Glenn and I decided to get out of town for the weekend last weekend. Our time together is limited so we wanted to take advantage of this "down time" to do some sightseeing. I had been to Osaka last summer, but hadn't had the chance to do much sightseeing. Since Glenn was able to get Friday off, we decided to go at the last minute.
I found a great deal on a hotel on agoda.com. For those of you in Asia, I highly recommend it. It has last minute deals and we got a hotel in a pretty decent area for only 5000 yen an night- for both of us! Most hotels charge per person in Japan!
We arrived late on Thursday night, eventually found our hotel and grabbed some dinner. We contacted VAW-115's 'superfan' to tell him we were in his home town. He had the next day off and agreed to show us around. What better way to see a new city?
The next day, he picked us up in his van after we had gotten some breakfast at a coffee shop. Three cups of coffee and relaxing for a couple hours at the coffee shop? Yes please. I love vacation.
Bane picked us up in his van and asked us if we wanted to see a Ninja house near Osaka?
"Ok, sounds good to us!"
"On the way, we can see the city where they make the Racoon dogs."
"Ok, sounds great. Thanks."
Well, little did we realize, but
near Osaka is a relative term and an hour later, we arrived at a rest stop to see the largest lake in Japan...
And another 45 minutes after that, we arrived in Shigaraki.
In Japanese, the raccoon like animal is known as tanuki. In the Osaka area and all over Japan, they are in front of houses and stores for good luck. He is often carrying different items representing different ideas. For example, most of them are carrying a sake jug which is Tanuki's secret virtue. According to the English translation, "Eat, drink and be merry, but always remember to maintain decorum. The Tanuki actsin a bold, decisive manner, but always maintains a calm, quiet attitude. In Japan, the spirit resides not in the heart, but in the stomach. Hence, the big-souled Tanuki is represented with a large belly."
You can see why it has become a mascot of Japan in some areas. All of those concepts sound like Japan to me.
After buying a few ceramic souvenirs (no Tanukis, they are pretty ugly to me :) ) we pressed on to Iga City to the Ninja residence. This place was a little cheesy, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it! We saw a ninja show where they threw ninja stars and used other weapons and then we toured the ninja house and museum.
In the Ninja House, they showed us trap doors, secret hiding places and escape routes that the Ninjas would use!
In the museum we saw more Ninja weapons and disguise techniques.
After Iga City, we drove back to Osaka, but the day wasn't over yet!
Our first stop was Todaiji temple which was built in 743 and is the world's largest wooden structure. It was built as part of a political initiative to rule the country under Buddhist doctrine. It has been rebuilt a couple times because of fires and earthquakes and is now actually smaller than the original. Inside is a 15 meter Buddha.
After dinner, we headed to the Sky Garden- an observatory 173 meters in the air. It was a beautiful sight at night.
Although, not my afraid-of-heights husband's favorite place. Do you see that death grip on the railing? Yeah, he wasn't letting go. And forget about standing anywhere near the glass wall in the center. Notice that this side has another floor and railing a story down? That is the only reason Glenn would get anywhere near it. Love you, baby.
Here's a picture of a picture of the Sky Garden. I think it looks like a transformer. A great view of Osaka though!
After the Sky Garden, we went to see the other tower. Unfortunately though, like many things in Japan, it has been affected by the earthquake and the neon lights that usually cover it were not on.
We decided to take a picture by a giant fried thing on a stick though. That works.
One of the most famous and iconic places in Osaka is the Ebisubashi bridge. It was just a 20 minute walk from our hotel and a great place for people watching. Lots of girls trying to pick up guys and Donton boys walking around with their crazy hair.
Bane picked us up in his van and asked us if we wanted to see a Ninja house near Osaka?
"On the way, we can see the city where they make the Racoon dogs."
Well, little did we realize, but near Osaka is a relative term and an hour later, we arrived at a rest stop to see the largest lake in Japan...
And another 45 minutes after that, we arrived in Shigaraki.
In Japanese, the raccoon like animal is known as tanuki. In the Osaka area and all over Japan, they are in front of houses and stores for good luck. He is often carrying different items representing different ideas. For example, most of them are carrying a sake jug which is Tanuki's secret virtue. According to the English translation, "Eat, drink and be merry, but always remember to maintain decorum. The Tanuki actsin a bold, decisive manner, but always maintains a calm, quiet attitude. In Japan, the spirit resides not in the heart, but in the stomach. Hence, the big-souled Tanuki is represented with a large belly."
In the Ninja House, they showed us trap doors, secret hiding places and escape routes that the Ninjas would use!
In the museum we saw more Ninja weapons and disguise techniques.
After Iga City, we drove back to Osaka, but the day wasn't over yet!
