７月１０日（金）

Man, I just could not drag myself out of bed in the morning! I guess those days happen time to time. Eventually I got to my mother's hotel and we got going, but I was sluggish until...

picture: breakfast at Mister Donut

... doughnuts for breakfast. I had mentioned Mister Donut to my mom and she had sounded enthusiastic about doughnuts and coffee. It was, admittedly, a good time. 

Notice the forks? Things like this really highlight Japanese/American cultural differences to me. By my observation, in general Japanese people are more dainty and reserved about their consumption of sweets. It would just never occur to an American to eat a doughnut with a fork.

Also, those doughnuts on the right? Those are mochi ring doughnuts. If anyone doesn't know: mochi is rice dough, and it is delicious in everything.

Following coffee and doughnuts for breakfast I gracefully got us lost on the way to 大阪城 (oosaka jyou, Osaka Castle), but not too badly. When I asked some young men for directions they answered my Japanese question with the following English: "bridge, left, straight, walking" and large gestures (pointing and miming). I don't really know what to make of these types of situations, but they pointed me in the right direction because we found it.
(I keep not following my own travel tip: #10)

approaching Osaka Castle

this dude was just chillin' with a hawk by Osaka Castle, no big

view from balcony of Osaka Castle,
note the moat

gold crane depicted on Osaka Castle balcony

departing from Osaka Castle

My mom and I are both museum rats, so we hurried over to 大阪歴史博物館 (oosaka rekishi hakubutsukan, Osaka Museum of History) for some fun. In the museum we could have purchased discount tickets for both the castle and museum. (>_<) Hindsight is 20/20. Preparation vs. spontaneity is a hard balance to strike traveling, and somehow you always feel you could have reaped benefit from more of the other.

Osaka Castle viewed from the museum

Having successfully museum-ratted, we rode the trains to Osakako Station and visited 海遊館 (kaiyuukan, -known as- Osaka Aquarium). It's an amazing place to visit, I would highly recommend it. The place is sprawling; you can stroll through and appreciate the variety of animals for hours. There is also a large 観覧車 (kanransha, ferris wheel) located nearby that you can get discount tickets for with admission to the aquarium.

Kaiyuukan viewed from the ferris wheel

 

 

Amazing water arched entryway, filled with a variety of creatures including small sharks and rays

sleepy otters

sleepy sea lion

mola mola fish, he's huge

spider crabs
(I had these labelled as king crabs before, I was wrong)

jelly fish

the finale: dolphins, children, and glow bracelets <3

Culture note: Stamp stations are a child-oriented system that many museums, aquariums and the like use in Japan. In each section of a museum there will be a stamp station, and stamp booklets. It appears to be a good way to keep children engaged despite quiet, time-consuming activities. The booklets generally have a page for each section of the museum, and at each section participants can collect one new stamp for their booklets. Every stamp has a different design, so participants must visit all sections of the museum to collect them all. I have never noticed stamp stations in US museums, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. Do any of you know if museums in other countries also use stamp stations?

Osaka Museum of History stamp station

 Kaiyuukan stamp station

I don't care if they're for children, stamp books are fun

One thing I love about Japan: maccha everything. Even Seattle's Best.

maccha javakula, yum

After all our museum and aquarium fun my mom and I met Masao, Sayano, and another of Masao's employees, Toshio, for dinner at a トマトラーメン (tomato raamen, tomato ramen) shop back in Hirakata City. It's a bit of a specialty shop, but since my mom is vegetarian, it seemed safer than a normal ramen shop that uses pig stock. Tomato ramen is delicious and heavy on the garlic. Sayano said it tastes Italian. She has a point, because the broth does taste a bit like spaghetti sauce.

Travel tips:

11. Preparation vs. spontaneity is a constant concern. If you prepare every single bit of your journey, you leave no 余裕 (yoyuu, allocation) for unexpected or unplanned experiences. You can miss a lot of the enjoyment of travel if you don't let yourself wander a little off the beaten path, and leave yourself open to walk into a place you have never heard of just to see what it's about. On the other hand, researching destinations well ahead of time and knowing the routes, opening and closing times, ticket prices, special offers and the like will save you headache and often money.

(All names used in this blog are pseudonyms.)