Last day in Osaka

Rather than walk around in the city in the midst of buildings, I decided to go to a park on my last day. Yea, I know. Not very touristy. The park, Mino Park is actually a tourist spot during the autumn time when the leaves change but it's not a tourist destination during the time of the year I went.

Despite that, I really enjoyed myself. Japanese parks are so beautiful and well organized. I also feel much better being surrounded by greenery rather than concrete buildings. I mean, I wouldn't move out into the countryside but on holidays or on my days off I'd rather not be surrounded by concrete. I don't want to go shopping the whole day.

Anyway I shall stop talking and let the pictures talk instead.

A tea house in the middle of the park. So beautiful and simple and traditional that it doesn't feel like it imposes on nature.

There was a shrine (jinja) in the park, which added to the tranquility of the park.

There were loads of dragonflies. Rei very accommodatingly caught hold of one which made it easier for me to take a photo.

After about an hour or more, we finally reached the waterfall!

Mino Park's famous for momiji tempura (もみじ天ぷらーautumn leaf tempura)

It's kinda crunchy and sweet. Quite nice! I wonder whether they pick the leaves from the trees or from the ground to make these....

We also went to Umeda Sky Building (梅田スカイビル）

Cool right? I think it's very much a couple spot though. Couples here n there n everywhere. Couple love seats, couple photo ops...

They also have phospherescent stones that glow..

Even your clothes will grow, if they're the right color!

Not bad photos for a digicam right?

Thanks so much Rei for taking us around and hanging out with us!楽しかった！

Osaka at night

When we got back to Osaka from Kyushu we were pretty hungry.

When we asked the hotel front desk guy where he recommended we eat nearby, he recommended Daruma, a place that serves kushiage. To be honest, I wasn't that keen at first because deep fried food dipped in a very strong tasting sauce didn't seem that appealing to me but since I'd also heard Chico mention kushiage to me I thought ok I gotta try it.

When we finally got to the shop recommended by the hotel staff, we were faced with a really long line! We were hungry but decided to wait since who knew when we'd be able to eat in that restaurant in Osaka again??

 I love how gimmicky the shop looks from the outside hahaha

 The inside's crowded but cozy and the atmosphere's upbeat

 We ordered the set because I couldn't be bothered to decide what to choose and anyway the set sounded pretty damn good. We also ordered a few extra sticks we wanted to try. This was the appetizer:

We over-ordered...But everything was so good!! 

I don't remember everything but I remember there's mochi (rice cake), lotus root (renkon), quail egg, cheese...everything was so yum!!

This is the cheese:

And this is the scallop:

With a lemon sour, it spells perfect meal!!

This funny statue thing can actually move! I don't know what sets it off though, I think it's set on a timer and maybe moves every hour. Gave us a shock hahahaha..it suddenly started 'talking' and moving. Anyway it was a truly excellent meal. Would definitely go there again if I go to Osaka again. Love the lively atmosphere too.

We took a walk after that to take in the sights...mainly the lights and ads..

All these lights and people at 10pm at night in the streets..

Felt so familiar...and I remember why I partly left Japan hahaha..

Too many lights and people yet in the middle of it all you wonder what's real and what isn't. And you can't think because they just fill all your senses with all so many lights and colors and sounds. And everyone's trying to look different but they all look the same anyway and everyone's talking and talking and talking. What about? You won't remember even when you get home and that's a bit sad. You're part of the crowd but not really. Not really.

But that's just my view of course.

There's a place for everyone. The strange, the weird have a place where they can belong. 

In the midst of all these you can still find a place that offers tranquility and a place for thought, for rest, for reflection. The juxtaposition always amazes me. And is welcome.

Caves & Castle in Kokura

We went to 平尾代　（Hiraodai).

The landscape is so strange!! All these rocks jutting out...But beautiful..

千仏鐘乳洞 (Senbutsu Shounyuu Dou) means Thousand Buddha Cave.

You can tour the cave but when it rains it gets really wet, so better wear pants that are easy to roll up! And to wear a water proof jacket.

I enjoyed it! The water was really really cold though!! 

We also went to Ojika

For more info on the caves, click here.

Near Ojika it's really pretty:

We met a very cute cat who is obviously very used to people adoring him and taking pictures of him haha

We got really hungry after exerting ourselves at the caves (actually I'm just really unfit hahaha) so it was time for lunch!! Which was ramen~~

 I have no idea how to read this and was too lazy to consult my dictionary so too bad :p hahaha

 The inside's really interesting, they have all sorts of old stuff inside. Very retro and they sell old toys and all. It looks so run down right? Haha...

I was a pig so I ordered mentaiko rice plus ramen (below). The mentaiko rice was sooooo good!! I'm drooling now just looking at this damn picture. The seaweed was very crispy too. And with the mayonnaise....One word..... PERFECT.

The ramen's really tasty! I think not everyone would like it. I seriously do not know how they get the egg yolks till they're slightly gooey but the whites fully cooked..but..who cares. LOVE.

After getting energy from (over) eating...We went to Kokura Castle!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      There's a palanquin in the castle that you can get into, press a button and it will move back and forth. Quite funny really.

There's also a machine where you can try and see if you can run as fast as the messengers of the olden days!

They say that normal samurai swords are around 70cm but the famous samurai Musashi's sword was said to be around 90cm long!

At the mall nearby we saw this guy with a pram full of fluffy cats!

There's a river near the wet market and apparently it's a popular picture taking spot:

We went to Chibu's home to a really awesome meal:

 Thank you Chibu's mom so much for letting us stay in your house! And thank you so much for everything else, the food, your company, and so so so many other things!! Oh ya I guess I'll have to thank Chibu too ;p hahahaha

Hopfeully one day I can return the favour and show Chibu's mom around Malaysia!