hello tokyo bye bye osaka

Day 12:  Nara - Todaji Temple - Port of Kobe - Kobe Chinatown - Dotonbori

The chill crept back into the weather this morning as we headed out to Nara. The scenery that unfolded before me was slightly surreal with deers carelessly wandering in the parks and onto the sidewalks in an otherwise normal looking neighbourhood. There were little vendors selling deer crackers to tourists along the way and it was so funny watching the deers mob people with crackers.

After a gruelling day in Kyoto, it was nice to take a leisurely stroll from the station to the Todaji Temple - home to Japan's largest bronze Buddha statue. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom here. We didn't stay too long in Todaji Temple or Nara and decided to head back to Osaka to take the bullet to Kobe.

Arriving at Sannomiya Station, I really wanted my friend to try the famous Kobe beef, but after looking at the prices... the idea soon lost its appeal. The thing I remembered most about Kobe was strangely the SOGO department store (my favourite department store in Japan) and its salivating gourmet food hall which reminded me of the one David Jones has in Bondi Westfield but better! Plus it was here I got to try and buy some gorgeous tasting green tea.

We could of easily killed some time at SOGO, but the day was escaping away so we decided to head off in the direction of Kobe Port. When we arrived at the port it was far from that hustling and bustling port city that had been described to me. In reality, we were the only lone tourists on site, the area looked completely deserted.

After this, we decided to head to Motomachi, where Kobe's Chinatown is, hoping it would be livelier. It was a little better, but when my friend experiences bad pork bun here...at two different places, we both decided that we had had enough of Kobe and so we took the bullet back to Osaka. 

It was here, we decided to put the bullet train to the test. We timed its arrival and departure time. And what can I say, it delivered on its promise. The bullet arrived exactly on the minute it said it would arrive and brought us back to Osaka on the exact minute our feet touch the platform. AMAZING! I really can't praise the staff enough. They must be so chuff with themselves! I would be too if I worked on the bullet train.

We decided to extend our test further by timing how long it took for the local train station to get from shin-osaka to our namba station. The funny thing was it took longer to get around the different suburbs in Osaka than it was to bullet from Kobe to Osaka. 

That night, we finally decided to try Osaka's famous takoyaki (octopus balls) which we had been putting off. You can only purchase then in lots of 6 and 10, but we were really only after two! When it comes to takoyaki, there are some people who absolutely love it and there are others who don't. My friend and I are in the second camp.

Nightwalking was always interesting in Dotonbori. You can't help but notice all the wacky hairdos of the hosts and hostesses. It's like they are trying to outdo each other with who has the most outrageous hairstyle. The "most outrageous hairstyle" award for us went to a guy sporting a fascinator on his head and as a sidenote, he was also carrying a silver metallic "handbag".  My friend and I got a few giggles out of this and it was those kinds of moments I wish I had taken a photo of.

With tomorrow being our last full day in Osaka, we decided to scout our neighbourhood for shops that would be worth checking out. On our walk, we notice a pattern where each host group seemed to be designated to their own block from which they could carry out their hustling. How fascinating! But I think if you really wanted to see the heart of the action the best vantage point would be to wedge yourself on or near Ebisubashi bridge. I didn't do this, but what I did do a few years back was watch a documentary called The Great Happiness Space: Tale of an Osaka Love Thief. This documentary is definitely worth checking out if you want an insight into the whole host business scene.