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]