Naniwa: Ancient Capital of Japan, Roots of Modern Osaka
on Nov 18, 2009 in History Sightseeing Spots Uncategorized japan osaka kansai travel culture merchant Ancient Namba sightseeing tourism Kinki import historic Korea castle Oda Nobunaga museum ruins old hub Edo Period capital Toyotomi Hideyoshi Naniwa Heijo Heijo-kyo Heian Heian-kyo imperial emperor Naniwa-no-miya palace remains Osaka Museum of History NHK Naniwa-bashi China seaport trade trading origin roots Long before the city of Osaka existed, there was an imperial capital called Naniwa. It first served as the seat of the emperor and his grand palace in 645, and for the second time in 744 (capital cities tended to move regularly as new emperors took p...

Exploring Kansai: Day Trips from Osaka
on Nov 12, 2009 in Around Osaka Ancient autumn bath becah big Buddga Biwa Biwako Buddha Buddhism Byodoin capital cherry blossom city colorful cosmopolitan culture Daibutsu day trip fall Fushimi-Inari History hot spring Iga Iga-Ueno international Ise kansai Kasuga Taisha Kinki Kobe kodo Koga Koryuji koyo Kumano Kyoto Lake Biwa leaves matcha Meriken Mie momiji Mountain Nara ninja old osaka outside Osaka paradise pilgrimage prefecture romantic ryokan Shiga Shinto Shrine sightseeing spring tea temple Tenmangu Todaiji torii tourism train travel Uji UNESCO Wakaura Wakayama weekend trip world heritage Yoshino So far I’ve spent a lot of time talking about what there is to do in Osaka, but this time I want to give a quick overview of places that can be visited as day trips from Osaka. It is, in fact, the perfect city for this, because of its central lo...

Kansai International Airport
on Nov 8, 2009 in Sightseeing Spots 1995 air. plane airline airplane airport ANA architect bay bridge earthquake engineering Great Hanshin Earthquake Hanshin-Awaji hotel Hyogo island Izumisano JR Kagawa kansai Kansai International Airport Kinki KIX Kobe Kyoto landfill Landmark Tower marvel Nankai Narita osaka prefecture rail Renzo Piano Rinku Town Sennan Shopping sightseeing sinking smallest terminal Tokyo tourism traffic train travel TWC typhoon Kansai International Aiport (KIX) is the second most important airport in Japan (after Narita in Tokyo) and the main airline hub for the Kansai area, which includes Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Wakayama, and many other large cities. KIX is located on an artif...

Recommended Ramen in Osaka
on Nov 2, 2009 in Gourmet betsubara broth budget chain chashu chashu-men chashumen cuisine delicious dinner Dotombori dotonbori dragon eat eguchi esaka favorite food Hakata Hokkaido Hokkaido Nagurikomi Ramen Betsubara ippudo japan kansai Kinki Kinryu kio local lunch men men'ya Nagahori Namba Nishi-Nagahori noodle osaka pork ramen recommendation red salt shio shitenno shop shoyu small Sodaisho soy sauce store Suita tasty tonkotsu white Here are a few of my favorite ramen shops* in Osaka. It is very hard to make recommendations for this sort of food in Osaka, as the city seems to be overflowing with mind-blowingly delicious options, but here’s what I’ve come up with. Som...

Pepsi Azuki
on Oct 30, 2009 in Uncategorized azuki Coca-Cola Coke cola cucumber disgusting fiber gross ice cucumber japan monstrous no calorie Pepsi repulsive soda soft drink Pepsi of Japan is trying to make us all sick to our stomachs. The newest tool for accomplishing that task is Pepsi Azuki. Yes, azuki. Sure, Coke has come up with some oddballs, but nothing compared to this. For example, the new Coca-Cola no calorie...

Osaka-ben
on Oct 24, 2009 in Uncategorized culture dialect hyojungo japan Japanese kansai Kansai-ben Kinki Kinki-ben language languge learn learner osaka Osaka-ben student One interesting feature of Japanese culture is that it is separated into many subcultures existing very close to one another–it is not a large country, but geographical features have divided communities throughout history, causing different t...

Aqua Bus Tours
on Oct 20, 2009 in Sightseeing Spots aqua Aqua Mini aquabus aqualiner aquarium bay boat bus canal chartered city city of water cruise Daimyo Dotombori Edo Period ferry futures Himawari historic history Kaiyukan kansai Keihan liner Minatomachi Namba OAP OCAT Okawa osaka Osaka Amenity Park Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan Osaka Bay Osaka Castle Santa Maria sightseeing special event storehouses Tenmabashi ticket tour travel water water metropolis Yodoyabashi Yokohorigawa Run by the Keihan Group, this sightseeing boat company operates various cruises around the city of Osaka, long known as “the City of Water” due to the historical and importance of canals and rivers in the city. In fact, during the Edo Period (160...

A Journey Around Lake Biwa: Part 3
on Oct 17, 2009 in A Journey Around Lake Biwa Around Osaka bath bicycle bike Biwa climax cultural Enryakuji Genji Hiei hill historic holy Honpukuji hot spring hotel Imazu Ishiyama Ishiyama-dera japan Jehovah Jehovah's Witness journey kansai Katata Koga Kyoto lady Lake Lake Biwa Makino Mangetsuji massage Mii Mii-dera Mountain Ogoto Okinawa old onsen osaka Otsu pilgrimage prefecture religious rent Saikoku Shiga sightseeing slippers Takashima Tale of Genji temple travel trip turning point Ukimido water Yamashina Makino was the turning point in my journey, the non-climactic climax of my loop around Lake Biwa. The pedals moved smoothly on the bike I had borrowed from the hotel, and I glided effortlessly down the narrow lakeshore road, dodging cars and pedestri...

The Hub Pubs of Osaka
on Oct 13, 2009 in Bars alcohol bar beer British burger Chayamachi drink Ebisu Ebisubashi english food friends gnocchi hub Hub Pub kansai long island iced tea Namba osaka party pizza pub sake Shinsaibashi tarantula The Hub Umeda Hub British Pub (英国風ハブ) is a chain of friendly bars where you can meet people, whether you are from Japan or abroad. I have met more people from other countries at the Hub than anywhere else. There is fairly tasty food, as would be expected...

Takoyaki
on Oct 8, 2009 in Gourmet japan osaka kansai okonomiyaki food Namba Unique Japanese cuisine delicious takoyaki Nipponbashi Sennichimae octopus balls dumplings eats Takoyaki Doraku Wanaka NGK kimchee representative symbolic katsuo bonito dashi Osakan cooker food culture Takoyaki, which is often humorously (and unfortunately) translated as “octopus balls,” are dumplings made of batter, picked ginger, tenkasu, and green onion,  with octopus meat in the middle and sauce, aonori, mayonnaise, and bonito flak...