I was sadly found at my desk, starring off into space with no actual "work" to do, on Christmas day. Once 4:30 struck, I was overcome by a sudden sense of excitement and energy. I knew that my long-awaited vacation had finally arrived.
My fake Christmas tree stood 3 feet high and was adorned with Totoros :)
On Saturday night (12/26) at about 11pm, I caught the night bus from Iwakuni station to Osaka station (about $70). I kicked off my shoes and proceeded to fall into a deep sleep. 7 hours later, I was awakened by my bus driver telling me that we had already passed my stop. I thought to myself, 'well why didn't you wake me up?' I was still a bit groggy...but then it hit me...where the heck was I?! I missed my stop!? Did I go all the way to TOKYO!? I started to freak out. Luckily, a couple other people had missed their stops too AND we were just at another station in Osaka. phew.
I finally managed to meet up with my friend Travis, a cool Hawaii JET in Uwajima, Shikoku. After getting off at the wrong station and wandering the streets of Osaka in search of our hostel (easy to think you're going the right way when the landmark you're looking for is a 7-11), we finally managed to find Guesthouse U-en, our cozy hostel for the trip. I was then given the privilege of meeting my uncle, Benji, and his daughter Remi, who both live in Kobe. We went to an all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu restaurant for lunch, and then went on to tour the temples of Kobe. THANK YOU SO MUCH UNCLE BENJI AND REMI! I HAD SUCH A WONDERFUL TIME!
Me and Travis outside of Guesthouse U-en.
Remi, Uncle Benji, and me at the Granvia Hotel in Osaka Station.
I then met the rest of our traveling group: Matt, a Hawaii JET in Fukuoka, his friend Anthony, and Anthony's sister Asia. That night we went to a karaoke place where $15 got you an hour of karaoke, all-you-can-drink alcohol, and all-you-can-eat ice cream! AMAZING! And thus began the adventures of Osaka...
Travis, Matt, and Anthony showing off their muscles at our mochi cooking class :P
Asia and me...the 2 girls in the group gotta represent!
The next day (12/28), we met Travis' Japanese friends in Kyoto. They had gone to Hawaii for a school-exchange type trip and met Travis there. They were a super friendly and spunky group of girls. They took us to a famous temple/shrine first and then we went to a small sweets shop where we learned how to make fancy Japanese desserts. There's a lot of techniques and tools used to make these little things! A lot harder than it looks...
Our wonderful Kyoto mochi cooking group!
It's like a mini Oscar the Grouch in mochi form.
My sensei who apparently liked my style of cooking...we be cool ;)
That night we went to a fancy izakaya and ate the night away! THANK YOU ERIKA, MIWA, RUIKO, AND YUKA FOR AN AWESOME TIME!!!
On Tues (12/29), Travis, Asia, and I decided to conquer Universal Studios Osaka for an all-day all-night extravaganza! We got there at around 10am only to find the front of the lot crowded full of people. After about 30min of line hopping, we got our tickets and embarked for heaven. My parents had taken us to Universal Studios in California when I was 10 years old, when my memory cells were still learning to walk, so I was super excited to experience the rides as a "grown up". We paid the extra $45 to get the express pass, which lets you go in the express lane of the 7 most popular lines, cutting the waiting time down by half. (A very good investment if you plan on going to USJ during peak tourist times.) The rides were awesome! I felt like a kid again :) We saw Spiderman kick butt in The Amazing Spiderman 3D Adventure, drove the DeLorean in Back to the Future, met Jaws, rode a crazy rollercoaster (which lasted for about 20 sec), watched the Terminator battle enormous 3D robots, got drenched after being attacked by dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, and then dried off during the presentation of Backdraft. Everything was in Japanese, but it was so much fun! I also used this opportunity to eat as much American food as I could...including a slice of potato-curry pizza, some spaghetti, and a cheeseburger. So bad but so worth it ;)
I be rollin' w/my Ford Explorer, complete with night vision goggles on the front seat!
I bought a Snoopy beanie at USJ. The ears keep your head really warm. Philippe had his first sake shot that night!
That night we met up with some other Fukuoka JETs in Dotonbori for some drinks. We headed back for the hostel and hung out in the lobby with some cool cats from France, Philippe and Simone, late into the night. Good company, good fun ;)
Me, Philippe, Simone, and Asia hanging out and playing some BS.
Wed (12/30) came around, and I found myself gazing into a huge tank filled with fish, mantas, and 2 ENORMOUS WHALE SHARKS! We were at the Osaka Kaiyukan Aquarium. I love aquariums, I always have ever since I was little. There's something about them that just calms me. This aquarium is gigantic, and has you spiraling downwards around this huge tank, with different exhibits on the opposite side. I saw sea otters, dolphins, spider crabs, capybaras, and so much more! I even bought a little souvenier whale shark to take home :)
Oh c'mon, how can you NOT dig the super saiyan haircut and the fluffy eyebrows!?
WHALE SHARKS are big.
I overheard a little Japanese boy asking his dad whether these crabs were tasty! Oh Japanese and their seafood...aquariums must make them hungry!
Travis and I rode the enormous ferris wheel nextdoor to the aquarium. I wanted to jump and rock the car...but I was vetoed. It was probably a good thing that we didn't because that ferris wheel was REALLY high up. It did give us a nice view of Osaka though!
1000s of feet above the ground...let's rock the car!
That night I met up with my friend Sunny and his friend Hiro for an incredible dinner. Sunny is a Canadian JET in Oita, and Hiro is mad cool ;) We had a 7+ course Japanese meal and all-you-can-drink. Uh-oh. After who knows how many cups of sake, we proceeded to a nearby arcade where we spent altogether approximately $25 trying to win a little capybara from a crane machine. It's quite a feat when you have sake circulating in your veins! The quest proved successful, and now the little capybara sits on my speakers at home. THANK YOU SUNNY AND HIRO! I HAD AN AMAZING TIME!
Hiroumi is the BEST crane machine engineer in all of OSAKA! Thank you for my capybara Hiro!!!
I met Sunny at Tokyo orientation, and we've been friends ever since :)
New Years Eve day (12/31) had finally come. In the daytime, Asia, Travis, and I went shopping in Amerikamura. Then I met up with some friends, including Rachael, a JET in Shikoku. We had the BEST Osaka okonomiyaki at a restaurant near Ueda station. I had always wanted to try Osaka-style okonomiyaki, and I had finally gotten my chance. (Hiroshima-style consists of layers of noodles, batter, egg, toppings, etc. whereas Osaka-style is a mixture of ingredients that are then baked in a pancake form.) We then met up with some other Shikoku JETs at the sweets museum and talked the night away. I found myself outside of Universal Studios Osaka once again, with a drink in my hand, looking up at the night sky, and counting down the final seconds of 2009. The promised firework show consisted of 3 small aerials that lasted about 10 sec in total. Can't beat the Hawaii firework shows that try to destroy anything within a mile radius!
My Osaka adventure came to a close the following morning (1/1). I quietly packed up my stuff, said goodbye to the Osaka crew, said my parting words with the hostel front desk man, Ryo (super chill guy who speaks amazing English..and French..and German...), and caught the Shinkansen from Osaka to HAKATA in FUKUOKA! There was no time to rest or even to think...my Thailand adventure was about to begin!
My final moments with Ryo :(
Next time on Tiff's Christmas/New Years Adventure:
Bartering: Mindgames of the Thai, Touring the sweatshops of Chiang Mai, What not to do when riding an elephant, Kao Soi: Heaven in a bowl.
TIFFY! Looks like you had a BLAST! I'm so jealous that you got to go all over! I can't wait to see the THAILAND pics!! :)
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