Japan: Osaka

A pair of shorts/underwear I got around the Dotonbori area

Osaka Aquarium: A beautiful way to start our trip. Everything about this Aquarium had the essence of Japan through it; the staff uniforms, the ergonomic layout of the tanks and the utterly the adorable souvenir shop. As this was the only aquarium I visit I can not vouch for how well it compares to others throughout the country, but I think that any Aquarium would be amazing to visit. Osaka Aquarium had a 'touch and pet' area, where you could pat mantra rays and other nice and squishy fish. 

Dotonbori: Dotonbori is a great area. Like many in Japan it has a lot of covered and uncovered alleyways, filled with both shops and food vendors. The first time we visited we went for food, and the choice was endless. They were known for there takoyaki, a ball of pancake mix and squid. The second visit was for shopping, which there was a lot of. Gyoza was my favourite, and started a love affair for the rest of the trip (fried dumplings Japan style). As well the western stores surrounding the area (H&M, Topshop etc.) there are hundreds of cute Japanese stores to choose from. They sell accessories, socks, handbags, makeup; everything you could possible think of. You could spend several days if you wanted to get though every store, although a lot of them do have similar items. 

Osaka Castle: This was one of the highlights of Osaka for me, walking around the outside of the moat showed did not give away the true vastness of the castle. Inside was beautiful. The central tower had a partial lift, and then many many stairs to reach the top. It was worth the though, the views were incredible. We even spotted a few sight seeing areas we could have visited. One of them looked to be a Christmas light display in a field near by, but we were saving ourselves for the Luminare festival. 

Luminare Festival: Held in Kobe this is a gift from Italy to celebrate Japan rising about the 95' earthquake. If you head to Japan in December this is a MUST SEE. I would go to Osaka again and again for this. It is very crowded, but as the Japanese are pilot and orderly this was not as issue. There was street food, souvenir stores, and most important the very beautiful lights. It was truly breathtaking, and knowing that each individual light was hand painted made it even more awe inspiring. This was a highlight of the whole trip for me, and a nice way to remember Osaka. 

The Luminare Festival

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