Finally in Osaka

Himeji Castle made it through WWII untouched
Himeji Castle made it through WWII untouched
My trilogy of Osaka posts is now complete. I’m writing this in Osaka and I’m exhausted. I spent all of today walking around Nara and Horyuji with a far too heavy camera bag. I had to carry stuff with me I normally wouldn’t have because my room situation was in flux. Rooms in Osaka have been a real pain this weekend.

My back and legs are killing me. I’ve also not gotten much sleep the last few days because I’ve had to get up early to get to Osaka to find a place. I had no luck finding hostels in Osaka this weekend and had to wing it. Thankfully, after 5 rejections, I found a room at a hotel near the train station.

The last few days have been a blur of temples, shrines, and palaces. Today was probably the most impressive of what I’ve seen so far. The structures at Horyuji are the oldest wooden buildings in the world. T?dai-ji Temple in Nara is the largest wooden building in the world. (33% smaller than the one it replaced in 1709). The Buddha inside is one of the biggest statues I’ve ever seen.

Tomorrow I’m off to Tokyo. Honestly, other than historical stuff, I’ve done little else in Osaka. Time is ticking away on my rail pass so I want to make the most of it. I’m going to spend at least four days in Tokyo, perhaps more. I don’t know if I’ll end up in Hokkaido at this rate.

I probably have close to 500 photos to process still from Himeji, Kobe, Kyoto, Osaka and Nara. Tomorrow I’ll stop briefly at Mt. Fuji on the way to Tokyo and spend the day updating the website and sitting around.