8/23-8/24
Okay, so updates have not been as frequent as I would like. I haven’t even been typing these up I’ve been so exhausted! So here I am, not having written a word for 5 days. Bear with me, I’ll have to spend an evening or two as well as speaking with my parents to get all the information down. Also, even though I am typing everything now, I am planning on breaking up the entries by location to make for easier reading in the future.
After Miyajima, our destination was Osaka. However it was our hope that we would get a chance to explore Hiroshima briefly. Unfortunately we were unable to find a place to stash our luggage after we got off the ferry from the island. So we condensed our plans and got right on the Shinkansen (bullet train) headed for Osaka.
The trip lasted about an hour or so, and we were to stay in a fancy shmancy hotel called the Swissotel. Well our instructions were to go to Namba station and the hotel would be in the station, so we took the JR trains to Namba station. However as we learned later, there are two Namba station, and we needed to be at the other one. It ended up being a significant walk. After about 20-25 minutes of dragging our luggage all around this strange underground shopping complex we arrived at the hotel.
There, we were treated like royalty. It was a very nice hotel and that worked in our favor in some ways, and against it in others. I’ve now learned that the more you spend at a hotel, the more all of the extras cost as well. For instance, the cost for internet access was deemed outrageous by my father (and rightly so) so we decided to just wait. However, the service was fantastic, and when we needed help getting directions to something, we were instantly plied with several different maps and explicit instructions on how to reach our goal, all of which turned out to be extremely helpful for days.
That evening, we decided to venture to the Osaka Aquarium, which boasted the largest fish tank in the world or something. It was fantastic either way. There were all sorts of exotic fish and sharks and dolphins and such, and Mom got me a little turtle plushie that squeaks. :3
Afterwards we headed back to Namba station where the hotel was, and had dinner at an udon restaurant. Udon is a thick white noodle that you can buy hot in a soup or cold with sauce, or several other ways. Soups in Japan were one thing that I really missed when I went home. There’s nothing like stopping at a ramen bar for a bowl of ramen real quick and easy.
We conked out for the night having made plans for the morning’s trip to Arima Onsen.
Awakening at about 8am, we grabbed breakfast in the hotel at a fancy restaurant. Being a Swiss hotel, they specialized in foreign foods, so we all opted to have the American breakfast, knowing that it was one of our only chances for such food while in Japan. Me, especially. I already miss Denny’s.
We then checked out and left our bags at the hotel while we took a brief trip to Osaka castle. Now that was cool. Osaka castle was built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the Japanese warlord who came directly before Tokugawa Ieyasu became the first Shogun, and was largely responsible for the unification of Japan in the late 1500’s. The castle is also where Toyotomi’s son was held under siege when Tokugawa decided to take the country from him, instead of holding it until he was of age like a good regent should.
All in all, for a pseudo-Japanese history buff like me, it was totally awesome.
So we made our way back to the Swissotel, where we got on the Midosuji subway line to Umeda station where we were going to catch a bus to Arima Onsen. We realized upon getting there that finding the Hankyu Bus we had to take wasn’t going to be easy, so we stopped at a map to try and decifer the route.
Moments after reaching said mad we were approached by an elderly Japanese man who offered to show us the way. We gratefully accepted. We weren’t entirely sure he understood where we needed to go and at first were worried that he was taking us to the wrong place, but our fears proved unfounded as he led us directly to where we needed to be. We thanked him profusely for having escorted us on a nearly 10 minute walk through the station, he raised his cap to us very adorably, and we went our separate ways. Some more perspective, can you image foreigners in the same situation in New York City? This wasn’t the first time I had been approached with enquiries as to whether I needed help or not in train stations in Japan either.
So we hopped on the next bus and chilled on the hour long ride.
Now, Arima Onsen is a popular tourist destination in Japan for one thing specifically, the hot springs. Onsen means hot springs, and the various waters in the area are known for their healing properties or some such hogwash. All I knew was that it was a chance for us to relax for a bit and not be running around all day like we did in Tokyo.
Our ryokan at Arima was similar to the one in Miyajima, though a little less high class and apparently very kid-oriented. It was pleasing to me to be greeted by a television in the front lobby playing Princess Mononoke, one of my favorite Hayao Miyazaki films. There were kids all over the place and it really was quite fun.
So M&D and I all went for a pre-dinner bath. The outside baths boast two different types of water, the Gold bath and the Silver bath. Apparently the website had information on all the things the different minerals were good for but I neither checked nor cared. I simply enjoyed the hot water and the feeling of being clean after all the sweating being in Japan had caused me.
Our dinner that night was also included, and this time they even brought it to our room. It was quite elaborate once again, being labeled specifically this time as a Kaiseki meal. Now Kaiseki originated as a light meal that accompanied tea during tea ceremonies. The emphasis was on creating small, beautiful dishes that showcased the delicacies of the season. The art expanded into a full meal on its own, and we had now experienced it twice, though the first time, at Miyajima, we didn’t know that’s what we were having.
Unfortunately that meant that once again I had quite a few difficulties eating said meal. With its questionable items and fish meant to be eaten whole, I managed to fill my stomach but not nearly eat everything on the table.
We all then read our books or whatever before turning in for the night. We’re all still a bit jet lagged, and our constant early mornings aren’t helping our ability to stay up late.
With the help of a girl from the ryokan and our own slew of maps and guides, we planned a route back that would take us to our next stop, Kouya-san, or Kouya Mountain. We did however, schedule in time to shop around Arima for a bit.
The shuttle bus took us from the ryokan to the bus station, where we took turns sitting with the bags and shopping around. It seemed that the specialty food of the area (of which there is one for every area of note) were these ‘carbonic acid cakes’ which are essentially cracker consistency, yet sweet, like cakes. I got a small tin of then with vanilla cream in the middle. I’m very excited to have it later to eat, and I’m trying my hardest to forget about it for a while.
So that was our last experience at Arima Onsen. Kouya-san will be the next update. ‘Til then!
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