At Alynn's request!

Honestly, the bad stuff that happened during my Osaka trip were so overwhelming that if you asked me to just write about the good stuff... it's almost impossible. But I am going to try my bestest since Alynn so kindly asked! :)

Osaka is very much like Hong Kong but with a richer culture, if you ask me. Unlike Tokyo, I find Osaka very local, not internationalized and commercialized. If one wanted to experience the real Japan, one should really go to Osaka. Of course, I am guessing it would not be anytime soon and I am counting my blessings everyday that I returned 2 weeks before the fateful earthquake struck Japan.

The biggest difference between Tokyo and Osaka are the street sights. It is not as crowded, and its people are not as fashionable. If not for the ppl walking past me speaking Japanese, I would not think it was Japan since I always had the impression that Japanese are all stylish and somewhat loud in their dressing. In Osaka, everyone looks.. normal. Some plain even! I also find the people to be slightly more rude, unlike what I experienced in Tokyo. In Osaka, ppl talk in the trains, they push past you on the street to get ahead of ppl and they are less patient. And they don't speak much English. Nevertheless, their service attitudes are still by far better than the ones we get in Singapore. They may not be as friendly and helpful as their fellow Japanese in Tokyo, but they are still polite and full of pride in their work.

There are a few things that stood out from my trip and probably the best memories I got out of it. Here goes!

1. Doggies at Osaka Castle


I went to the must-go Osaka Castle which was home to the late late late late King from seriously very way back. :p I didn't quite pay attention to all the historical details which was on display inside the castle which has now been converted into a museum because the sights there was too beautiful! The castle itself is very majestic and I was told what remains today is only a very small fraction of what the castle used to be. The rest of the compound has been turned into a national park which is a popular place for tourists all over the world to come and view cherry blossoms. The castle that remains today is the main wing of the castle where the King & his family resided.


The castle is surrounded by a lake which makes the whole place very picturesque.

As I mentioned, this is a national park and despite being packed with tourists, there are also many locals there who take walks by the lake along the castle, I suppose daily. A lot of them bring their dogs also and from the way they are so relaxed with their dogs unleashed, shows that they are very familiar with the place and very comfortable there.

Just as I was about to leave, I saw a man coming into the park with a baby stroller. Except the stroller was not carrying a baby, but 3 dogs! 3 super cute small fluffy cute dogs! (did I mention cute?? haha!) I love small dogs and they attracted me to them like honey to the bee! I can say that I went slightly ballistic cuz I made a beeline for them and while everyone was hovering ard the 3 doggies in their stroller ooh-ing and ah-ing, I dived my hands into the stroller and scooped out the cutest little one. (I am sorry I didn't ask the owner 1st but he didn't seem to mind and I was just too excited!) And the little fella loved me, he did! He licked my face non-stop and it felt nice cuz I was cold and his licks were warm and fuzzy. Haha, is that TMI?? :p


Easily my favourite picture from the trip. :)))

2. Geishas in Gion, Kyoto


No I did not take this picture, and there's a reason why I used that picture!

I made a day trip to Kyoto since it was so close by and so legendary. Many ppl say if you have not visited Kyoto, you have not visited Japan. I say if you have not visited Kyoto, you have not seen the real PAPARAZZI!

What is going to Kyoto if you don't go and see some Geishas, right? Before I went, I was told that there are specific timings to go to Gion (the place with the most Geishas in Kyoto) if you wanted to spot Geishas. Apparently they don't just make appearances in public any day and when they do, it is normally for official business, like a performance or festival. So strictly speaking, it is almost impossible to see a Geisha unless you wait outside teahouses to catch a glimpse of them getting into the car that is waiting for them outside.

And that is exactly what I did! I was like a paparazzi, holding on to my camera, ready to snap anytime and eyes darting around frantically from teahouse to teahouse (and there were endless rows of them!)to see which teahouse is the next Geisha going to emerge from! It was almost like playing the whacking game at the arcade: hit it before it's gone!

And I think I was VERY lucky. I visited Gion on a day where many of the maiko-s are having their debut! (Or so I overheard from a HKG tourist.) So all the Geishas I saw that day were fully decked in their Geisha make-up and attire, complete with the white face and "basket" of stuff they carry around. There were a lot of tourists hanging around and running madly after any Geisha that emerges from a particular teahouse. The Geishas are probably used to the attention they get from tourists cuz once they exit from the teahouse, they walk at superhuman speed to their destination, whether it is to a waiting car or another teahouse) so it is truly only about 10 seconds or less that they are viewed by the public. Your camera has got to have the fastest shutter speed to get the best picture possible.

Mine turned out like that:


I refused to run around after them like a mad dog so I stood my ground and waited. And sure enough, a Geisha walked out of the teashouse which I staked for at least half an hour!

After I saw her upclose with my naked eye, I decided it was time to go. I have come to Kyoto, visited Gion and seen a Geisha. There, I can now say I have visited Japan. HAHA!

3. Tempozan Ferris Wheel


The only reason why this is a nice moment for me in Osaka, is cuz' it reminded me of this:


If you watch this drama before, you will remember this scene whereby Shuji and Kyoko are on the ferris wheel... it is damn funny! One of my favorite scenes in the show! So being in Japan and sitting on a ferris wheel kinda reminded me of that and got me very excited, haha! I am nonsensical like that! (To be very honest, the view wasn't that fantastic.)

4. Maid Cafe at Den Den Town (It's a guy's paradise!)


I took this picture secretly as no photography was allowed in the cafe. This was a highlight for me because the food was HEAVENLY. Who would have thought the best food I would taste in Osaka was from a Maid Cafe! I had Japanese pasta and the bacon that came in the pasta was in huge chunks and oh-so-delish!!!! And I must say the service from the "maids" were very very impressive. If I were a guy I would definitely have wanted to stay in Osaka to bed marry one of them! :P

I am going to try my best to describe the experience to you. 1st of all, the girls that are hired, I realise, are of a particular type. The way they speak are definitely a criteria cuz all of them have the most gentle voices I have ever heard in my life. They way they speak can give men an instant orgasm! Haha! Sorry for the mental visual but this is exactly what I felt! But if you are thinking those very "teh" way the Taiwanese girls like to speak, it is far from that. Somehow the Japanese girls can speak in a "teh" way but so gentle that it is soothing. When one of the french maids served me, I found myself mesmerized with her voice and her very gentle ways, the way she placed the napkins on the table with her pinky curled up at the end and clearing our cups as if they were made of feathers.

VERY PAMPERING!

The last time I felt this way was when I was in primary school and I had a nasty fall which resulted in both my knees bruised and bleeding. My form teacher (whom I loved btw) bent down over me and applied medication on my knees so lovingly I thought I was going to explode from the TLC shown to me.

It feels good to be doted and pampered. I just never thought a stranger who didn't speak my language could make me feel like that.

After my very tender loving lunch, I ventured to other parts of Den Den Town and found many many comic shops. The last time I was in Tokyo, my husband and I tried very hard to find porno shops but to no avail. You know the ones that sell all the porno mags, videos and comics? Haha, I wanted to see those shops and take a look at their ever-booming porno industry! When I returned to Singapore, a friend told me, "Of cuz you never found it, they are all camouflaged behind the clean and decent comic shops! They will never openly advertise what they are truly selling inside! You have to walk through the shop, past the normal comics and to the back separated by a curtain and then you will find what you are looking for."

And so this time I return to Japan enlightened. One of the things to buy on my to-buy list is "PORNO MAGS"! Haha! I had to fulfill my husband's wish for him even if he was not with me! :p (What kind of image did I just paint of my husband?!)

So I very bravely walked into one of the comic shops (but it took some time for me to muster up my courage), looked down at my shoes and marched straight to the back. I didn't have to look up to know all the guys in the store (yea, not even one girl in there) were looking weirdly at me. After I disappeared behind the curtain, I looked up and viola! PORNOGRAPHY PARADISE! There were posters of naked girls everywhere, porno manga, porno mags, porno dvds, sex toys, you name it they have it! And there was even a level 2! I went up the stairs and found a "premium" collection of pornography! The girls featured on the materials are so pretty. Any time can win Lin Chi Ling kind! I also dunno how ppl like Shu Qi can make it as a porn star with such good-looking porn stars in Japan!

It was an eye-opener but by then I was much too embarrassed to be in the center of all these pornography and surrounded only by men! I picked out 2 magazines with the prettiest girls on it and anyhow grabbed a DVD. Then I dashed downstairs to make payment, with my eyes on my shoes the whole time and ran out of the store!

Well, there's a 1st time for everything, right? :)

When I gave my husband his presents, not only was he unhappy, he said, "You went without me?!" HAHA!

And I told him, "Yes, and these presents are to make up for you not being able to be there with me." I never got around to asking him what he thought of the "premium" collection. :p

Other than these 4 highlights of my trip, I must say the shopping is damn good in Osaka. I went over budget by 150%! I figured I must have shopped furiously to make up for the bad company I was having. :p

And that, pretty much sums up my Osaka/Kyoto trip! Just for you, Alynn! And thank you for letting me write such a long piece! :))))