World Exposition, or World’s Fair, and later turned the entire complex into a park with various gardens, forests, lawns, waterfalls, and more. They planted 5000 cherry trees, making the park an especially popular destination to view the cherry blossoms in the spring.   It was only about $2.50 to get in and another $2.50 to ride a little train around, which you need, there is so much to see. You know you are in the expo garden when you see the 70-meter Tower of the Sun, a massive piece of artwork which has 3 faces; 2 on the front and one on back.  They represent the future, the present, and the past. 

There are several walking paths, each taking you to a different part of the park.  I think I did all of them and was exhausted!  My favorite was the trail through the woods, where the autumn colors were glorious.  There was even a small waterfall.  There was a marshy area where I was lucky enough to see a small kingfisher, fishing for his dinner.  He was so small, and so far away that I didn’t get a great picture but he was definitely entertaining to watch.

At one end was a beautiful Japanese garden, which I can never see too many of, since they are all so different.   Again, the fall colors just made the garden that much better.  It was a great way to end my stay in Osaka.

My final destination in Japan was Kyoto, about 1 hour away from Osaka.  The main thing on my list was Fushimi Inari Taisha, a Shinto shrine with its famous 10,000 torii gates, and it did not disappoint.  The shrine complex was much bigger than expected, about 2.5 miles if you hike the entire trail, through all 10,000 gates.  They form sort of a tunnel that you walk through as you climb Mt Inair, named after the kami Inari.  A kami is a spirit or phenomena that believers of Shinto worship.  They can be natural elements, forces of nature, beings, spirits of venerated dead people, or ancestors.  Inari is the Japanese kami of foxes, fertility, rice, tea, and sake.  Also, the principal kami of Shinto.

The entrance and main shrine sit at the base of the mountain and you hike to the top through a tunnel of gates.  Each gate has been donated by a Japanese business; Inari was also worshiped by merchants as the patron of business.  As you walk up through most of the gates, you don’t see the writings; the characters are on the back, which you see on the way down.  I tried translating them, but the characters are giant, and I didn’t believe what Google translate was telling me.  I figured I wasn’t able to capture enough of them with my phone to be accurate.  I must confess, I often go see something and then research more in detail when I’m writing the blog post.  Google translate was telling me the name of a business, which I see now was correct.  I though it was something spiritual.  It became a custom to donate a torii during the Edo period, beginning in 1603. The purpose was to make a wish or as a thank you if a wish was granted.  The custom took hold, hence the 10,000 gates you see now.

All along the path you see small sub shrines or alters.  About half way up the mountain is a large inner shrine and at the top you will find thousands of mounds, which are for private worship.  You see stone foxes called kitsune guarding almost everything.  They are thought to be messengers and they each hold a different attribute in their mouth, such as a key, rice, a jewel, a scroll, or wheat. The rice plant is for a plentiful harvest, the key unlocks a shed full of grain, a scroll for wisdom, and a precious jewel symbolizes spiritual power. Propped up on the alters are miniature torii gates, or emas, with wishes or prayers handwritten on them.  You can buy these at several shops along the path, and while most tourists seem to take them home as souvenirs, you will see many left behind with thoughts, wishes, or prayers in every language.  Another type of ema is the face of a fox.  People usually draw in the face, in addition to writing a wish on the back. 

As with every place else I visited, there were massive crowds and I thought I would never get a picture just of the gates.  But the higher you climbed, the less people, so it wasn’t that difficult if you had enough patience.  I will say, I’ve noticed a worsening trend the past few years among tourists; there is almost no consideration for others when it comes to taking pictures.   I see it all the time, people will get in front of what ever it is, obviously getting in other people’s shot, without a care in the world.  I’ve had people literally step right in front of my camera, to take their own picture, as if I wasn’t even there. Or, they step in front of something, take a picture, and instead of stepping away for others obviously waiting for a turn, they will check the pose.  No, I don’t like that, let me do it again.  Oh, now my hair is out of place, let me do it again.  Ok I don’t like that one either.  It gets so frustrating!  The flip side to that coin, I see just as often.  People are lined up to take a picture and someone walks right in front of them when they could just as easily walk behind.  As an example, there was a particularly nice set of gates with hardly any people around.  There was a couple directly inside taking pictures.  Just outside the gate, waiting, cameras at the ready, were me and 3 other photographers.  The couple took at least 10 min, and I’m not exaggerating.  They clearly knew we were waiting as they kept looking at us.  They took a picture, studied it, redid it, studied again, smoothed one hair that was apparently out of place and did it again, adjusted a scarf, tried again, studied it. Over and over and over and over…  Other photographers lined up, they continued on without a care in the world. Finally, en mass, we just walked right through their space, in search of another spot. 

At the bottom of the mountain, on the way back to the train I found yet another small park with beautiful autumn colors.  As I had seen everywhere else, there were so many Japanese dressed in traditional kimonos, out for a day of photos.  Many had professional photographers with them; some alone, or groups of young girls, or a couple.  They were very beautiful; the girls had their hair elaborately done and their makeup expertly applied.   Most often, everyone would stand back and watch or take pictures of them, which they didn’t seem to mind at all.  I thought it like being famous for the day with paparazzi surrounding you.     

One big problem I did encounter, I was there during the peak autumn color.  I arrived in Osaka on Monday and planned to leave on Friday, to spend several days in Kyoto, about 1 hour away.  That weekend, there was not a hotel to be found within a 4-hour radius for under $150.  I actually saw pod’s, nothing but a sleeping chamber, going for $150 to $200.  I decided I would head back up to Mount Fuji and just come back to Kyoto on Monday.  When I got to my hotel in Osaka, I mentioned this to them.  They offered me a smaller room for $100 Friday night and $150 Saturday night, a full 3x what I paid the rest of the week.  While clearly price gouging, I ultimately decided it was still cheaper than the $300 train fare and $150 two-night hotel stay and reluctantly agreed.  Lesson learned, book very, very early!!

As wonderful as Japan was, it was time to move on to Australia.

Link to photos Osaka - https://photos.app.goo.gl/fHm1MUutHNzEFh3cA

Link to photos Kyoto - https://photos.app.goo.gl/QB9zMeWTWhUqhcBM7