Roger and Stephen in Singapore: Osaka and Kyoto

We recently spent a long weekend in Osaka and made a day trip down to Kyoto which is about half an hour on the train from Osaka
Osaka and Kyoto were bathed in autumn colours that were intense reds and yellows and as we had not seen autumn for 2 years it was lovely to experience. Osaka does not have a huge range of tourist attractions but enough to fill in a weekend. Osaka has a large castle which is impressive and is lit up at night. Osaka's vibrant restaurant and entertainment district is situated in the Dotonbaci district. Many of the restaurants serve crab which is very popular in Osaka. Another popular food in Osaka is Takoyaki which are octopus dumplings that are cooked on a special hot plate. Umeda Skygarden is a great way to see the city as the the observation deck from the 37th floor offers 360 degrees views of Osaka. The observation deck is reached from suspended escalators from about the 30th floor.

Kyoto was very interesting and we wish we could have spent more time there but the weather was not the best. Kyoto has many historical areas and is one of the a main districts where you can spot a Geisha. We managed to spot 2 which was very interesting to see amongst people going about there Sunday shopping etc. We were also lucky to observe a traditional Japanese wedding taking place in a temple. After the ceremony the couple and guests walked through the park to the reception. Beside the river there is an area that has traditional buildings which contained many restaurants and bars along a narrow cobbled alleyway. Some of these bars could only hold half a dozen people at a time as they were so small.