i dont think i've talked much about what happened before i got to osaka..
i think the highlight in tokyo was the embassy dinner hosted by the singapore embassy at Gopanchi (not sure of the spelling). it's located in the upmarket area - roppongi - and was attended by embassy members as well as 2 representatives from STB. it was our first - and probably the last - time in a taxi in japan. cost us 2810yen in all..
the restaurant is famous due to former PM koizumi having brought bush jr. there when the latter was in japan. the food was great, and the ambience was nice too, if a little noisy.
we went via shinkansen to osaka, and there's nothing special about it except that it does move rather fast when it's speeding along between stops that are rather far apart from each other, and that it moves very smoothly. no jerking of any sort!
the other 2 JETs in Osaka city who were there in tokyo with me.. i think we're all rather un-photogenic.. :P
inside of a shinkansen.. just like any other train i think..
we've been drinking a couple of times, and once was at this beer garden at the 17th floor of the hankyu building just above the hankyu station:
it was really crowded there, and over the course of the evening i ended up talking to 3 different groups of people: 1 elderly man, 1 young guy and another middle aged salarly man and his ex colleague.
great view from the beer garden:
like all the other cities in japan, osaka has been having summer celebrations, and i saw fireworks at the river near my apartment on saturday. missed the fireworks at ndp but got this nice substitute! the fireworks in japan are longer than those in singapore; ranging about 45min to 1.5hours. but the really cool thing was that due to the fireworks and these summer celebrations, so many people were in yukata on saturday!
have a taste of the crowd in osaka - it's always this crowded!
i had a friend from singapore visit -
and i think it's easy to get good food in japan for less than 1000yen per meal! i havent really paid more than 840yen for my food (except the buffets that're around 900yen) and they're all delicious.
like omu rice
dessert
and okonomiyaki, which tastes nothing like and far far better than anything you'll ever eat in singapore
shopping here need not be expensive either. i bought two t-shirts of fairly nice design and good quality for about 500yen each, which is way cheaper than anything i can ever get back home. i also got this really nice cardigan/jacket thingy for 499yen (below), as well as a cute pair of wedge shoes for 1000yen.
and above, you can see osaka castle. we visited there on sunday, and it's a really beautiful castle to look at, but you dont really have to bother going in as nothing of the castle is left. it's actually a museum instead, and not the place to go if you want to have a glimpse into what the inside of a castle might have been back then.
more pictures of the castle:
it even has a lift for the handicapped and elderly and is fully air-conditioned inside:
i've also been to the floating garden observatory of the umeda sky tower. i think it's one of the tallest buildings in osaka city, if not the tallest, and has quite a nice view from the top. it's famous for its distinctive architecture too, and is within cycling distance from my flat (although i didnt cycle there):
a glimpse of the view:
i love the way it looks right at the top:
it's a really popular places for couples and families too:
and i'll leave u all now with the last picture that i took - it's of my newly purchased handphone, and jac is so going to roll her eyes and declare that i've become kawaii-fied after just a mere week in japan:
i actually wanted metallic dark purple or metallic dark red, but they'd run out of stock unfortunately. but i like this pink one just fine too :)
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