Roger and Stephen in Singapore: Osaka

Showing posts with label Osaka. Show all posts

Tuesday, 2 July 2013

Kobe

Kobe is the fifth-largest city in Japan, and is a short train ride from nearby Osaka. Kobe is popular on cruise ships itineraries as it is such a cosmopolitan port city. While the 1995 earthquake diminished much of Kobe's prominence as a port city, it remains Japan's fourth busiest container port. The city itself has been rebuilt with stricter building codes to withstand earthquakes. The area is also known for its prized Kobe beef and many of the restaurants in the area serve the beef. Kobe is an easy city to get around and the city tourist bus stops at the most frequented sightseeing spots.
Not far from the main train station from Osaka is the Kobe Nunobiki Herb Gardens and Ropeway. The gardens are set in the side of a mountain and contain over 75,000 herb and flowering plants. The gardens are reached by traveling up in a cable car which also gives you spectacular views over Kobe. Also nearby is the Nunobiki no Taki Waterfall which was certainly worth the climb up the narrow stairs to see.
Kobe was very popular with wealthy foreign traders and diplomats in the early 1900s. The expats built European styled houses in an area called Kitano-Cho. About twenty of the houses have been preserved and restored. This area is still a very fashionable place to live and shop today.
The Kitano Tenmangu Shrine is popular for students to come and pray for good exam results as the shrine is dedicated to a scholar.
Kobe also has a very large and vibrant Chinatown which is popular with locals for the many food stalls on offer.

The entrance to the herb garden

The cable car up to the herb garden

View over Kobe

Nunobiki no Taki Waterfall

Weathercock House

Moegi House

Kitano Street

Kitano Tenmangu Shrine

Sake barrels at the shrine

Entrance to Chinatown

Monday, 1 July 2013

Cat Cafe - Osaka, Japan

Having been to Japan a few times we are both still fascinated by the culture both in history and the weirdness to us of some of modern culture .
Recently in Osaka I visited one of the many Cat cafes that are dotted around the city. The idea is for people to spend time with the felines as many people don't have the space in their tiny apartments for pets.
On the day I visited there was a line of people waiting for their allocated time with the cats. Upon checking in and paying for an hour, you have a list of do's and don'ts and have to put on cat slippers as well as sanitise your hands. You are also given a small container which contained cooked chicken to feed some of the 20 or so cats that were at the cafe and yourself a beverage to enjoy.
One inside the cafe the cats are roaming about and there are plenty of cat toys to entice the cats with. It was certainly an experience that is so popular in Japan.

The Ragdoll Cafe

Open from 12pm to 22:pm

About to jump into my lap

The happy customers and felines

Napping

Time out

Thursday, 22 November 2012

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.