Back from Osaka already; as it turns out, Osaka is a very fun place to pass about two days, after which point one has seen and done everything there is to see and do. One of the highlights of the trip is hazily represented in this incredibly low-quality photo: the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge. It's the world's longest suspension bridge, coming in at 5867 feet or so, which is farely impressive considering that the longest possible suspension bridge is only like seven thousand feet.
So, Osaka was great, I got to see all sorts of neat things including a zoo just packed with monkeys screaming their fool heads off at the inferior quality of the French champagne they were being served with their slop, or whatever else it is that monkeys howl about. I ended up going with a Chinese and a Korean friend, and the company made it an immense amount of fun; being three foreigners speaking excited Japanese, however, meant that we got no end of confused and shocked looks from passers-by. The two nights we were in Osaka, rather than stay in a hotel or even a youth hostel, we found a uniquely Japanese route that is even cheaper; sleep over in an overnight bath house. There is a new, giant, extremely nice bath complex in Osaka where you can stay overnight for about twenty bucks, which is cheaper than any other alternative and way more fun. As a result, I got take awesome, leisurely baths both nights and mornings, which would have made the trip worth it alone. In case you were wondering, the sleeping was of course clothed and seperate from the bath area, in some reasonably nice recliner chairs. The third day we spent in Kyoto again, as it is just about right next door, which meant that I got to see some more of the fun stuff there that I love, and even got to see some of Kyoto's extremely famous cherry blossoms, which were blooming early in the garden of Nijo Castle.
Travelling the way I did, riding local trains the whole way, was incredibly cheap but also extremely tiring, so I'm still massively exhausted despite sleeping a fair amount and doing very little all day today. I played one-yen poker with the girls from the trip today, which is always a blast. If anyone remembers the rules to the poker game Baseball, will you e-mail them to me? I keep wanting to play it when during one-yen poker nights, but I can't remember how.
- Gyaa! I'm give up
Naka-ku, Hiroshima
730-0803
JAPAN
