Tales From the Land of the Rising Sun: Part 6

Out of all the cities we had explored so far, Nara's visit was the most brief. And while I took in every moment of tranquility that Nara offered, did not realize how much I was going to miss it for the rest of this trip. I'll explain more on that later, but now it was time to head to Osaka. Now if you've never been to or are familiar with Osaka, basically think of it as NYC on steroids. The hustle and bustle, the crowds, the bright lights, and so much more. 

We arrived via train by early afternoon. Since we could not check into the hotel yet, we once again tracked down lockers. We weaved our way through the maze of underground shops and stores, eventually coming upon a set of stairs to the above ground world and beside them were the lockers we sought. We stowed our bags and Ryan snapped a couple of pics of the area. We went above and I made a mental note of the nearby business. Our first destination was Dotonbori Street.

Dotonbori is well known for its night market and night life. But we had arrived in the heat of the day. So we were going to wander while the crowds weren't existent and take an early peek at a famous destination. As we approached, there was a large sign in gate-form, welcoming you to Dotonbori Street. Upon entrance there was a mechanical crab over the entrance of the nearby restaurant. This was a smaller version of the world famous Kani Doraku mechanical crab, which is massive compared to this one. I've seen a lot of crab icons, especially in the numerous times I've been to the state of Maryland. But this one by far took the cake. The street was lined with full blown restaurants and businesses that spilled onto the street with stands and samples to draw the masses beyond their doors. It was a sight to see, but a small glimpse of what it would be when the sun dips below the ocean and the stars light the sky. 

What also makes this area well known is the canal that runs down the middle, eventually leading to an place that looks like Times Square. Giant, electronic billboards everywhere and what a sight they would be to see at night. There were towering buildings that seemed to kiss the sky, one of which was a giant shopping mall that had a Ferris wheel running through it. You read that right. The Ferris wheel was built into the building. There would be so much more to see, but we were going to come back when it got dark.

The rest of the afternoon we took a bit easy. We traveled over to the famous Osaka Castle. Being tired upon arrival. we paid a few hundred yen to ride the tram up as far as we could go. Then we we departed it and wandered through the main gate, and there before us was this massive castle. If you've never seen an image of it, remove the European castle imagery from your mind as it looks nothing like those. But it is a castle nonetheless. And an old one too. It has been in existence since the late 1500s. What a sight it was to see. 

Due to the large crowds and a very warm day, we decided to forgo paying the fee to tour the inside. instead, we wandered the park grounds until we found a bench that overlooked a large pond. Here, Ryan and I took a long breather and discussed many things. The US government had just shut down around that very moment so that was brought up because we wondered how it would affect our trip back home. We also discussed life and planned adventures for 2026. Eventually we decided it was time to go get dinner, even though my legs begged me not to move. It was around this time (and for the first time in a long time) I began to experience traveler's fatigue. Maybe it was the daily city hopping and the effects of constantly navigating and dealing with public transportation. Maybe it was the overstimulation of everything my brain took in as well as constantly dealing with throngs of people. Maybe it was even the chaos that was Osaka. I couldn't say for sure, but I knew in that moment if you told me we had to skip the last four days and head home, I wouldn't have argued. I had seen a lot, done a lot, and experienced a lot to be satisfied. But I knew I had to press on as we had yet to conquer Tokyo. Now you see why I missed the tranquility of Nara?

Ryan navigated us to a restaurant that was underground. We had to weave through a maze of stairs and tunnels until we reached its doors. He had already been there before from his previous trip and felt it was worth another visit. We must not arrived during a busy time because the place seemed completely dead other than one table occupied by four businessmen. The friendly host seated us near the other occupied table. He brought us water and then disappeared...for a while. He only returned when the older gentleman at the other table called him. We flagged him over and put in orders. From the time we placed them to the time the food actually arrived was longer than what I would consider normal. Because we had nothing else to do, my mind ran through many possibilities of why it was taking so long. I would never know the actual answer and wrote it off to being in another country. The meat kebabs we ordered were pretty good.

We eventually paid for our meal and made our way back to where we started, Dotonbori Street. The atmosphere was electric and the crowds were thick. Billboards hummed and glowed in the night sky. The famous billboard of the running man was in full display. His arms poised up in a forever victory pose. We stood on the bridge of the canal and watched as the tour boats loaded with people passed beneath us. The smells of the night market wafted in the air. It was a sensory overload, but still worth experiencing. 

One thing that many tourists do is wander into Don Quijote stores as they are packed to the gills with many enticing consumer goods. The one here in Osaka had the Ferris wheel I mentioned prior built into it. Ryan suggested we give it a go, but when we checked it out, they were not running it that night. So we decided to do some shopping instead. We ascended up the electrical stairs and found ourselves wandering among throngs of people and goods. One level had walls and walls of goodies and sweets. Some of which are American product, but with flavors only found in Japan. Ryan and I grabbed a package of banana chocolate and matcha Kit-Kats. Flavors you definitely would not find under normal circumstances in the US. We continued on through floor after floor. Shelf after shelf. All until we decided we had or fill of exploration and went to check out.

Exiting the massive Don Quijote store, we found ourselves once again in the crowds. We continued to explore the area a bit longer, before eventually deciding it was time to call it a night. We left Dotonbori Street and made our way back towards the train station to get our bags and head to our next hotel. I followed Ryan through the sea of people and after a decent walk in the evening air, we made it to the entrance to where we had left our bags...or so we thought. Upon getting to the bottom of the stairs, the lockers we had put them in were nowhere to be found. Maybe we've got the wrong entrance, I thought. Ryan's photos taken earlier in the day were of the area below and not above. We were in a literal maze so the reference wasn't as good as we thought. So we began wandering. And wandering. And even more wandering. Chaotic thoughts began to creep into my fatigued brain. Like the ones that said I would not see that luggage ever again. I had everything I cared about in my backpack, which was on me. My roller bag only had clothes and toiletries. I could survive four days without those, even though it would be slightly unpleasant. Ryan, on the other hand, had left his backpack in the locker with his bag, so not finding it wasn't an option. I didn't want the panic button to go off so I kept my cool. Part of me wished I had pinned location coords to my phone. Ryan's fatigue was getting to him as well as I could see he was getting a little stressed. I told him that we should go back to street level and try another entrance. He agreed and when we got to the top, he navigated us across the street to another entrance and down we went. A sigh a of relief swept over me as the lockers we were looking for appeared before us. The wall also had the letter "G" from the photo. I flashed the QR code to the screen of the locker and the door swung open. Our second minor stressful moment had been resolved. But it would not be the last.

We made our way to the hotel. And while our adventures were done for the day, we had one more thing to experience. You see the hotel we booked was no ordinary hotel. It was a particular one that Japan is known for. A pod hotel. The entrance only contained an elevator to the front desk. It was pretty late by the time we got up there. Like most other hospitality workers I interreacted with in Japan, this one was also incredibly friendly and kind. She got us situated lickity-split by handing us wrist bracelets with keys for our lockers. We took our tired bodies up to the men only floor and found the lockers associated with our numbers. There we found paper slippers, robes, and towels to take to our pods. Once my stuff was stowed, I walked down the hallway to a door. I scanned my bracelet and went inside. Before me were two four rows of pods. Ten on each side with five on top and five on the bottom. I found my number and saw a shade. I pulled it up to reveal the opening to a box-like compartment with a small mattress, pillow, tiny shelf on the wall, an outlet, and artwork on the walls. There was a vent for air control, so don't worry I wasn't going to suffocate. 

As for other amenities, there was another entire area on that floor that had sinks, toilets, and individual showers. And the showers were excellent. Roomy, spacious, good water pressure, and aesthetically pleasing. Not what I was expecting for a pod hotel. Now thank goodness I knew we were doing this before I left the US because I brought something that was an absolute game-changer here. Ear plugs. I'm not a person who can sleep comfortably anywhere. I've mentioned before that I cannot sleep in moving vehicles (cars, trains, buses, planes, etc), I don't do well with any source of light coming in (I need near pitch black conditions), and any noise within the general vicinity is not good. Especially snoring. It's a nightmare scenario for me. And knowing that there may be 15+ other people in that space, I had them ready. Sure enough, the pod directly across from me had a person who snored like a lawnmower that could wake even then dead. But thanks to those little polyurethane sound stoppers and that surprisingly cozy mat, I slept well through the night. Final thoughts on the pod hotel. If you are an adventurous person in more than explanation, then do it once for the experience. Would I do it again? Maybe if the conditions were right, but I much prefer my own room with my own bathroom and shower inside of it. 

That rest was much needed as the next day, Osaka's chaos was about to befall us again and then it was off to conquer Tokyo. Never a dull moment in Japan.

Tales From the Land of the Rising Sun: Part 5

We left Kobe as the sun began to set and grabbed a local train for our next destination...Nara. While Ryan did all the planning for the trip, Nara is home to a very particular attraction that I wanted to experience and so when he asked me about things I wanted to do, I made sure to mention Nara. But more on that later. As per the normal routine, once we stepped foot in Nara, we made our way to the hotel to check in and unwind for a bit. Up until this point, our trip had run without a hitch, but we were about to hit our first speed bump.

We made our way into the hotel which we had to take an elevator right inside the door up to a certain floor. Once at the front desk, we gave the clerk our passports and waited for our room keys. While super friendly, both clerks barely spoke English. I note this because up until this point, all of the hotels we stayed in had at least one staff member whole spoke it well enough to communicate. So this was the first time experiencing the language barrier. After a few short minutes, the man at the desk gave us back our passports and showed the cost on the screen. Ryan gave him a confused look as he had already prepaid and pre-booked all our hotel rooms for the trip. He tried to explain this to the clerk. The clerk asked us to wait and disappeared in a back room. After a bit he returned and Ryan showed him the receipt via email. The clerk asked us to wait in the lobby and disappeared behind the curtain once more. We could hear him talking quickly on the phone. As we were waiting, I was wondering if this was going to be a long back-and-forth situation, but had no concern of not getting a room because the clerk had rung one up. Eventually he re-appeared and explained the best he could with his limited English that there was no booking in the record system. Not wanting to draw it out any longer, Ryan told him it was okay and we would pay for the room. Somewhere along the line, Booking.com fumbled the reservation, but thankfully we managed to get a room without too much trouble. 

As we made our way back to the elevator, I noticed an entire rack of pillows in the lobby. It was odd to me that they were all stored near the entrance. When we reached our room, I looked at the bed and was caught a bit off-guard. The pillows on the bed were long, lanky, and filled with beans. It was weird and abnormal. I put my head on it, and while it wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, I figured I could make it work. We took our daily breather before exploring the night side of Nara.

Ryan was very excited to show me this city, especially at night. From what I could see, it was as dense as the others in terms of large, man-made structures everywhere with little to no nature in sight. But the thing that made it stand out was that in a city of just over 360,000 people, at the early darkness of night, you could hear a pin drop. We walked the near empty streets as the buildings towered over us. We passed by an occasional human, moving car, or anything else that would contribute to the noise pollution for a city, and still could hear ourselves think. And to be clear, it wasn't a deathly silence, but rather a serene calm. Like if there was a city an old person would retire to, this was it. 

If one were to say that Nara had a bit of magic, the serenity wasn't the limiting factor. As we continued to stroll the streets, we turned a corner and came upon an incredible site. Before us was a large square pond. Hanging high enough above it a running the whole way around its perimeter, were orange, paper lanterns, glowing in the night. The scene that lay before us was enough to stop our movement and observe its beauty. If I lived in that area, I would most certainly stop by that spot every night, as it could soothe the soul. Unfortunately, our moment of tranquility came to an end when some yahoo with an obnoxiously loud motorcycle came roaring on by. His engine was so loud, it could've woken the dead. Thankfully he disappeared almost as quickly as he came. We ourselves eventually left and headed back towards the hotel. Along the way, we saw a massive gashapon store and had to take a gander inside. There were flashy lights, high energy music, and rows and rows of gashapon machines. It was a sight to behold.

The next morning, we headed off to the part of Nara I wanted to see the most. Nara Park. If you are unfamiliar with it, it is a large, beautiful park that is filled with free-roaming and friendly deer. They are no one's pets, but they hold no fear of humans. Every single one will let you walk up to them and pet them even if you don't have food. I know we see deer all the time here in the US, but they're all timid and have no interest in humans (some for good reason). So to say I was excited to experience this phenomenon would be an understatement. 

Upon arriving at the main gates, the deer were already abundant. Immediately I was in awe that I could walk right up to them and pet them. To be able to be in the presence of a touch wild animals with a soothing nature was therapeutic. Nearby the gates were little old ladies selling stacks of deer crackers for 200 yen ($1.26). Ryan and I each bought a stack and soon discovered something we were not expecting. Before we had those crackers in our hands, the deer did their own things and paid people no extra attention. But once they saw the old ladies hand them over, every single one within proximity swarmed us, forming circles around us so we had nowhere to go. We began to hand out the crackers to the deer, but soon found another surprise. The once docile deer turned slightly hostile. They all wanted the crackers and if you were feeding their friends, they weren't waiting for you to notice them. I heard Ryan let out a "hey" and "no!" I then let out a little yelp myself as I felt deer teeth make contact with my backside. It was a nip, but those nips don't feel too good. So I spun around and gave that deer a cracker...then was promptly bit in the butt again. I realized in the moment that I shouldn't have rewarded the deer who bit me, but my brain's reaction to get it to not do it again was to feed it. Which is ultimately the reason they do it because they know they won't get harmed and they'll be fed. I made it through my stack of crackers pretty quickly and came out with no broken skin nor red marks. And while being nipped by deer isn't something I would recommend, it was one of those rare travel experiences that I can now talk about for the rest of my days.

Nara Park is known for more than just the deer. It's grounds are home to multiple ancient temples, one of which houses the largest bronze buddha statue in the world. We had arrived at the park before the temples opened, so after we fed the deer, we wandered over to the first temple, found a vending machine (no surprise), grabbed a cool drink, and plopped ourselves down in the shade. At one point, I noticed a deer laying down against a building, so Ryan and I went over to it and parked ourselves next to it. We enjoyed our drinks, shared some chit-chat, and even spoke to the deer even though it wouldn't respond. It wasn't too long after that the temples opened, so we said good-bye to the deer and went exploring.

As we stopped at each one, the history and craftsmanship oozed out of them. Ryan is very avid about Japan's history and was consistently spewing out history facts about each place we stopped. Before this trip, the only other countries I had visited were English speaking countries with similar culture to the US. And after years of seeing other cultures only through books and the interwoven webs of the internet, I was now experiencing a culture with no English ties. The statues inside the temples were incredibly fascinating. In both size and craftsmanship. But it wasn't until we walked into the Todai-Ji temple that a full wave of awe washed over me. The bronze statue was so towering, my mind tried to wrap my head around how they moved that impressive chunk of stone and carved the very detailed human figure before me. To quote Ryan "It's their Mount Rushmore." 

After we left the massive statue for all the other tourists to observe, we wandered the grounds a bit more and found an incredibly cool photo op spot. My feet were set on the paved path with a small wooden fence. Beyond that was a calm still pond, which was spread out before a grassy hill. Then on top of that hill was the Todai-Ji temple. It all embodied the beauty of Japan. We had one last thing to do before we departed the park and that was finally try some matcha tea. We followed the signs into a very modern and tourist tailored cafe. A waitress greeted us and brought us to a table. Two mugs of matcha were ordered and it wasn't long before they arrived. It was one of the greenest colored drinks I had ever had, but it was delicious. After we had downed the last drop, it was time to say good-bye to Nara and take another train ride to our next destination. Our stay was brief, but it was a magical one. I highly recommend a visit if you ever find yourself in that part of the world.