As part of our teaching contract, Nicole and I get 3-4 weeks off for Winter Vacation. This year our vacation was January 24th to February 22nd. We visited Osaka, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bali, and Kuala Lumpur. Here’s the first entry, on Osaka. I should also mention, my amazing girlfriend, Nicole, bought me a GoPro for Christmas and I’ve made GoPro videos of each destination on our trip. Take a look at the video below before reading the post.
Visiting Osaka
Nicole and I visited Osaka once before during our first year teaching in Korea. We had such a great time that we decided to visit a second time since our flight would have to fly through there anyways. This time around we only stayed for the weekend.[divider_flat]
Our Neighborhood
We stayed in a little neighborhood outside of town called Deto. The neighborhood was mostly small apartment buildings and warehouses. One thing I noticed about Japan is there are drink vending machines everywhere. Literally every block had some kind of drink vending machine selling all manner of drinks from coffees to fruit juices.
Our AirBnb accommodations were in a first floor studio apartment with free bikes out front for our use. Nicole was feeling sick when we arrived so she stayed in the apartment and I ventured out to the nearest convenience store (a 7-11) for snacks and drinks to tide her over. The selection at Japanese convenience stores is really impressive. They have sushi, baked goods, coffees, entire meals. Their convenience stores offer various other services as well including package delivery, ticket purchasing and sometimes banking.
Exploring Dotonbori Solo
We got into Osaka pretty late so we called it a night after I returned with a bounty of snacks. The next day I stocked up on snacks for Nicole for the day then ventured into Dotonbori, Osaka’s downtown market and entertainment district. I made a simple day of it with conveyor belt sushi, some souvenir shopping and general exploring. The whole of Dotonbori is a maze of narrow lanes, some covered and some exposed to the elements, packed with shops on either side.
Pachinko!
After lunch but before I headed back to see Nicole, sick in bed, I stopped in at a Pachinko parlor. Pachinko is a kind of gambling in Japan. It’s a cross between pinball and plinko, that Price is Right game. You’re given maybe 1000 small metal ball bearings and you use a pinballesque launcher to fire these balls up to the top of a plinko game. The amount of points you earn varies based on where the balls land.
The Pachinko parlors are loud and smokey like a casino. Experiences Pachinko players will often sit down at a machine and play for hours with ear plugs in because they’re so loud. I found the one empty machine at the end of a row and sat down with some money. I put in about $8.50USD and tried to play. I wasn’t too sure what I was doing so one of the workers showed me where to aim to get the best odds. My $8.50 lasted a long time. At one point the same worker who helped me in the beginning walked past and said “amazing”.
The Secret Prize Handoff
I was there about 30 minutes and I would have been happy to leave earlier. Eventually I ran out of balls and a worker came over and swiped a card at my machine. Next they led me to the prize counter where I was given what appeared to be several fishing weights and allowed to choose a piece of candy. After I made my selection I was led out a side entrance and told to wait at a little opening in a wall. I watched as the person in front of me slid their fishing weights and candy through the slot in the wall and received some money in return. I did as I saw the man in front of me do and was pleasantly surprised to find I received $70. All in all I’d won about $60 and I hadn’t even spent that much since being in Osaka. For my second day in Japan, I’d actually made money on vacation.
Takoyaki
It was getting late so I hopped on the subway and returned to Nicole and the apartment. She was feeling better but still a bit sick. We ended the night with some takoyaki, fried quid balls with mayo. Despite the description, they’re quite delicious. [divider_flat]
Japan’s Oldest Established Temple
Our last day in Osaka we visited Shitennoji temple. It’s Japan’s oldest officially administered temple, built in 593. I took some photos and we walked around the grounds. In total the land it sits on is the size of several city blocks and includes numerous buildings. What I find interesting about so many temples in Japan is that they are still in use. Often you will come across areas or buildings that you cannot enter because people are using them. It’s fascinating to see temples used currently and not regarded as some relic of the past.
Leaving for Tokyo
Our few days in Osaka were coming to an end. Nicole was starting to feel better and we were off to Tokyo for the next leg of our winter vacation adventure.
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