Let’s start this entry by saying that I’m not a big city girlie by any means. So when I found out that I was about to spend two months in Osaka, one of the biggest cities in Japan, I was not exactly thrilled about the place (don’t get me wrong, I was very excited to go, just the place wasn’t going to be my cuppa tea). Maybe that was one of the issues – I went there with the negative mindset, though I really did try to fight it.
Well, hate to say it, but I was kind of right. I really didn’t like most of the city. Why?
1/ It’s a huuuge city
If you go all the way up in the Abeno Harukas building, the tallest skyscraper, and look around, you’ll see the sea on one side and an endless forest of buildings on all the other sides. As far as you can see, it’s just grey concrete. It is impressive but in a “I’m disgusted by mankind” kind of way.
2/ There are so many people
With 2.5 million (or 18.9 million for the metro area), Osaka is the 3rd largest city in Japan. But that’s not everything, it is also a very popular destination with tourists, which means you’re lucky if you have some personal space during the rush hour or walking around in the touristy spots. Unfortunately, I really do enjoy my personal space and fighting my way through the crowds takes so much of my energy, so it’s quite discouraging to even go out in such an environment.
3/ The only thing you can do is to go shopping…
…and you even may not experience the sun while doing it. Or at least it felt so. You get on the metro. You get off at the underground station and you take an underground passage to one of the tall shopping centres without proper windows. You’re blinded by artificial lights, deafened by the blasting music and suffocated by a number of shops, not knowing where each of them ends and the next one starts. I don’t know how people find it relaxing because the only thing I could feel was the overwhelm.
But let’s do something new on this website and be positive! 0:) Because I want to share the few places that I actually enjoyed.
1/ Shitennoji temple garden
My boyfriend (the reason why I ended up in Osaka) and I are big fans of traditional Japanese gardens. The beauty, the peace, the elegance (and the koi fish!) … perfection. During my stay we visited a few and while the one at Shitennoji wasn’t too special, the entrance fee was reasonable, the area was nice and… there weren’t too many people! Actually, I think we only saw a few other visitors as we were leaving, maybe due to the summer temperatures (because who in their right mind is going to walk around in Japanese summer heat?). the only things is that the temple is quite popular with the tourists, so it was a pleasant surprise.
2/ Tsurumi Ryokuchi park
A sizable park with lots of flowers (though I was just so lucky that I came in between seasons) and some animals, as the name tsurumi (鶴見 = crane-watching) suggests. The park was so massive that (again) in the summer heat, I could not see everything. I walked around the central lake with cranes and carps (and got excited whenever I spotted a crane hiding somewhere between the branches), discovered a garden with parts of it inspired by different countries (or maybe they sponsored it? I really need to work on my kanji), found myself in a wilted rose garden (had it been 2 weeks earlier!!), took pictures of a sunflower field and a windmill, judged kids playing in a fountain with a sign of “don’t play in the fountain and got judged by people with cool cameras when taking pictures of lotus flowers with my poor overheated phone. And I can only imagine how beautiful it must be in the sakura season!
3/ Animal cafes
Japan is known for its fun animal cafes and while in Osaka, I visited two – a small pet one and a reptile one. They are a bit pricy, since you need to pay entrance and buy an overpriced drink, but man, were they cute! So instead of me blabbing on, just enjoy the pictures. ♥
