Wednesday, January 15th - Osaka, Japan (Day 1):

Today Bob and I chose to spend our day differently. I chose to take the shuttle into town and walk around to enjoy the fabulous city.  Bob, on the other hand, chose to do one of the ship's organized excursions.  So, first I'll tell you about my experience wandering through the city and then Bob can tell you about his excursion.

My day:

I took the ship's shuttle which delivered me to the Dotonbori area of Osaka.  It is one of my favorite ports on the entire world cruise.  This area is a bit like walking through Las Vegas or Disneyland.  There is a canal which runs through the middle of the area.  Bridges allow visitors to cross the canal to reach the many shopping streets. The streets are lined with locals as well as thousands of tourists from all over the world.  There are many ways visitors can spend their time here.  There are karaoke  opportunities, game arcades and other amusements, theaters offering kabuki, dramas, comedy shows, and music concerts. If someone is interested in history and culture there are a range of museums.  

After a full day of exploring this exciting, colorful area there are many types of foods and cuisines, including typical Japanese food like sushi, sashimi, teppanyaki, tempura, Indian, a U.S. diner, ramen, Italian, and many others.  My favorite meal in Osaka is the okonomiyaki, which is similar to a pancake. On one trip to Osaka, our son-in-law took us to a restaurant here and made a pancake for us.  It was absolutely delicious so I tried to make one when we got home but it wasn't nearly as good as the one we had in Osaka!!!I wandered around this fun, lively place for a couple of hours, enjoying the activity surrounding me.  


Many of the restaurants have 3-D figures jutting out of their buildings, such as crabs, dragons, chefs, octopus, and other fanciful designs.  I walked until I was tired, then I returned to the shuttle and returned to the ship.

Bob's Day:

Most of my day with tours that included the Osaka Castle.  The castle is one of Japan's most famous landmarks and played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century.  

 

Other sites visited included the Sumiyoshi Taisha Shine and its wood structures and temples, the Stone Garden Lanterns, the 16th Century Shitenno-ji Temple and surrounding grounds.  Later in the day, I also visited the same areas of Dotonbori that Twila had visited.


 

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