So one day I went for a walk...

Despite the weather returning to form and it feeling like the middle of summer again today, I attend an autumn harvest festival. Takanori was kind enough to offer to take me to this festival, as it took place near his home.  Without his suggestion I would never have known of this festival, let alone found my way to it. For today's trip Takanori, Pak (a Korean guest at the Banana Hammock) and myself all woke up early to make the journey south.  It was a short walk to the train, then a ride on a local train that took us the rest of the way. Left to right: Pak, Takanori and myself standing at the bottom of the stairs leading to the Mozuhachimangu shrine. As we arrived, things were already well under way, and thousands of people were all throughout the grounds of the shine. The shrine grounds had additions for the festival in the way of large "parking spots" built from scaffolding like tubing and festooned with decorations that related to each town involved, m...

Today was unusual in many ways.  Not bad mind you, just unusual. Last night the rain started at one in the morning and continued without break until noon, having two important effects; The rain itself leeched out a great deal of stored heat energy from the city.  This city has been so hot the last few weeks that leaning on the outer walls of buildings, even late into the night, filled you with the heat of the day all over again.  The city has been bathed in heat, and a nights rain drew so much of that out and let it rundown the drain. The cloud cover itself stopped the sun from penetrating down to the asphalt and starting the convection cycle over again, giving the city a chance to linger in this cool period. By noon the city was only 25 celcius and cloudy. Despite the rain spiking the humidity, the city felt a relaxed shady cool for the entire day.  With this I set off down the road from my HQ in the south of Osaka to visit the natural history museum....

This morning I strode outside and immediately thought to myself "Oh! It's so cool out!". The morning air felt brisk and different than any of my previous days here.  The first hint of autumn is now in the air. With this morning surprise I quickly checked the weather report, it was 28 degrees Celsius.  This only a few degrees colder than the scorching days I've had even up until yesterday.  These these facts didn't line up in my 'built for winter' brain. Confused, I checked my other weather app only to confirm the report.  Had I become acclimated to heat?  Perhaps.  What far more certain was that the humidity had dropped dramatically overnight.  Where in all the previous days the heat was accompanied by 80-95% humidity, making a 34C day feel like a 42C day, today it was 45% humidity and the difference that made was undeniable. I came back from my morning stroll and was greeted by Takanori.  He too had noticed the change and commented on how...

Normally I write these blog entries last thing, just before I go to bed, as a good bookend for the day.  Today though I am writing while sitting in the cafe of the aquarium as I want to capture my experience while it is as fresh as possible. I hadn't done much research when I arrived at the aquarium.  It had been recommended by a couple of people so I went with that.  At worst it would be a way to spend the day inside, dodging the hot and rainy weather. A deceiving facade As soon as I arrived I was a little stung by the ticket price, ¥2300 (~$23) to get in.  Up until now much of what I have done has had little or no admission costs, so this was a jump up.  Things started off underwhelming, with a long walk to an extremely tall escalator. It's not clear why such a climb is needed, but I was thankful that it wasn't stairs, as it took quite some time to reach the top. From there you follow a pathway from aquarium to aquarium, all on the left s...

On my second day in Japan I checked out of the banana hammock and headed north through Osaka. My intention was to see a bit of the city before setting out on my hike the following day. With good intention I headed towards Dotonburi, Osaka's heart for street food and shopping. However, after a morning of walking through intense heat with my pack strapped to my back, by the time I arrived 7km later, I didn't have the slightest interest in exploring, and wanted only for a cold drink on a shady spot. So, today, a little wiser and a lot more cautious, I waited until the sun fell (and also caught the train instead of walking for hours) to take a second crack at Dotonburi. As I mentioned before, Dotonburi is where it's at for street food.  Sure, it's known for the iconic glico running man sign; But from the moment you step foot on to this  strip, densely packed with elaborate signage, it is immediately evident that food is the big draw here. ...

Another hot day, another case of heat+walking related maladies.  Thankfully I went to see a fantastic landmark which made it worth the pains; Osaka Castle. Fun fact - this tower is actually the keep, the castle itself sits beside it. Not unsurprisingly, Osaka castle is a big tourist draw, and I was thankful to have made my visit during a weekday in the off season for tourists, as the place still had a gaggle being lead by a guide with a flag in every direction I turned. While big crowds can sometimes spoil an outing, I wasn't put off and enjoyed exploring the grounds, which are sprawling for any city, but in Osaka they represent an impressive act of heritage preservation in the face of the dense city encroaching on all sides. I wasn't sure how I would feel about going to see the castle, and was slightly worried that I would feel it was a waste of time.  Having lived in Europe for many years, with a commute that ran directly past a castle while living in Paris, would...

Today was a quiet day spent in the common area of my guest house in Osaka, intentionally avoiding the weekend crowds in the city. I spent much of the day sitting at the table in the common area watching live sumo wrestling on TV and continuing to hash out my revised plan. That isn't to say I spent the entire day inside. I did pop out a few times, mainly to the 7-11 for a cold drink, or as evening closed in, an easy bowl of udon. It was just after 6pm when I tucked into my convenience store udon, which rivaled many restaurant bowls I have eaten in western countries.  I returned to my planning, then headed upstairs to relax in my bed. A few hours later, as I was laying in bed looking at maps and wondering if i had eaten too early and if I would be hungry before bedtime, Takanori came up the stairs to the third floor and called out for me.  I slipped out of my bunk to find my host holding a small dish of tuna sashimi for me. I was by all rights very surprised.  Not...

In passing conversation a few days back Takanori mentioned "it's the biggest boat racing stadium in Osaka". All I could think to myself was ' There is more than one boat racing stadium in the city ?" I won't try to make like I know the first thing about boat racing, but if a city has built more than one place to do it then in my mind it warrants checking out. Setting out for the day I also took the opportunity to stop in at a Don Quijote store to try and find a small day bag, as hauling my entire hiking pack for day trips is just silly. Thankfully Don Quijote stores sell nearly anything you could want, including small backpacks that back be folded up into themselves for when you want to stuff them in a much larger backpack.  Now the only reason for me getting dehydrated while wandering is my own stupidity. But back to the boat races.  I arrived early for the days races, so the place still looked mostly closed and I was a little concerned I would...

The heat persists, but I'm determined not it let it keep me on the sidelines. So this morning I set out to Nara park before the heat was in full force.  From my current home base at Banana Hammock in South Osaka I expected it to be complicated to reach Nara, which is about 45km away, but to my surprise it was a matter of catching a train into town, a quick transfer and I was on my way. As a side note, I have a much better success rate of navigating the Osaka railway system than I do walking through doorways. The top of my head had the lumps to prove that. But back to the point. Nara, which is known for its bowing deer was on my list to see while I'm still in Osaka, and it was a worthwhile way to spend an afternoon. At its height the temperature was 36C, and Nara was a scorcher.  Filled with tourists, the deer are definitely well fed. Once they have had their fill of crackers, much like weary tourists like myself, is was time to retreat to the shade. Between...