“Bakit labas masok
ka?” the immigration officer asked. “Because I can!” I retorted. JOKE. I wish.
Instead, I told him that I was on Leave of Absence. If I told him I was
unemployed it would have been a longer question and answer portion. His gaze
was glued to page five of my passport, viewing it in different angles in search
of something I am not truly aware of. What are you looking for, a hidden
Mickey? The Japanese immigration officer was more straightforward, “Have you
been to Japan?” I told him that it was my first time. Immigration sticker down.
Done. That was easy. When I found out that I would be paying 1,030 yen for the
train ride from Kansai International to Momodani Station of the JR Osaka Loop
where my guest house is located, I thought for a second if I should just go
back to the boarding area and check if the plane was still there. Maybe I could
still go back and avert the bankruptcy waiting for me here. Everything is so
effing expensive! Like, seriously?!
My Quarter Pounder
meal at McDonalds cost 680 yen. A two-stop ride at the metro would cost you 120.
Even the cheapest mineral water from the convenience store would not cost less
than a hundred. Welcome to Japan! If this is how expensive Osaka is, I couldn’t
begin to imagine how things are in Tokyo. Anyway, I was able to locate the
guest house easily. After my midnight dinner at McDonalds I immediately fell
asleep. Tomorrow would be a cheat day, just half of the day after lunch spent
walking around Osaka, and I chose the castle as my primary destination.
The sun is mad
here in Osaka. I just felt like bread in an oven. It is summer indeed, but
autumn is fast approaching. Perhaps in a few weeks it will start to feel a bit
chilly. I was looking for a place where I could eat but it was the same case
everywhere. A Tonkatsu meal with rice and side dish would cost upward 750 yen,
without drinks. Drinks are priced from 200 yen. It’s insane, right? So I found
myself at Lawson, their version of 7 Eleven, buying a microwavable Tonkatsu
meal that cost me 498 yen. Use of their microwave is free of charge and they
give you free chopsticks with a spoon or a fork. Fair enough. The mineral water
was around a hundred yen. That will do, but still crosses the 500 yen per meal
budget that I have devised for myself. Maybe it’s time to rekindle the old
flames between me and cup noodles.
I was already
within the vicinity of the Osaka Castle so I decided to take a stroll after my
lunch. Don’t be absent-minded while walking around here. Bikers are all over
the place and they normally use the same space designated for pedestrians. I
walked along the southern wall of the Osaka Castle and got a good view of the
moat. Along the way you would also see Peace Osaka (a museum) and a tower
serving as some sort of monument. At the corner of the street you would see the
Osaka National History Museum building. Its design is unique and some sort of
bubble thingy connects it to the NHK Osaka building next door. It’s a pretty
decent alternative for a photo op if you don’t want to pose in front of the
Osaka Castle because everyone else is already doing so.
You would find
many attractions within the castle grounds, although the entrance seems to be
the perfect spot for a souvenir photo because of the striking combination of
fortress walls and the line of trees with the light blue background of the sky
meeting them at the horizon. Once you go inside, there would be various options
on how to kill time. There is a garden in there called Nishinomaru occupying a
wide area before you reach the main castle. There is an entrance fee to see the
said garden. A Martial Arts Hall is located a few steps away. That very same
spot also gives you a good view of the museum and NHK Osaka from afar. Walk
farther ahead to reach Sakuramon.
Sakuramon is not a
Pokemon, it is one of the gates leading to the main castle. Opposite the said
gate is a path leading to a temple with a brown tori and a statue of a rather
old warrior in front of them. This is where I found out that just like us the
Japanese are also natural born camwhores. Getting your photo taken is not a
problem. They would usually volunteer to take your picture when they see you
desperately trying to get a self-portrait. Afterwards they would ask you to
take their picture for them. This happened to me a lot while I was here in
Osaka, regardless if I were in a castle, a garden, or Universal Studios. When a
Japanese person approaches you and says something that includes “shashin” and
“torimasho” that means they are willing to take your photo for you, or asking
you to take their photos for them.
Back to Sakuramon,
it is the south gate of the castle, I think. I am pretty bad when it comes to directions.
If you want to check another garden with plum trees, one of which is where a
certain monk hung his clothes (or himself?), and the spot where some aristocrat
and his mom committed Seppuku, you might want to skip Sakuramon and go straight
ahead. As for me, I chose the gate. Immediately to the left when you enter the
gate is a well called Gimmeisui. I don’t know what the name means but people
were going there and washing their hands so I thought it might be a good idea
to do the same since I felt so sticky because of sweat due to the humidity of
the place.
There is a
souvenir shop once you pass by the old building that used to house the museum
currently found outside the castle grounds. Yes, that museum we talked about
earlier. Its old home is also a looker but seems too un-Japanese. It looks like
a building from England that got picked up and dropped off by an alien spacecraft
at this exact spot. It’s nice to look at but it sticks out like a sore thumb.
The castle would
now be in front of you and there are spots perfect for that souvenir photo you
have been anticipating to take. Entrance to the castle is until 4:30 in the
afternoon only because they close at 5 PM. Entrance is around 600 yen. Or was
it? Please just check the video. I think I mentioned it there. This memory gap
thing is getting quite annoying... I did not go inside because it was already
4:20 when I got there. I think I no longer have to reiterate how I always wake
up at 12 in the afternoon, which consequently leads to non-admission in certain
tourist spots.
The Osaka Business
Park is just across the river and you could take an Aquabus to go there. But
why would you want to go there? If a picture of the Osaka skyline is what you
want, then you should be going away from the area, not approaching it, unless
you have a gigantic mirror. Anyway, what I did was go malling after my late
afternoon tour of the castle grounds. I went to HEP5 and saw their giant red
wheel. Miramar Taipei, is that you? And then I checked out an underground
shopping arcade called Whity with a lot of restaurants and stores for clothing
and a lovely artificial pond complete with some greenery. After this I braved
the rush hour crowd at Osaka station to get back to my guest house. Not bad for
my first day!
2 creature/s gave a damn:
nakakatawa ka.i enjoy your blog.parang naoobserve mo lahat habang nagtataravel ka.ako kasi when i get overwhelmed dahil sa mga nakikita ko parang nagpifreeze utak ko.hahaha
@melvin - Haha, thanks. It could be a disadvantage though, sometimes I just feel detached. :)
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