Nara & Osaka: Preparing for Tokyo's Second Chance

And so it was decided, there on the top bunk in a quiet hostel in Nara, Japan that I would return to Tokyo and give the city the second chance it deserved. The next morning I checked out of the hostel- which I would totally recommend, by the way- and walked around the small town of Nara for a bit. The weather was better than the day previous. On my way to nowhere really I got caught up with some gijins mostly my age. I chatted to one of the older men as we were walking in the same direction and I learned he was a professor and the group were from university students from the US. He told me they had just been in China and he had good things to say about Beijing. That comforted me some because, to be honest, I was getting worried about my China leg. I later learned part of this nervousness was due to the fact that the Japanese and Chinese don't like each other and will say horrible things about the other. I enjoyed China... but I'm getting ahead of myself.



I parted from the university students and sat on one of many benches near a nice, albeit very green and murky, pond. I was the youngest person sitting on the bench by about forty years. There was one person younger than I- he was about two- but he wasn't sitting. The child was chasing pigeons and his grandfather was chasing him. The scene was cute and the boy reminded me of my niece about the same age. Then the kid came very close to chasing a bird straight over the edge into the water. Thankfully he didn't because looking around, I'm pretty certain I would have been the only one spry enough to jump in after him. The grandfather led the boy away and distracted him with food. Ah... food.

Peaceful pond in Nara, Japan

Can I just take a moment here to say that after meeting new people, food is my favorite part of traveling? I've said before that I am so glad I am not a picky eater and I will say it again: I am so glad I am not a picky eater. Or a vegetarian. Or lactose-intollerant. Or allergic to any foods. Especially peanuts. I would be missing out on so many delicious dishes! Not to mention how (much more) difficult it would be to order. I don't usually like taking photos of my food (unless it's extra pretty or exciting), and it's a good thing because otherwise this blog would be more of a montage of meals than an account of my round-the-world trip. All right, my deviation dealing with delicious dishes is done (ha ha ha, I love alliteration).

I found a wifi hotspot outside a tourist center in Nara and booked my bus to Tokyo for that night leaving from Osaka. (Thank you, Gilbert for telling me about Willer Express, the English website!) I also called my mom because I knew she was on a short vacation and in a time zone only thirteen hours behind me instead of the usual sixteen. Then I returned to the hostel, collected my backpack and went to Osaka.

I arrived in Osaka at about 15:00. My bus was scheduled to leave at 21:50. I had some time to kill. I stored my big pack in a locker and wandered. I found another wifi hotspot and sent Steven the Canadian a Facebook message. I explained to him I was in Osaka and asked if they wanted to meet up for dinner. I didn't know how long I would have wifi, so I just told him a place at Osaka Station and said I would be there at 18:00, but I wouldn't be upset if he didn't get the message or if he had plans. Now I only had about two hours to kill. It was a nice day so I put on some music and went for a walk. I had no direction in mind. I just walked around aimlessly soaking up the busy Japanese culture for a while. I made my way back to Osaka Station at 18:00 and was pleasantly surprised to see Steven and Elias where I'd asked them to meet me! I hadn't really expected them to get the message, but God bless Facebook and our addictions.

I'm going to go off on another tangent. This time about Facebook. I should probably get paid for this plug, really. I love Facebook. I wouldn't say I'm addicted, but I do check it quite frequently. Now let me defend myself... Originally the site was only for college students and I got an account when it was exclusive to .edu email addresses. I got in on (almost) the ground floor. Ground floor would be a Harvard student. Facebook is a social networking site and that's exactly what I use it for. Well that and and to upload photos. I have loads of "friends" on Facebook. I rarely talk to most of them. This is where some people say that the popular site has become impersonal and it's silly to have so many "friends" and only ever communicate with a handful of them. And this is where I disagree. Facebook is a fantastic address book. I may not talk to one of my "friends" for six years, but then when I travel I can look them up and say "Oh hey! How's it going? I see you live in Japan (or wherever) now. I'll be in your city next week. Want to meet for lunch?" Yeah. That happens. It's great and it's made possible by Facebook. OK, my Facebook fandom is finished (sorry, that was weak alliteration).

For dinner the Canadians and I went to a restaurant on one of the streets I'd explored earlier. It was Chinese food, but it was good. No need to eat Japanese food every day I'm in Japan. After dinner we made our way back to Osaka Station and I got my backpack. When I turned around to say goodbye (again) to my new Canadian friends only Steven was there. We didn't know where the other three were, but I didn't have time to look for them. So I gave Steven a hug and left him to search for his friends in Osaka Station alone. For the record, thanks to Facebook I know they were reunited eventually.

I made my way to the Umeda Sky Building, from where my bus was to depart. The information booths at Osaka Station were closed, so I just picked a general direction and started walking. Umeda Sky Building is a big one that stands out from the rest. I knew which building it was, but then I needed to get there. I must have asked about four or five people before I finally got there. Everyone was helpful enough in pointing out which building I needed to go to, and they were honestly probably giving me very specific directions on how to walk there. It's just too bad I don't speak Japanese. So I would walk a hundred meters or so in the direction they pointed, then ask someone else. Eventually I found some Aussies also going to the Umeda Sky Building and we worked together to find the underground tunnel that led us there. However, upon arrival I looked around and noticed this nice, new building with expensive furniture was unlike any other bus station I'd ever been in. I wandered around for a while and found a woman in a shop on the third floor and instead of giving me directions to Willer Express she just escorted me there. I love Japanese people! Except Tomo. I don't care much for him. The Willer Express waiting room was really nice. They had computers and charging stations for laptops, mobile phones, etc. The buses came to the back of the Umeda Sky Building and the Willer Express agents escorted the passengers to the bus.

The ride to Tokyo was uneventful. I slept most of the eight hours.