My last full day in Japan on this trip was one of continually changing plans. I had hoped to see the Hanshin Tigers 阪神タイガース play the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 福岡ソフトバンクホークス at Kōshien Stadium 阪神甲子園球場. But the Tigers are doing very well this year, and tickets for Saturday's afternoon game were already sold out when I checked at a ticket seller in Matsue 松江 on Thursday. My next idea was to walk (not bike) the Kibi Plain bicycle road 吉備路サイクリングロード, a 15-kilometer (9.3 mile) cycling route through the countryside outside of Okayama 岡山. However, I decided I had done enough walking the past few days, and I would've worked up a sweat, only to have had to return to my ryokan 旅館 to pick up my bag, and get on a late afternoon train to Ōsaka 大阪. Besides, I had already biked the route during my visit to Okayama in the mid/late 90's, and it was doubtful much had changed about the course in the ten years or so since. So, in the end, I caught an 8:30am local train out of Okayama Station 岡山駅 for the leisurely three-hour ride to Japan's second city, with the intention of doing nothing in particular for the rest of the afternoon after I got there.
While on the train, I tried to take some pictures of the Akashi-Kaikyō Bridge 明石海峡大橋, the world's longest single-span suspension bridge at 1991 meters (6532 feet), but none of the photos turned out particularly well.
After arriving back at Namba 難波 and having lunch in the bowels of the station, I returned to the Hotel Nissei ニッセイ with the intention of dropping off my bag and returning later to check in. As it turned out, they let me check in early, and so off I went on the Midōsuji subway line 御堂筋線, getting off at Yodoyabashi Station 淀屋橋駅 to take a stroll through Nakanoshima Island 中之島:
Nakanoshima serves as a gateway to the Kita キタ area of Ōsaka, and the Umeda 梅田 commercial district. It was a long walk from the island, through JR Ōsaka Station 大阪駅 to the Umeda Sky Building 梅田スカイビル. A glass elevator (not for the faint-hearted, like myself), and a long escalator ride, took me to the "Floating Garden Observatory", 170 meters (560 feet) high. The view of the city couldn't be called "beautiful" (except perhaps at night), but I thought it was fantastic, as Ōsaka and its surrounding environs spread it all directions. A few shots and a short movie:
After returning to terra firma, I worked my back through Ōsaka Station, and crossed the road to the Hanshin Department Store 阪神百貨店, where I picked up a couple of souvenirs for my daughter, Amber: a Hanshin Tigers mascot, and a toy bus featuring a couple of characters from her favorite NHK children's show. I then hopped back on the subway, and took the train back to Namba, picking up some takoyaki たこ焼き (fried octopus, a must when in Ōsaka) and a can of Skal, my favorite yogurt soda, which for some strange reason is hard to find in eastern Japan.
The day (nay, the entire trip) ended in fine form when I met two wonderful students of mine from my time in Yokkaichi 四日市 in Mie Prefecture 三重県, Mariko and Sachiko. They treated me to a seemingly endless round of beer and food at a branch of the Murasaki 村さ来 chain of izakaya 居酒屋. I'm afraid to tally up how much 義理 I'm in arrears to them. Perhaps one day they can visit me in Taiwan so I can pay some of that off! In the meantime, thank you once again Mariko and Sachiko - ほんとうにありがとうございました！
No comments:
Post a Comment