Osaka, Japan (9/6/07 - 10/6/07)

I arrived in Japan after a touch down in Hong Kong in the late hours without accomm. There was only hotel information, so I chose one of the cheapest in downtown. Cabs would be the equivalent of AUD$500, so a shuttle it was going to be for me. Again, Japan is very clean and friendly but they take certain things too far. Why would it cost so much for a simple taxi???

I did a walking tour of the city and ended up at the Osaka Tower where you could get a great view of the city.
One of the guys at work in Adelaide that had lived in Japan for 2 years had convinced me to try Osaka instead of Tokyo. He said Osaka was more like Melbourne and Tokyo more like Sydney. However, after 1 day I was running out of activities in Osaka. So, I booked a return to Tokyo on the bullet train. I'd always wanted to experience the 300 km/hr speeds on the bullet train but didn't really want to go both ways in only a few days. Anyways, it was better than sitting on my arse in Osaka. The train was impressive and gave me the opportunity to see more of Japan. It seemed there were communities almost all the way and only a little bit a green country in between. I guess the population is fairly big for a little country.

Return rating: 7 (missed Kyoto in between Osaka and Tokyo)