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We
left Hiroshima early in the morning on a
Shinkansen to Osaka, Japan's third largest
city. It is a city of trade and industrial
center of western Japan.
People
of this city are very friendly and
helpful.This was really necessary as the
transportation in the city was rather
complicated.
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When
we saw these gentlemen in a train station
(No, this is not a voting booth, it is a
counter of noodle restaurant), we started
to feel hungry again.
Here
in Japan, one seems to have constant
appetite, as food always smells and looks
so good.
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The
handling of this coupon dispenser for our
lunch in a simple noodle stand proved to
be quite difficult...
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...
but amongst fellow ìslurpersî
at the counter we enjoyed our cold
(perfect for Japanese summer) buck wheat
noodle with spicy sauce and spring
onion (for only 250 Yen, appr.
$3).
Slurping
Japanese noodle is not only allowed, but
it is a part of the tradition.
The
friendly cook recommended not to eat
Tempura ìIt does not taste good
today!î
He
gave us a small piece to prove it really
does not taste good (!) and gave us a
cooked tofu pocket filled with rice
instead.
Yummy!
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The
skyline from Osaka displayed a brand new
modern building of NHK (Japanís
public TV station), Osaka Dome (a huge
baseball stadium) and other modern
objects.
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The
Osaka castle, the former residence of
Shogun
Tokugawa
Ieyasu,
is a grand monument which was completed in
1586.
We
were very impressed by the huge stone
blocks, which were brought from all over
Japan to build the
fortress.
The
largest rock is 8 yards high and 16 yards
long!
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The
inside of the supposedly historic castle
was a shock to us.
Marble,
chrome and 3 D-Multimedia-presentations
with high-tech on all 8
floors.
We
expected a little more authenticity from
this historical building and were a bit
disappointed.
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On
the way through the park to the next JR
station we saw a rather unhappy sight
which also Japanese have to get used
to.
The
park housed many homeless people living in
hundreds of blue plastic covers and
selfmade sheds.
Japanese
are known to be too proud to accept
financial support from the
government.
So
the burst of the `bubble economy` led to
many unemployed people who are not able to
pay rents here in Japan.
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Our
daily special:
`The
Puzzler` (Are you a Japan
expert?)
New
impressions and curiosities as a daily Q
& A.
2)
What is the object on the photo
?
(Answer:
just click on the photo)
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