Osaka!

We went to Spa World, which is one of the biggest (if not the biggest) onsen in Japan. It was pretty cool. This was the sign in the front:

Next we went to the happenin' district in Osaka, where people journey from all over Japan for the local cuisine. This statue is a regional character. People pray to him for good grades, prosperity and love.



In this strange poster, the baby is holding kushi-age or kushi-katsu as some say, which is a regional food. It's meat or vegetables on a skewer which is battered and deep fried. They provide each table with a big bucket of brown glaze/sauce to dunk the skewer in when they arrive at your table, straight out of the fryer. You can only dip them once, or they get upset. I got potato and beef, but I only liked the potato. The area we were in, Shinsekai, is very famous for kushi-katsu.

Here I am at the Osaka Aquarium. Word to the wise, do not go on a Sunday, which is a day most Japanese have off (not everyone takes Saturday off). It was so crowded. Though it became less so further on in the tour of the aquarium, it was pretty irritating. The tickets are not cheap, and with throngs of people pushing and shoving, it put a damper on the experience. Also, turn your camera on museum mode/turn off your flash when you take pictures in dark places. Everyone kept using their flash and it was really, really annoying.





Here Christa and I were walking over a famous bridge where lots of musicians and street vendors go. It's a big shopping district, and just like lots of downtown areas of Tokyo, young people go here to hang out in groups and sit on the sides of the streets. We also saw some very very intoxicated middle/high school aged school children running amuck.