Osaka (Day 1) - Dotonbori / Namba

Today we depart Tokyo for Osaka. We feel like we've explored and got a pretty good feel for what Tokyo is all about and are excited to see a new city. Plus we get to ride on a bullet train for the first time, which we're pretty pumped about.

We pack and head for the station, where we pick up some snacks (surprisingly fresh sandwiches) for the 3 and a bit hour train ride. The journey is quick and uneventful, travelling by train is so soothing. We arrive in Osaka where the temp is a few degrees colder than Tokyo. We head for our hotel, same deal as Tokyo, too early to check in so we drop our bags and head to a nearby coffee shop (which serves real coffee, finally!) and figure out a plan of attack for our 5 days in Osaka.

After our coffee and snack we hit the pavement and decide to walk into the main part of the city. The area we're staying in is pretty quiet and it gets busier the closer we get to the city. We notice there's a bit more character and personality to this city, the people seen a little less reserved than they are in Tokyo. There is a lot less suit and tie action and a bit more alternative fashion.

We make it to the heart of the city, Dontonbori and its pumping. Lots of people, shops, eateries and a canal that runs right through the middle. We agree it will probably be pretty cool here at night and decide to come back later for dinner and to explore further.

We continue on our journey, we're heading for a sky deck to get a high up viewing of Osaka. Along the way we catch a sumo stadium, where fans are lined up awaiting the arrival of their favourite wrestlers. We hang around for a few minutes and witness a few arrive and enter the building. Pretty cool. We enquire about tickets but as we the wrestling is only in town for a short period tickets are already sold out. Probably for the best, Courts doesn't have capacity for anymore sport in her life.

We carry on to the end of the main part of town to our destination. Well, part of the way anyway. The view from the very top is on the 52nd floor. After we see the price to see said view, we decide the view from a lower level is sufficient. Probably not as good as the very top, but gives a good understanding of the lay of the land that is Osaka. The city isn't spread as far as Tokyo, but is surrounded by mountains on one side and still impressive in its own right. We head back to the hotel to check in and freshen up before we hit the town for dinner.

We head back out to Dontonbori and wander around until we find somewhere to eat. Osaka is pretty big on their takoyaki (balls of deep fried batter with squid inside) and okonomiyaki (a savoury pancake containing yam, cabbage and a number of other toppings like meat or seafood). We're not quite ready for the squid balls yet so we settle on a place that does the pancake. We also order some fried noodles, a salad (veg is hard to come by in Japan) and a chicken dish, as well as a few rounds of drinks. The pancake is great and we can see why it features on most menus, as is the other foods.

Feeling satisfied, we wander around the district a bit more. The line up for the squid balls at the street food stalls is ridiculous. We walk along the canal and purchase tickets to the river cruise. We've got some time to spare so we grab a few drinks from the 7 Eleven ($2 for a 9% RTD, that you can drink on the street!) and continue walking along the canal. Lots of bright flashing lights, people everywhere. Definitely the place to be for night life.

We hop onto the boat (the only ones with drinks in hand, naturally) and sit back and enjoy the ride. The boat host is talking and singing in Japanese the whole way, probably explaining sights along the way. We can't understand a thing but we enjoy the short cruise nonetheless.

We hopped off the boat, bought a few more drinks (vowing to only buy from convenience stores from now on, the booze is so cheap!) and continue to explore Dontonbori and Namba. We grab a late snack, some delicious dessert puff thing that we're sucked into buying 20 of after the vendor gave us a "free sample".

After a few hours wandering we feel like we've got a good feel for this party of the city and head home for some shut eye.