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A
memorable trip to Japan
Diary
of a woman from Singapore
By
Carol Tan
Trip
to Osaka - continued from previous page
| Osaka Castle was our first stop after arriving at the Osaka Kansai Airport. It took quite some effort to get accustomed to the climate but I liked the fact that it was drizzling very lightly. In fact, the rain felt like snow simply because it was so soft and "unassuming", unlike the thunderous, loud droplets of tropical rain in Singapore. The Castle covered a good area, with several good photo opportunities. And the red maple leaves! How I was fascinated with them! As we left the place, I found myself liking the coldness of winter already! |
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Blossom Outlet and Snoopy Town turned out to be nothing more than shopping malls. But it was fine with us. We needed to see some modern Japan after the visit to Osaka Castle. There wasn't much to buy though, a good number of apparel outlets with branded factory rejects or the sorts. But what was interesting was the design of the place itself, with a ride which resembled hot air balloons taking center stage. It was semi-open air which gives good ventilation.
Lunch followed in a
nice little Japanese restaurant with equally nice food. The piping hot green tea made for
good relief from the cold and my first sip marked the beginning of my
green tea fascination in the next few days to come.
Shinsaibashi lived up to its name of being a vibrant city central. There were so many people in a place with so much to offer. There were the good old names of Sogo and Daimaru, as well as a dizzying assortment of
teenage fashion and food outlets. Unfortunately, we did not get as much time there as we would have liked. I had looked forward to visiting Shinsaibashi before I came but oh well!
Festival Gate was our final stop for the day before we retired to Osaka Hyatt for the night. To tell the truth, I don't think there is another bunch of folks as ingenious as the Japanese. Check out the cool layout of the building. It was hard to believe this building stood just amongst some other ordinary buildings at La Shenton Way. A big eye-opener! The rides were relatively expensive and we were rather worn out from all the traveling
so we just went around the little shops and got some little gifts.
Osaka Hyatt was done up very nicely in a Zen-influenced style. Apparently, it was the best hotel during our trip. In the night, my sister and I ventured out to the nearby ATC and WTC to do some shopping and have dinner (at McDonald's, may I add!), which wasn't too bad but there weren't enough variety where shops were concerned. And it didn't help that for a while, we did not know how to get back to Hyatt from WTC. Another thing that we learnt on the trip is that it gets dark at about 4 PM in winter, which took some getting used to.
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Kiyomizu Temple was our first stop in Kyoto and it must be one of the most picturesque places I had been to in my entire life. Everywhere you go, there were little nooks and crannies of
Japanese art like water structures. Nestled amongst lush greenery (and reds and yellows and oranges!), the temple was simply breathtaking. Attempting to follow Japanese customs, many of us tried to light joss sticks but didn't quite get them lighted as we wanted. The little huts and uneven stone floors and steps, possibly deteriorated from the many years of climatic changes, came together to give this temple a quaint and mystical feel.
We went for a short
kimono show which was nothing to scream about. I would love to see myself in one though but considering the high cost of a
traditional
kimono, I think maybe not. Lunch was once again in a
typical Japanese restaurant but I enjoyed it tremendously, as I always do with Japanese food. The green tea was there too.
Osaka
trip - continued on next page
Related article: Adventures
of a French girl in Japan
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