Osaka

Osaka took us by surprise, being much smaller than we imagined. It's the third largest city in Japan, but easy to get around with the trains and subway and by our favorite mode of transportation: on foot. We arrived early in the morning after taking an overnight bus from Tokyo (I hope that is that last time I take an overnight bus anywhere) and immediately found our little hotel in the sort of working class/industrial neighborhood in southern Osaka. It was a cheap little spot with basic rooms, but a sweet Japanese spa with soaking pools and a sauna, nice bonus! 

As usual we walked all day around the city. It was cooler in Osaka than in Tokyo and we had to bundle up, but the sun was bright and we warmed up often by ducking into restaurants, shops, or cafe's. One afternoon it began to snow ever so slightly and we needed to seek shelter so we popped into the perfect little coffee shop where the owner roasted his own coffee, a tasty brew, if I may say so.

We decided to duck into a little hole in the wall izakaya one evening before turning in for the night. this place was on a dark side street near our hotel. Not much going on in that neighborhood. We opened the door, unsure of what would lie beyond, unsure if we could communicate enough to even order a beer. We had great success with our beer ordering, thanks to the Philippino lady working there who knew some english, and before the night was over we had become famous at that place! Not a soul in there was under the age of 50, yet they were buying us sake and beers and singing karaoke for us. I even chimed in and did my best version of "Don't Worry Baby" by the Beach Boys, which everyone loved. It was a great night, the kind of night you can never plan for. Meeting some real locals, barely sharing any conversation due to the language barrier, but still enjoying each other and laughing and having a good time.