Osaka
We loved Osaka!  Similar to Boston, Osaka is the smaller city outside of Tokyo.  Like Boston the town
is smaller you can across town and for more than a block.  There are noticeable small differences from
its larger cousin, Tokyo.  The standing line on the escalators are on the right, opposite of Tokyo.  People
seem a bit less in a rush and the outdoor shopping streets tend to be in covered archways that stretch
across a long main street.  From Osaka you can go to nearby cities including Kyoto and Nara all on the
JR Pass. 

In Japan even the street covers are artistic.  The subway is clean and organized, everyone forms a line
in front of the doors that are marked on the track. If a train is a couple minutes delayed there are
announcements and overhead signs light up with apologies.

Above are some old pictures of Osaka, it has two rivers that cut through the city.  Also art is along
many of the walkways.  Also curious contraption outside buildings and hotels are umbrealla lockers.

Japan is filled with shopping and food.  The random sushi, katsu or yakitori bar have excellent food.



Like Akihabara in Tokyo, Osaka has Den-den town filled with pachinko and electronics.
The NEC computers and displays have a realistic photo finish to the displays, you swear
that they pasted a photo to the screen until it changes.  Also popular were "horse riding"
exercise machines and instead of dance-dance-revolution there is Taiko Revolution!

Osaka Aquarium
The aquarium was very reasonable and one of the best I have been to.  The main
attraction was two Whale Sharks which are very hard to keep in captivity since they
mainly eat krill and plankton which is hard to have in an aquarium.  But the Japanese
have figured out a way.  They also have an assortment of sharks and even Manta rays.