2 days ago, Dan and I went to Osaka for a period of 24 hours to get our work visas. Dan almost didn't make the trip due to not being able to find his passport! We tore the whole place apart looking. The buzzer rang, our ride was there! And no passport in sight! Needless to say, he found it. It was laying in the middle of his floor among everything that was tossed around in the mad search. Coming home the next night was funny, it looked as though we had been robbed.
We spent most of our time in Osaka either lost or purposely wandering around the streets downtown. After finding the Korean consulate we began the search for our hotel/place to sleep, the Osaka House. Weaving in and out of the well dressed business men, punked out teens and young adults, hip looking women and men, old people, homeless people and of course all the bicycle riders (whom rode on the sidewalk, weaving in and out of this madness!
We made it to the Osaka House and were shown to our room... which was exactly that, a very small room with futon mats stacked up along the wall, a small tv and communal bathrooms. The sheets were clean and it was somewhere safe to stay.
We wandered around the lantern and people filled streets. I bought a big red Japanese lantern, which we are going to hang up in our apartment! I tried some interesting food along the way to seeking out a restaurant that could serve us a vegetarian meal... not very easy to find in Japan, as far as I can tell. I drew pictures of the foods that Dan can't eat (shrimp, fish, a pig, chicken...etc) and put a cross through it and put check marks next to the vegetables, egg, rice and noodles that I drew. We went to an English Pub (if you can believe it!) and ate a Japanese version of cheese and crackers, cheese pizza (very thin) and these yummy mushroom things. We drank absinthe there too and then left.
We hit bars up and down the streets searching for Sake. I could not find it anywhere!!! We settled for beers at one place and then gin at this other bar, where we drank and played pool for a good portion of the night. We tried to get into a few strip clubs, but we weren't allowed in because we weren't Japanese! “Are you Japanese?” “No... arigato....” “Sorry, only Japanese allowed here, not foreigners.” We left there laughing and complaining of racism.
I also attempted to get into what I think was a sex house of some sort... I wasn't going to stay there, I just wanted to go in and take a peek... a man with a bowtie came at me and waved his hands, smiling as he shook his head... not allowed there either...
I saw real geisha more than a few times! They were there!!! I couldn't believe my eyes and my luck!!! I spied on this older geisha from atop some stairs as she politely gave a man her cheek to kiss as he tried for her mouth several times... she was graceful and non-offensive and beautiful!!
There are tonnes of casinos mixed in to the madness. As you walk by them you hear loud bells and whistles and sounds coming from the slot machines. Dan and I went into an arcade and played video games for a while too... that was fun!
We had a good trip, it was short and sweet. Glad I went!
