So I have to start off part 2 by saying that if you ever want to feel good about yourself when you're learning a language, keep a blog/diary in that language and look back at some of your first posts after you've been studying a while. I just looked at some of my first posts on this blog and... wow... just wow...
Anyway, back to the interesting stuff. This isn't exactly chronological, but I figure I'll talk about Kobe and Osaka next, while I'm on the topic of travel...
About 3 weeks ago (around Feb 7) I went with my Aussie friend, whose name also happens to be Daniel, to Kobe. We, once again, caught an early bus in the morning and arrived at Kobe around noon. After getting in, we went to the hotel to drop off our bags (although we couldn't check in yet) and then went out sightseeing. (I thought ahead this time and wrote down the names of the places I visited XD) First we went to Ikuta Shrine （生田神社）, which was only about 5-10 min from the hotel.
Ikuta Shrine 生田神社
Here I found the most interesting ema （絵馬） I've seen in Japan so far...
Here I found the most interesting ema （絵馬） I've seen in Japan so far...
My translation for the text on here is "This year for sure I'll begin to bud..."
After that, I was pretty hungry, but Daniel had eaten a late breakfast and wasn't hungry yet, so we stopped at a McDonalds so I could grab a quick lunch. (On a side note, McDonalds in Japan are having a 'Big America' campaign in which they have themed burgers (Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Beverly Hills, and Broadway) with the special burger changing every 3 weeks or so. I've eaten all 3 they've already had and am looking forward to trying the Beverly Hills burger =P). After lunch, we went through China Town （南東町） on our way to Minatogawa Shrine （湊川神社）.
The outer gate of the shrine, with Daniel in the corner there
Afterwards, we checked out a few shopping places (although we didn't buy anything) and then went back to the hotel to check in and relax. After about an hour of resting, I went back out by myself to roam the streets a bit and check out the Flower Clock （花時計）, at which I also discovered that Seattle and Kobe are sister cities =P.
Flower Clock 花時計
A totem pole given to Kobe from Seattle (It also had a small plaque explaining this)
Once it was dark, I met up with Daniel and we went set off for Mt. Rokko （六甲山）, although we had to take a train, a bus, and a cable car to get there =P. The view from the mountain was awesome, and the pictures I took don't really do it justice, but it was way too cold and the wind was too strong to stay and look for too long, so we headed back to get dinner.
Kobe Harbor as seen from Mt. Rokko
The restaurants name was The Steak House (I think...) and we got Kobe beef, which is quite famous, delicious, and a little expensive (=__=;). Still the meal was really nice, and I regret not taking pictures... Anyway, after eating we headed of to Kobe Harborland, which had a bunch of lights and was just fun to run around in, even if we didn't do much else.
Just a few of the pictures I took in Kobe Harborland
When we got tired and it started getting too late, we went back to the hotel again, but not before stopping at a コンビニ (konbini) beforehand for a snack. After getting in and showering, we got a call from our Japanese freinds who happened to be sightseeing in Okinawa at the same time and who may or may not have had a few drinks XD. Regardless, it was fun, but before long we had to go to bed.
Afterwards, we checked out a few shopping places (although we didn't buy anything) and then went back to the hotel to check in and relax. After about an hour of resting, I went back out by myself to roam the streets a bit and check out the Flower Clock （花時計）, at which I also discovered that Seattle and Kobe are sister cities =P.
Once it was dark, I met up with Daniel and we went set off for Mt. Rokko （六甲山）, although we had to take a train, a bus, and a cable car to get there =P. The view from the mountain was awesome, and the pictures I took don't really do it justice, but it was way too cold and the wind was too strong to stay and look for too long, so we headed back to get dinner.
The restaurants name was The Steak House (I think...) and we got Kobe beef, which is quite famous, delicious, and a little expensive (=__=;). Still the meal was really nice, and I regret not taking pictures... Anyway, after eating we headed of to Kobe Harborland, which had a bunch of lights and was just fun to run around in, even if we didn't do much else.
Just a few of the pictures I took in Kobe Harborland
When we got tired and it started getting too late, we went back to the hotel again, but not before stopping at a コンビニ (konbini) beforehand for a snack. After getting in and showering, we got a call from our Japanese freinds who happened to be sightseeing in Okinawa at the same time and who may or may not have had a few drinks XD. Regardless, it was fun, but before long we had to go to bed.
The next day, we were up and out by about 10 o'clock, and stopped at, you guessed it, a コンビニ for breakfast before taking the train to go to Osaka. Once again, we arrived around noon and went to the hotel to drop off our bags (after a little trouble with finding it =/). While walking around wondering what to have for lunch, we stumbled upon the Hard Rock Cafe, which ended up being surprisingly cheap (\1000 or about $12.00).
Yum~! おいしい〜！
We left the Hard Rock Cafe and took the subway to Osaka Castle. The orginal Osaka Castle had been destroyed in the Summer Wars of Osaka (early 1600), but the one that is standing now was rebuilt shortly after and very similarly to the original. Most of the castle now is a museum about the castle (particularly the war in which it was destroyed), but it was still interesting.
Osaka Castle 大阪城
After visiting the castle, we bought treats for our friends and host families in the gift shop. Also, something very interesting at Osaka castle, was that they have a 5000 year time capsule (no I didn't mistype that...). I don't know about anybody else, but I feel like they are being really optimistic about the future...
We left the Hard Rock Cafe and took the subway to Osaka Castle. The orginal Osaka Castle had been destroyed in the Summer Wars of Osaka (early 1600), but the one that is standing now was rebuilt shortly after and very similarly to the original. Most of the castle now is a museum about the castle (particularly the war in which it was destroyed), but it was still interesting.
After visiting the castle, we bought treats for our friends and host families in the gift shop. Also, something very interesting at Osaka castle, was that they have a 5000 year time capsule (no I didn't mistype that...). I don't know about anybody else, but I feel like they are being really optimistic about the future...
So after we had our fill of the castle, we roamed around a bit and then went to check into the hotel before heading back out to Nanba, which is a very lively, popular shopping area. One of the more popular parts on Nanba is an area where there are lots of neon signs, the most famous of which is the Glico Man.
Nanba and the Glico Man
We wandered through Nanba on our way to an okonomiyaki (it's kinda like a pancake, but not really... it's hard to explain, but the ones in Osaka are notably tasty =D) restaurant called Yoshida （吉田）. We both thought the food was a little expensive, so we only bought one, but it was really good and I definitely would have gotten more. But instead we settled on that and headed off for the Umeda Sky Building （梅田スカイビル）. At the top, they have an observation deck and you can look out over the city, so it was a really pretty view, but once again it was a little chilly and the photos just don't do it justice...
キラキラ！
After leaving the Umeda Sky Building, we decided it was too late to do much of anything else in the city, so we went back to the hotel, but stopped at another コンビニ along the way to buy snacks and breakfast for tomorrow.
On Thursday, we had to check out by 10 o'clock, so we were up and out by 9:30. The plan for the day was mostly to run around and see a whole bunch of temples and shrines before heading home. Just talking about the temples and shrines is a little boring, so I'll let the photos do the talking here =D
Unfortunately, I went to too many temples/shrines on the 2nd day and forgot to write down there names T__T; The first 2 pictures are of the same place, and if I understood it right, it was the first Buddhist temple in Japan
Around 3 o'clock, we decided we had had our fill of temples and shrines, and decided it was time to head back. Daniel didn't want to spend a whole lot of money heading back, so he decided to take the bus, but I was willing to pay and hadn't ridden it yet so I decided to take the bullet train （新幹線/shinkansen） back. It was actually pretty interesting, and I ended up making back to Nagoya in just under an hour (compared to the bus' 3 and a half hours).
Wow this is going to take a while to update completely (=___=;)
But I'll keep at it! And when I start to get it mostly updated, I'll start using Japanese again (^o^)
As far as news goes in my life right now, I'm applying for a resident assisstant postion at my dorm back at Notre Dame for next year. I had an interview over Skype 2 night ago and am expecting to hear a decision around Monday or a little later.
Still trying to think of something interesting... but for now 花金！(TGIF)
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