Ooooosaka.... yes, you really do say it that way...
*Sorry for the delay, internet is hard to come by, believe it or not.So today was the day that we ventured out into the world of Japan without Randy. The plan was to hike Mt. Rokko, and although the sky seemed somewhat foreboding, we took the train to meet up with Wes’ friend Katherine. Katherine is an American Fulbright scholar, and guess what she is in Japan researching?
Comics. Omg.
She was given a grant to come to Japan.... and read manga. I didn’t know whether to hug or or hate her. She met us at the station, and, as the rain soon started to grow heavy, escorted us to the nearby Mos Burger! (Yay!). Most of us had the teriyaki burger, and I must say it was rather tasty. Iced coffee is king in Japan, and so I continued my coffee research by trying some of Mos Burger’s. Teh yumz.
Unfortunately the rain was too bad to go hiking, so Wes and Katherine went to her apartment to grab a few things while Matt, Taylor, and I looked around a temple and the station bookstore. Matt bought an umbrella ( which I promptly lost =( ), and we decided to go to Osaka.
The Osaka I remembered from the airport bus was less than attractive, and the Osaka I was introduced to that day was slightly better. We didn’t do much here, since it wasn’t really in our plans to BE here, but we ventured into a very large comic book store, where Taylor proceeded to buy Keven a very special present. O.o
I must say that the Japanese have some weird fetishes.... I mean, I knew they had a FEW, but I was unaware that child porno manga was.... quite so popular. And yes, mom, we quickly evacuated that aisle.
We also went to the Sky Tower in Osaka. It has a long escalator that leads to a viewpoint of the city on the top of the building. Pictures are in the album, although I can’t tell you much about it, since I kept Matt company at the bottom of the giant tower. Even in the rain, though, it was apparently beautiful. In the basement of the building was a mini Old Kyoto area, with some restaurants and a money exchange place. Outside was a gorgeous garden, with firefly powered lighting, which Matt and I explored while the others saw the sky tower.
Really, other than that, we just walked around the shopping district and played the “How many cute things can we find to bug Jess” game.
Oh, I hear tell that there is a panda suit for a mere 30 dollars in Kobe.....
