Osaka is definitely more of a modern city than Kyoto, but still has a charm about it. Its 19 million people, busy subways, restored historical sites, amusement parks and large malls made it feel more like Shanghai and you can see how it is known as a smaller Tokyo. We found that "Naka" is a pretty common prefix for street names and liked seeing this in random spots.
Our first day we enjoyed Tsutenkaku where we had some good ramen, went up the tower and liked all the shops. There are some traditional Japanese gardens throughout the city and they were always beautiful, even in the winter.
The food is definitely more seafood-based than we're used to. Sushi is not necessarily the girls' favorite, but they loved finding various meals and snacks in the gas stations (although they leaned towards the pastries).
Our second day featured a trip to the famous landmark of Osaka Castle. A site that represents the unification of Japan, it is surrounded by moats, huge walls, gorgeous trees, and gardens. The wall surrounding the castle includes 5 colossal stones over 100 tons and 15 stones over 50 tons. The method of construction is still a mystery. We later wandered to Dotonbori for some shopping streets where we were surprised to see the influx of retro American clothes. Another day led us to some museums, including the Museum of Housing and Living. We walked around 21k steps each day and the girls were troopers once again. On our walks we made the observation that there are far fewer public trash cans in Japan than in China or America. Nevertheless, the streets remain very clean.
We loved being in Japan. We have learned that our last name means Middle Fence. The character for Naka is nearly the same as the Chinese character that begins the word China. It can even be found on the iPhone emoji menu.
The "octopus stone" is 193 feet long
One of our most exciting days was our trip to Universal Studies. It started out rainy, which may have helped against the crowds, and we lined up to be among the first let inside. Running around with Minions, on Sesame Street, visiting Hello Kitty and Charlie Brown, and watching 4D movies of Shrek and Spiderman was all surreal. The highlight of the visit was going to Harry Potter world where we got to wander the streets of Hogsmeade, visit Hogwarts, and take in all the magical parts of the books. We stayed for the entire day and we loved all the rides, food, and mostly the laughs we shared.
