A pictoral essay of Osaka and its environs

I don't know where that title came from and it in no way conveys how much fun I had collecting the images below.

Day 1: Osaka-shi.

The Open-Air Museum of Old Farmhouses, Osaka castle, din-din and iruminashion at the aquarium. These places are so different that I hope you will be able to figure out which pictures are which.

Hmmm, there's the sky...and an old building of some kind...

...and another! It's like a museum or something...

Wait! That's not a farmhouse! It's a fire engine!

Looking at old buildings ages you. Let's take a break under this red tree.

The following is obviously not a farmhouse.

A sign at the ticket booth. Sorry, no cannibalism for me today, thanks.

Now, that's a gold fish!

Osaka-style okonomiyaki. Thick and juicy!

After taking the train out of the city center, following the signs through the wrong exit at the station and walking in a big circle on deserted streets which cost us a ride on the "World's Largest Giant Wheel" we found what we were looking for---illuminated sea creatures!

I don't make a very good manta ray.

Can you guess the animal below? Bio-luminescent plankton? Nope! It's the whale shark on super zoom. Duh!

Day 2: Out of Osaka

Stop 1: The Instant Ramen Museum, which is a legitimate museum with security guards in the parking lot directing traffic.

Hall of Ramen through the Ages. I have never seen so much sodium on one wall before.

Edible airplane food? At least it's not rubbery meat. "Ramen de sky" anyone?

The man behind it all, Momofuku Ando. A real noodle head if you ask me.

Stop 2: Himeji Castle. The castle of Japan. What can I say, it was really big?

So pointy.

OMG!! Look, a wedding party!! The bride and groom were lucky to get a ride, everyone else had to walk from who knows where in their formal wear.

Stop 3. Kobe. Since it was already dark when we got there, we didn't do a whole lot of exploring and went straight to the harbour, which could have very well have been an American shopping mall, except there were a few too many Japanese people there.

We finally got to ride a ferris wheel, only this one was pretty small. Nice view though.

Ginourmous tree inside the mall. Where am I again?

I never knew I wanted a small dog so I could dress it up like a strawberry until I went into this store with Jamie.

Day 3: Osaka in the rain

Day 3 had basically one stop, the Umeda Sky Building. Kind of like a tower in that it has nice view, or will at least until all the construction around it is complete.

Going up to the "Floating Garden Observatory." I don't recall seeing any plants up there.



Out the window on the rainy side of the building. Jamie and I do have a knack for visiting high places on days with severely limited visibility. Nice.


The dry side. Lots of buildings, and even more that we couldn't see. Osaka isn't Japan's second city for nothing!

The End.