Osaka-jou

So we were really lucky to see the gleaming white Osaka castle on a white and gleaming snow day in Osaka:


It was a national holiday and many Japanese people were spending moments of it appreciating nature such as at this pond on the grounds of Osaka-jou.




Me and my pal Keisuke!

Masato, Joslyn, and I digging the cold and the plum trees!

The plum trees were beautifully in bloom this time of year:


There was a lot of interest in the blossoms on this snowy day and many many people seemed to have a serious hobby of capturing photographs of them:

We were also very fortunate to catch some "early cherry blossoms." Such contrast between the harsh cold of the snow and the fragility of the young sakura is considered especially beautiful:



I wanted to include this picture to show how curious it is that this old castle is situated right in the heart of commercial Osaka. This is the view of it from inside a shopping mall. Perhaps even more amazing is the view of Osaka-jou from a train passing through the city at night where the castle appears, vanishes, and reappears between the buildings like some glowing phantom.

And here's just a picture of the park right outside the seminar house in the snow!

Kamakura Pasta!

This is at "Kamakura Pasta" in Namba, the main shopping district in Osaka. Nozomi, on the right, works there and wanted to take us (it ended up being me and Cassie from New York, in the middle) to try out Japanese pasta, which we found out is totemo oishii (very delicious)! Along with the usual garlic and tomato sauce mine also had some simmered eggplant and little sliced up red peppers that gave it a nice kick. I also tried some "natto pasta," natto being a fermented soy bean paste most known to gaikokujin (foreigners) for its potent smell and to nihonjin (japanese people) for its delicious taste. So my first experience here with natto was interesting! I liked it pretty well I'd say haha, but I think the flavor was a little toned down mixed with the noodles and such, so I still have yet to experience pure natto... >_< I also really liked Kamakura Pasta because in addition to having both Japanese fusion-style dishes and seemingly spot-on Italian recipes, it also had traditional seating and some interesting interior design inside the small restaurant:



Afterward we explored the main street in Namba and unfortunately I don't have any pictures to show from that experience, but I do have a new denim shirt from UNIQLO to prove that I succumbed to the consumerist fever found in Osaka's #1 shopping district :P

Fushimi Inari-taisha

(Really sorry I can't figure out how to re-orient vertical pictures. Also they are in backwards chronological order from top to bottom. Thanks for looking!)

The famous shrine to Oinari, the spirit of rice and agriculture, with its hundreds of torii gates donated by businesses:



You can climb up and up almost endlessly on paths between the torii and the view of Kyoto from high up is stellar!


Purification:


Nemui neko:


Green pond up in the woods:



I really liked the look of the forest in this area with many interestingly formed trees:


This tall bluish-green bamboo grew scattered throughout the forest rather than in the clustered groves I am used to seeing:


Peace!


Here people who have been cursed can hope to have the curse removed by offering things like apples and nuts:


Kitsune (foxes) are the messengers of Oinari, and along with the fox statues you'll find throughout the complex, there are other many other references to them that can be found, including these drawings!:


Some of the crew!:





Before praying at any of the shrines it is important to purify yourself by rinsing your hands and mouth:

Yamada Ike no Kouen

Yamada Pond Park is a decent walk but probably not too far of a bike ride from the seminar houses. This park was at the top of my list of things to find in the area upon arriving to Japan because on Google Earth it was noticeably the largest patch of green in Hirakata. A morning excursion in the right direction led to a nice half hour or so of breathing in the fresh air, looking out across the water, smiling up at trees with still-green leaves, and stretching alongside other Japanese folks exercising in the park. Here are a couple pictures of this short visit to the pond, there will certainly be more to come!

City Gardens

"Urban" Japan is endlessly surprising; Look at how they squeeze in gardens and rice fields into the most unexpected places! (Photos taken in Hirakata)

Hirakata-shi

A view from the more residential area of Hirakata-city from the balcony and window of a fourth floor room:





The main road walking back from Kansai Gaidai: