Osaka

Osaka is like a mini Tokyo which we found as enjoyable and a little bit easier to get around.  The big things we did here were to go see the world’s largest aquarium tank and a cool whale shark that just appears out of nowhere and glides by you, as well as going on the world’s largest Ferris wheel and finally check out a J-League baseball game.

We went to see the local Hanshin Tigers defeat the Tokyo Giants (equivalent of the Yankees) by 9 – 4).  Good times and it was a great and truly Japanese atmosphere inside the stadium.  They have songs for every player that they sing when he comes up to bat (we think one of them was ‘Wash your hair, Kanemoto’ but we assume wash your hair actually means something different). There’s a hilarious game ending celebration where everybody in the ground lets a balloon go (see video) and cutsie girls in bright pink uniforms smile non-stop and bring beer for a small fee.

Cheers from the ball game

Thanks again to everybody at eircom for the tickets – they were really good seats and it was great day out!  We finished the day with some delicious cheesy balls filled with octopus (yummy) and we found some Japanese style croquets that were also amazing.

Mmmm cheesy octopus balls (Takamaki)

The next day we got up, so sad to be leaving.  Japan had definitely surpassed our expectations and there is so much about the place that amazes which we didn’t even write about here (food, transport, people watching, technology, and ways of living).  If you ever get the chance, go here; we’ll definitely be back.