Osaka Day Trip for visa renewal

12/28/2000

I needed to get my student visa renewed but I had to go to either Tokyo or Osaka.

I woke up around 5:30am, had breakfast and left my home to catch the first public bus to get to the nearest subway station.
0650 Arrived to JR (Japan Railway) Nagoya Station
0715 Kodama 493 Left the station

Shinkansen Kodama 493 arriving to Nagoya Station

The train made a brief Stop at Gifu Hashima at 7:27am

This train is so fast, so if I want to take picture of something close by...

And when the two trains cross each other...

0744 Brief Stop at Yonebara
0808 Brief Stop at Kyoto
0823 Arrived to Shin-Osaka
0835 Arrived to Osaka Station
0850 Lined in front of Osaka G.C. of the U.S.

0920 My application was accepted, and I was told to come back at1530.

Here's the rest of the part...

Right after I was told I will not get my visa until evening, the first thing came to my mind is... "Alright! I can go see the city!" and I did. I went to Osaka Castle, and took a boat trip on the rivers, and before heading back to the office, I went to Nanba.
---- Osaka Castle ----
The cost to enter is 600 Yen, but the day I visit, was closed.

Osaka Castle is one of the most famous castes built in the past. Toyotomi Hedeyoshi, a man who unite Japan stayed here. The castle was burned by lightning, and air raid over WWII. The castle you see here was rebuild by funding from volunteers all over Osaka.

Since the castle served as the last method to defend themselves. The structure is constructed very carefully, here you can see the size of the stones, and also as you approach to the "Honmaru", the core section of the castle, you must climb the hilly road, and the route is like a maize. The entire system is quite a thing...

1. The stone is matched well, so you cannot remove or break.
2. The stone wall is very steep so you cannot climb up.
3. The Wall is well polished, too.
4. Since the route is not straight, you cannot use guns to attack.,
5. On the other hand, you can defend the place easily because every enemies must show themselves from the corner of the wall... and so on.

The gate is to prevent enemy from entering the castle, the building is made from rock and wood, but also reinforced by iron pieces. The housing above the gate has place to rest for the guards, and also many small windows which allow defenders to shoot without exposing themselves to the enemy.

---- Osaka Aqua Liner ----

Osaka Aqua Liner Home Page (Sorry, Japanese Only...)

The Aqua Liner is a trip by a boat which going through many part of Osaka from the water. The cost is 1,830 Yen ($17?), and takes about a hour. This boat is designed especially for this area. I will show the picture later, but it can change its height, in order to go through under the bridges when the sea level is high, due to the lunatic period.
This is the place I board the ship. The ship is called "Naniwa 6" and this one is capable of carrying about 110 people in once.

By the Osaka Castle, this area is called Osaka Business Park. I don't know why a bunch of buildings can be called "Park"...

Looking back to Osaka Business Park. You see two buildings to the right. The tall white one should be Osaka Castle Hotel

The building in the center is Osaka Amenity Park, and the Imperial Hotel Osaka is right side.

This is the mint of Japan....

These pictures show how the ceiling height can be changed...

Before heading back to the USGC, I still had time so I went to Namba, which is very fun part of Osaka. Here are some pictures.
"Shin-Kabuki Za" This is a theater showing traditional ones. It is very expensive to watch shows here... Established in 1958, according to a source.
The famous "KUIDAORE" doll! The word "kuidaore" means you eat way too much and fell (to death?)
Yes, Japanese eat that poison fish. Actually, it is supposed be pretty yummy...
Japan have some Hard Rock Cafe, Osaka is one of them
A part of Namba called "America Mura" (American Village), lots of Japanese, huh?

This is typical road just behind of main roads. It is kinda crowded, but not dangerous as in the U.S.

Last Updated on 2002/02/23

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