Today the original intention was for another visit to Kyoto, however this for some reason didn't occur, and instead I decided to try out one of the (very few) places the guidebook to Japan recommends going in Kita (North) Osaka - the Umeda Sky Building. This is supposedly in the same area as the Candle thing yesterday, however when I arrived at the station I found myself similarly lost. I walked round for ages, missed sunset, and eventually found a visitor's information booth, where I was 
instructed to go through the other station, around the huge department store, through what seems to be a building site, and I will find the underpass to the Sky Building. I did this, and upon arriving was greeted by an unexpected sight - I had completely forgotten the offhand comment yesterday about there being a German Christmas market here - there were loads of wooden stalls and a 40ft Christmas tree, with festive German carols blaring out. Deciding to keep this for later, I went into the Sky Building itself. It consists of two 37-storey towers, linked by the "Floating Garden Observatory", a 
huge ring which extends a further 3 storeys above Osaka, giving pretty amazing views of the whole city. The main thing you can tell about Osaka from here is that it is seemingly endless, and everywhere is lit up in every direction - only the thin threads of light along roads and power lines give a hint to the surrounding mountains. I won't put a load more photos of nighttime cityscapes on here, if anyone is interested they're in one of the photo albums on the left. It was impressive, and well worth the visit - my appetite for vistas sated, I headed down to the basement of the building, where I had heard that there were a huge variety of restaurants, all set up to look like a traditional Showa-era street, complete with fake animals and a small shrine. However, I became baffled by the menus and choices, and realised that I have no idea what Japanese numbers look like, which was a problem as all the tasty food was in the more Japanese places. Scared and bemused, I headed back to the Weinachtsmarkt, where a hot Black Forest Ham roll and a hot mug of Gluhwein sorted me right out.
Concerning my future plans, I spent ages last night going through the Lonely Planet & DK guides to Japan along with my Overseas Timetable book, trying to find out where I should go and how best to make full use of my 7-day Japan Railpass. My itinerary is roughly as follows, although the advantage of the Railpass is that I don't have to plan at all, if I suddenly decide to go somewhere else:
instructed to go through the other station, around the huge department store, through what seems to be a building site, and I will find the underpass to the Sky Building. I did this, and upon arriving was greeted by an unexpected sight - I had completely forgotten the offhand comment yesterday about there being a German Christmas market here - there were loads of wooden stalls and a 40ft Christmas tree, with festive German carols blaring out. Deciding to keep this for later, I went into the Sky Building itself. It consists of two 37-storey towers, linked by the "Floating Garden Observatory", a 
huge ring which extends a further 3 storeys above Osaka, giving pretty amazing views of the whole city. The main thing you can tell about Osaka from here is that it is seemingly endless, and everywhere is lit up in every direction - only the thin threads of light along roads and power lines give a hint to the surrounding mountains. I won't put a load more photos of nighttime cityscapes on here, if anyone is interested they're in one of the photo albums on the left. It was impressive, and well worth the visit - my appetite for vistas sated, I headed down to the basement of the building, where I had heard that there were a huge variety of restaurants, all set up to look like a traditional Showa-era street, complete with fake animals and a small shrine. However, I became baffled by the menus and choices, and realised that I have no idea what Japanese numbers look like, which was a problem as all the tasty food was in the more Japanese places. Scared and bemused, I headed back to the Weinachtsmarkt, where a hot Black Forest Ham roll and a hot mug of Gluhwein sorted me right out.Concerning my future plans, I spent ages last night going through the Lonely Planet & DK guides to Japan along with my Overseas Timetable book, trying to find out where I should go and how best to make full use of my 7-day Japan Railpass. My itinerary is roughly as follows, although the advantage of the Railpass is that I don't have to plan at all, if I suddenly decide to go somewhere else:
- Wednesday - take train to Nara, go to Nara Park and see as much of the place as I can in one day. If possible, go to Iga-Ueno Ninja Museum on the way home.
- Thursday - do anything else I can find to do in Osaka, before it's too late. Get Railpass, to start friday if possible.
- Friday - go to Hiroshima on the Shinkansen as early as possible. See Peace PArk, A-Bomb Dome, Shukkei-en gardens, Manga Library. Stay the night in Hiroshima.
- Saturday - go to Miyajima Island for the day, then see anything I missed in Hiroshima and get Shink. back to Osaka.
- Sunday - get Shink. to Okayama for the day, visit the Black Castle and Koraku-en gardens.
- Monday - leave Osaka for last time, Shink to Nagoya, then on to Takayama (although I forget why I chose it, may skip this one), stay in Takayama, possibly in Tensho-ji temple.
- Tuesday - return to Nagoya, spend day there, then get Shink. to Tokyo and possibly stay in a capsule hotel.
- Wednesday - go to Fuji-Yoshida, around the Fuji Go-ko area. See five lakes of Fuji, look at mountain lots. Stay in Fuji-Yoshida.
- Thursday - head back to Tokyo, and find a day trip to use up last day of Railpass.
- Friday onwards - stay in Tokyo, maybe leave to Bangkok on following monday.
Sounds rather exhausting, and I need to figure out if I know anyone in Tokyo, but it should be great - I get to go on no less than 6 Bullet trains, which is pretty cool. I'll keep track of all the money I would have spent on trains as well, to see if it's more than the 23,600 yen I spent on the week's pass. If not, I shall be severely perturbed, and just ride the Shinkansen all day on the last day, just to spite JR.
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