Turning Japanese I Really Think So - Osaka, Japan

October 3rd is called Gaecheoneol 개천절, which means National Foundation Day. This holiday celebrates the formation of the first Korean state of Gojoseon, dating back to 2333 BC. The myth states that the son (Hwanung) of the the lord of heaven (Hwanin) wished to live on earth, so he and 3,000 followers were allowed to live here. Gacheon means 'opening of heaven',  where the father opened heaven so his son could come to earth, hence the name of the holiday. There's drama about a bear and a tiger wanting to be human, the bear won and became a woman, and Hwanung and this bear-woman had a son Dangun who found the first Korean kingdom.

What this meant to us was a national holiday = vacation day! We packed our bags and flew to Osaka, Japan! Osaka is in the Kansai region of Japan, and I kept thinking it said Kansas when I glanced at signs. Osaka is the 2nd largest city in Japan with a population of 20 million.

=Day 1: travel and Dotonbori=
Early morning start as we headed to Busan airport.

As soon as we landed I found my Japanese Steve penny.

It's always fun checking out the amenities in a new hotel.

The shower room had a rubber-type floor and a little stool. The shower head was the removable kind so you can sit on that little stool if that's how you prefer to get clean. Notice the mirror is at the level to see yourself when sitting.

 After checking out the hotel, the kids thought it might be in their best interest to take a trip to the local grocery store and make our own lunch. Knowing their limited pallets and even smaller sense of eating adventure, we thought that was a wise choice. On the short walk back we were tempted to grab a local snack and decided on these little dough balls called takoyaki that looked yummy.

 Wrong!

They are filled with octopus. My pallet is far too immature to eat that. I later learned that Osaka is famous for its octopus dumplings, or takoyaki.

 These chips did not say 'Pringles', but the picture and can shape said enough. They tasted like Pringles, which is more up our alley. Abe, however, ate the takoyaki.

 This bicycle parking lot is next to the subway.

 The amount of bicycles is crazy!

After studying the lines a minute we jumped on the railway to head to the section of town called Dotonbori.

The railway was usually busy and we often had to stand, but we always felt safe.

 Dotonbori is one of the most iconic areas of Osaka. It's filled with lots of neon lights, people, and hustle & bustle.

Apparently a trip to Osaka isn't complete without a Rikuro's cheesecake. A bell is rung when they come out of the oven and the people come running to purchase them.

They stamp their logo on right there in front of you.

It is not the type of cheesecake that we are accustomed to, but it is worth the hype! Abe even allowed himself some of the sugary goodness.

Something about a giant food makes everyone act a little corny.

 Kani Doraku is a famous restaurant featuring crab.

 Busy, busy, busy.

 This is on the bridge of the Tonbori River. It reminded me of the Riverwalk in San Antonio.

 Right beside the bridge is the famous Glico Running Man sign, which is a popular spot to take your picture.

Daisy was excited to find an H&M store.

Of course we couldn't pass on the river cruise.

We got a good view of the Glico Running Man. Glico is a candy company that makes Pocky amongst other candies. In the 1920s Glico's caramels were marketed to give enough energy to run 300m so they put the running man on the box. The original neon sign in Dotonbori was erected in 1935 and a Glico Running Man has remained since.

The Rose Lips Hotel offers massages and is an adult-only establishment. Sounds a bit shady to me, but I think it's a legit hotel.

This is the bridge in front of the Glico Running Man, which is very popular and very crowded. The real names the Ebiso-bachi bridge. The boat guide did not speak hardly any English, but she pointed out that the rail looks like okonomiyaki spatulas. I read somewhere that the bridge is so popular and crowded that its nickname is hikkake-bashi, which means 'pick up bridge' because young single Japanese guys pick up single girls there.

That is a rock climbing wall behind the Zekers. Kinda cool way to go climbing.

=Day 2: Universal Studios Japan=

Exciting for us as this was our first visit to a Universal Studios of any sort.

Look how big my Big Boy is looking.

Our first ride was Jaws. It was obvious that this was an old ride due to its lack of modern technology. It was still fun, and Daisy was scared, so there ya go.

 The entry to the wizarding world of Harry Potter.

 Sometimes Harry Potter world is so full that you have to have a specific time to enter that part of the park. Thankfully not today.

It was kind of magical inside.

 We weren't leaving without trying some butterbeer!

It was pretty yummilicious.

The Harry Potter and The Forbidden Journey ride was amazing! The only thing that could have made it better was if we could have understood what they were saying, as it was in Japanese. I think this may be my favorite ride of all time.

The Pops got a little motion sick on Harry Potter, so he sat out most of the big rides after that. Here are Lijee, me, Daisy and Zekers on the Jurassic Park ride.

 Minion Park was super cute.

 Walking the red carpet.

 Since it was October, when nightfall hit the creatures came out to scare people. Daisy was having no part of that.

=Day 3: Osaka city=

If you visit Osaka, the Osaka Amazing Pass is the way to go. Everything we did this day (including the railway) was free or discounted with the purchase of the pass. Definitely the way to go. 

Our day started with one of the most famous landmarks in Japan, Osaka Castle, known as Osakojo.

However, we got sidetracked at a park along the way.

This water fountain came out fast and high and provided great entertainment for Abe and I as we watched the kids try to get a drink.

Hmmm...Eli found a stick.

Back to the castle. There was a lovely river walk to get there.

  Castle construction started in 1583 and was the largest castle at that time. Unfortunately it was destroyed and rebuilt a few times due to war and natural disaster. It was modernized inside in 1997.

 It's pretty high once you get up close.

 The 5-story castle is now filled with historical displays that Elijah was really enjoying. These are replicas of rooftop ornaments.

 The observation tower gives a great view of the city.

 We read about a really big rock. I was afraid we missed it, but these were big rocks so I had Zeke pose.

 After viewing the castle on the inside, we took an Osaka Castle Gozabune tour around the moat and viewed the walls and castle from the outside. A gozabune was modeled after a Japanese ship from the Toyotomi period, which brought unification to the people.

The boat driver passed out these hats for us to take pictures with.

 Afterwards, Daisy and I both said the word "lice" went through our minds.

 The walls are up to 20 meters tall and 90 meters wide. It is estimated that 500,000 to one million gigantic stones were used. You can see family symbols carved into many of the stones.

We found it! Tako ishi is the largest stone used. It's 60 square meters and weights 108 tons. Now how on earth did they move that rock 450 years ago? Pretty impressive. And much bigger than the first rock I had Zeke pose by.

Just a touch of Kansai as well as Kansas.

We thought we were getting into trouble here, but some man was only telling the kids to get real close and pose like the ninja, hence their mean faces.

 We came across a magic show and museum. It was surprisingly fun!

 T Da!

 This room of big people and little people was fun.

 Shhh. Abe is levitating.

 We even got to pose with the magician and his lovely assistant after the show. The magician gave Lijee his hat, which fell down over his eyes. I think that was my first live magic show, so my bar was pretty low. I was impressed.

 

 After the castle we jumped on the railway and headed to the Bay Area to check out the Tempozan Ferris Wheel. It is one of the world's largest ferris wheels at 112.5 meters in the air.

 You can see Universal Studios from up high, as well as most of the city.

 This picture was of the couple in the car next to us. They were making out. This will come up again later in the evening.

 Just a few quick steps from the Tempozan was Legoland!

 We went to a petting zoo and I got to pet kangaroos!

 Our timing was perfect for a sunset cruise on the Santa Maria.

 The ferris wheel we had just visited was beginning to light up.

 Black ice cream.

They were more excited for snacks than the river view.

 DanFam5 spotting land with Christopher Columbus.

 

 The Tempozan changed colors and even had moving pictures.

Time to grab some dinner.

 We visited one of those conveyor belt diners.

Sushi time (for Abe only).

The next stop was the Umeda area and the HEP5 Ferris Wheel, which is located on the roof of the HEP5 shopping mall.

We had to break into 2 groups.

 This is our view looking into Daddy and Zeke's car.

Remember the couple making out earlier? I told Daisy and Eli to watch me make out like the couple from earlier.

Daisy then got all crazy and was acting like she was going to make out with me and Eli was filming and we were laughing and laughing and laughing.

 =Day 4: travel day=
On the trip to the airport we stopped by Namba Yasaka Shrine. They call this a lion head. I think it looks more like a dragon, but it's their shrine so they can say what they want. The myth behind it says the huge open mouth will swallow any evil spirits plaguing you, leaving you only good luck.

My stallion.

My stallion's hot mess.

 This was the first flight for the kids where we didn't enter the plane straight from the building.

 Thanks for the memories, Osaka. You treated us well!

[October 3-6]

Delux Apartment In The Sky

Welcome to our humble abode!

We live in Sacheon, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea. The city has a population of 113,000. Jinju is a larger city about 20 minutes away, with a population of 351,000. Sacheon is located almost centrally in the southern tip of South Korea. It is located off Sacheon Bay, so we have beautiful views of the bay and the mountains.

 This is the entry way to Elcru Apartments. There are 9 buildings with 15 floors each, with about 60ish condos in each building. I have heard different numbers, but I think it's about 1900 square feet. Of course all apartment buildings are different, but I have heard that these are a lot bigger than average, like twice as big. Elcru apartments are also pretty new--rumor has it they are 8 years old.

This is our actual door on the 7th floor. The lock is electronic so we never bring a key. It's very handy for me, but even more handy that I don't have to worry about the kids taking or losing a key.

 The girls and I would like to show you around. Here we are in the foyer. Notice the bench on the right so we can sit to put on our shoes.

 Since there are no shoes worn inside, there is a shoe closet here in the entry way. There are also little closet doors on the left and right of this center one.

 Directly opposite the shoe closet is a regular closet. Ours is a little messy because we have our big stuff in there.

 If you turn right you will enter Eli's room on the end.

 We have an extra bed for anyone who wants to come visit!

 Chuey says it's time to move on to the next room.

 One door down is Zeke's room.

 This view is standing in Eli's doorway. That is Zeke's doorway to the right. Daisy's is the next door on the right.

 Not hard to tell that this is the Daiser's room.

 Oh, so girly.

You'll notice she brought the most decorations from home.

 Across the hall from her is a bathroom.

 Directly opposite the sink is the toilet and shower.

 This is the view looking down the hall from the other end. Side note: that floor is super smooth and feels good on your bare feet. Moving on, Chuey would like you to turn your attention to the entryway on your left.

 Here is the kitchen. We have a dishwasher, garbage disposal and water purifier. It is not super common to have a garbage disposal. Leftover food is composted, but it's brought down to the recycling center since apartment dwellers do not have yards. Recycling is a post on its own for a later date.

Notice the little pad-thing on the floor in front of the sink. That's a button to turn on the water and garbage disposal with your foot. Brilliant! All the Americans absolutely love our foot control and often catch ourselves trying to turn on other faucets with our feet.

If you walk down by my mixer, that cabinet is not only storage, but it also has a small fridge and freezer. We use it as our drink fridge.

Air conditioners are not common here. The Koreans have great technology, but not with central heat/air. We have a separate ceiling unit in the bedrooms and livingroom that we turn off each day because the electricity is super expensive. 

That door leads to the air compressor room for the air conditioner. You have to keep the windows in the compressor room open to keep it ventilated so it doesn't overheat.  The compressor room is also a fire proof room, and there is a rope ladder in there for an emergency exit.

Frito’s excessively large crate and a cooler are stored in there so our room is pretty full.

If your back is to the mini fridge, you will find the laundry room. There is a mop sink in there, too.

Dryers are not common over here, either. Once again, with such great technology, I find it odd that they are so far behind on things like dryers. Plus it gets super humid in the summer so it takes clothes ages to dry. 

When we arrived the washer/dryer were not stacked and the washer was in front of the cabinet, rendering it useless. I found a kit to stack them in the fire room, so we got it done. I love this little room now. Once again, with the lack of technology thing, you have to keep the window cracked so mold does not grow. Apparently, in the winter mold does in fact start to grow on the walls because it's too cold to leave the window cracked. Eww.

Going back in the kitchen, this is the view if your back is to the kitchen sink. There are 3 closets in the kitchen plus this one with the vents on top. And you can see we also have a regular-sized refrigerator.

I am standing right beside the island to take this picture. Check out that gorgeous view of the rice paddies and the mountains!

We mix up the location of the turquoise couch; when we need more space it goes in front of the window, and we often move it opposite so we can sit on the couch and look outside.

That R2D2 looking thing in the corner is an air purifier. The smog is really bad over here. A lot of people wear masks outside. Some days it gets so bad they suggest you stay indoors. That's my least favorite part about Korea.

I keep mentioning the great technology--here is a good example. This key pad calls us when someone rings the bell downstairs and we can let them in the building, as well as ring at our front door and we can unlock that, too. It also has a camera to watch the 3 big play areas on the grounds so you can keep an eye on your kids. This is possible because it's so safe that kids are allowed to go outside alone. *that's a Korean bonus--I love this part

Another odd lack of central air/heat thing—the only heat is in the floors. The dial is to control the heat in the floor. Each room has its own control. The material that the floors are made of is super soft and we have made several divets already. 😬

Right beside the control panel is our bedroom door. 

 Once again, love the view!

 Standing with your back to the window you see the makeup area. 

 The closet is opposite the mirror.

 Moving on to our bathroom. We love the large shower.

Every time I have taken a bath I think about how heavy water is, and what would happen if the floor fell in? Then I think what if someone above me was taking a bath and the floor collapsed on me? I usually take a shower.

Look at the grout.  It's sparkly. All the floors in our apartment have sparkly grout and you see it when you're out and about. How funny is that?  It's a pre-teen girl's dream.

 Beside the toilet is a little communication box. If someone rings the bell while I'm on the toilet I can talk to them and let them in. I have not used that handy little gadget yet so I'm not even sure I will know how if the need ever arises.

Chuey says don't forget about the built-in cabinet. It is to the left of our bedroom door, next to the kitchen. There is a lot of storage in the apartment, but most of it is really thin, so it can't hold a ton. This one is our game center and works great for that, though.

I have one funny incident I would like to share. One afternoon Abe and I were running the stairs in the building for exercise. The dogs knew we were out there and were barking at us. When we were finished I couldn't get the keypad to work. We have a spare 9-volt battery that you can use to do a quick one-time charge if the batteries go bad. I tried that to no avail. We went down to the office and tried to explain (remember the language thing). They thought we were idiots and they gave us a new 9-volt to try. Still no dice. Back we went, once again trying to communicate that it didn't work. Then they really thought we were idiots and sent a guy to come with us. He could not make it work either. He wanted us to call someone. At first I was like, my phone is inside. Then I realized he wanted me to call the person inside to let us in. We said there was no one inside. Once again he thought we were idiots and there had to be someone inside who locked the door. 

What happened was Frito had jumped up and got her foot on the door knob. The problem is that there is a safety lock that you can only control from the inside. Apparently she flipped the lock. Literally only way to get in from the outside is by breaking the lock. 

Since we were exercising we did not bring a phone with us. Thankfully I ran upstairs and Linda let me borrow her phone to call Soo (the lady who helped us move in). She wasn't answering, but finally got back to us. She said it was OK to get a locksmith to do what he had to do.

It totally reminded me of the time when Zeke was a toddler and as I was putting something in the trunk he locked the door without my knowledge. He was too little to understand when I asked him to push the button to let me in. We had to call the fire department to break a window. Same kind of deal here. I was like, "Come on, Frito, put your paw back up there and flip the switch again." Unfortunately she didn't understand how to do that. Eventually the locksmith came and replaced the whole ding dong thing. Since then we have put tape on it so that won't happen again.

So, that's the tour of our Delux Apartment in the sky. We like our little Korean home and would love to have visitors! ❤️🇰🇷