Japan 2017: Osaka, Day Three & the trip home

 

Our final day in Japan went so fast and the next day we were on a plane and the next I completely slept through because of the jet lag so this post is a little late. That being said, we made the most of our last day in Osaka. We started the day by going to the Osaka Aquarium.

Right next to the aquarium!

Osaka Ferris Wheel

The Osaka Aquarium is right next to a giant Ferris wheel. We had no idea what we were getting into but it turned out to be one of the best Aquariums we’d ever been to.

Hay Gurl Hay!

Smiley Sting-ray

The Aquarium had a few main tanks that spanned multiple levels. One housed Sting Rays, Hammerhead Sharks, and Whale Sharks with various types of fish. Another housed Sea Lions, and still another had Otters with a separate area for Penguins.

Bein a fish is sleepies

Yawwwn

Get it!?

I’d be sea lion if I said we didn’t have a good time!

Derrrp

Derp Fish

There was a small tank for dolphins which were constantly playful, there are a few videos in the album so if you are into videos please check them out, it’s the next best thing to being there!

What a great aquarium

Hay dolphin hay!

Don't be crabby!

The stuff nightmares are made of

After a few hours at the Aquarium we hit our last stop, Osaka Castle. From the outside Osaka Castle is similar to Hemiji Castle, but inside Osaka Castle wasn’t as authentic. It has been reconstructed since air raids in WWII so obviously its much newer, but it was more of a museum with displays of old documents than anything else.

Beautiful!

Osaka Castle through the trees

Fall leaves

A view of the city from Osaka Castle

We finished the trip incredibly happy with all we’d explored of Japan. I was ready to go back to finish the semester out and Tim was ready to go back to work, but I’m sure going to miss the quality time we got to spend together the last ten days. I’ve already received the packages we mailed ourselves with souvenirs from Tokyo and Osaka so all in all, it was an incredibly fulfilling trip. Expect more posts in the near future! Happy Holidays!

Japan 2017: Kyoto, Day One

It’s hard to believe its already time to leave Tokyo and head to Kyoto, but nothing can top the Ghibli Store and the Robot Restaurant yesterday. (If you haven’t watched the videos of the Robot Restaurant in action, head over to the Japan 2017 photos on my photos page! It was a show to top all shows.

Bagels and Yogurt for Breakfast!

Sweet Couch

We’ve just had breakfast and soon we’ll be on the Shinkansen bullet train and on our way to Kyoto! We will be traveling between 150-200mph at any given time!

Bullet Train

It’s a double Shinkansen!

Gorgeous Mountain Ranges

The Japanese Countryside

 

We reached Kyoto in about two and a half hours. Once we got checked in, we made a reservation at a restaurant we went to six years ago the last time we were here. We had to show the concierge pictures of the inside of the restaurant we had taken the last time and the geolocation from our photos app to find it, but she knew where it was and we have a reservation for tomorrow night!

With just a few hours before dinner, we decided to see one of the temples illuminated at night. It was packed with people from everywhere imaginable, but totally immersive and worth the trip.

The perfect red!

Pond with Japanese Maple

Raked Zen Garden

Projection show in Zen Garden

Beautiful!

Japanese Lanterns

 

We even walked through a section where everyone took their shoes off to walk through some of the older traditional buildings!

When we got back to the hotel, we decided to have sushi for dinner. This was the best we’d had yet, even though my jet lag was causing me to have waves of nausea and feel just generally insane. I am essentially completely reversed between New York and Tokyo so my noon is midnight and my midnight is noon – it is the biggest time change I’ve had to deal with and Tim is doing much better.

We’ll have to see how tomorrow goes! We are planning more temples to walk through during the day and we are both looking forward to the restaurant we both loved so much last time we were in Kyoto!