A milestone birthday OW award

[Captain Halliday]

How old and new buildings fared in Typhoon Jebi

In Osaka we set out to see Osaka Castle.

In the grounds we noticed a few very minor indications of Typhoon Jebi that had passed through 10 days earlier.



Being a Frequent Flyer forum, I figure a plane pic near Osaka castle is in order.

ANA B777



The cruise around the moat seemed popular.



As did the market stalls just outside the castle walls.

One of them was a wood carver who was incredibly talented.



From the outside Osaka Castle looks like a four, possibly five, storey building.

There’s actually eight levels.



With nice 360 degree views around Osaka.





Pictures inside are heavily restricted.

It was nice to see some of the Osaka history and it was less than 10 Aussie dollars to enter. Recommended. Allow about an hour.

The place was in great condition with not a hint of typhoon damage.

It was late afternoon as we left and the reflection from a nearby pond, combined with last rays of sunlight striking the castle’s gold features was very pretty.



Then it was off to the Umeda Skybuilding to watch the Osaka sunset.

But all we saw was the view from the ground because the building was closed due to Typhoon damage.

There was debris and heaps of bollards set up to cordon off areas where it appeared glass had been falling off the building.

Given the damage I was surprised to be able to stand directly beneath it to look at the walkways that criss-cross the two main structures.



They certainly don’t build ‘em like they used to.

Old Castles: 1. Fancy new buildings: 0.

 

[drron]

Except that Osaka castle really isn't an old building.It was an army coughnal during WW2 so attracted attention and virtually destroyed in 1945.But they are sensible.It is a concrete reconstruction finished in 1997.
Most Japanese castles have been rebuilt on numerous occasions.

 

[Captain Halliday]

Except that Osaka castle really isn't an old building.It was an army coughnal during WW2 so attracted attention and virtually destroyed in 1945.But they are sensible.It is a concrete reconstruction finished in 1997.
Most Japanese castles have been rebuilt on numerous occasions.

Sshhh. Your truth might get in the way of a good story.

But on a serious note, those wanting to visit Nagoya castle shouldn’t delay.

It’s “sinking” as the foundations can no longer support its weight.

Tours inside have already been stopped. It’ll be demolished early next year and the rebuild to exact specs (except the foundations I guess) will take four years.

But that visit is a few posts away yet!

 

[drron]

Well I'm glad we have already had 2 stays at the Westin Nagoya Castle with it's fantastic views of the castle

 

[Captain Halliday]

We should have had a hotdog

After leaving the skybuilding we went in search of dinner.

A dozen or so days into the trip, and so close to Kobe, I was keen for a steak.

We found a place that could do the job.

This cut, though a little fatty, was delicious.



We also ordered the German Sausage tasting plate.

It was really just three different flavours of sausage.



The translation of sausage flavours from German to Japanese to English was like Chinese whispers.

Okay, maybe an analogy involving a fourth, unrelated language, is just confusing.

The point is I have no idea what flavour each sausage was.

However, they were delicious in direct proportion to their thickness.

And they say size doesn’t matter!

We considered getting wine with the meal.

This fine drop from our homeland, after tax and currency conversion, was selling for the bargain basement price of AUD 52.51.



No thanks.

We were really enjoying the meal until this crawled out from under my plate.



It was only small, but there’s something about coughroaches on the dinner table that turns me off my food.

I showed it to both the waiter and to the gentleman who appeared to be the manager.

The waiter shrugged.

The manager apologised and shrugged.

As the only caucasians in the place we were clearly tourists.

So on one hand they knew were never going to be back, so why would they care?

On the other hand, have they not heard of TripAdvisor?

We also took a leisurely, suitcase free walk along the Dotonbori canal.



On the opposite bank was a place called “5 Star Hotdog”.

I assume they’re not scoring out of ten.

It was still half an hour until the place opened, yet more than 30 people were already queued in the rain.



I figure it must be better than the coughroach sausages.

Later we retreated to the bar on L36 of the hotel for another round of welcome drinks.

They were very welcoming.

And the view was a fraction clearer than the first night.





The next morning, breakfast was roach free.

It was a pretty standard hotel buffet breakfast, but extra marks for the presentation of the bacon and eggs.

 

[Flying_man]

coughroach very good luck. Sign of good fortune.

 

[QF WP]

Wow, I’ve never seen bacon and eggs presented like that - might try that next time those are the menu items.

I presume the roach didn’t last long after the photo was taken - do you still have ringing in your ears from the screams of Mrs H and Miss H?

 

[Captain Halliday]

coughroach very good luck. Sign of good fortune.

I can only hope!

 

[Captain Halliday]

Same same

When travelling, I don’t mind having a quick look in the local shops.

The novelty value of seeing how they approach retail in other countries is interesting.

But once you’ve seen one shopping mall you’ve seen them all.

Just as a Westfield in Brisbane is similar to a Westfield is Melbourne... so it is all over the world.

As a result I don’t feel it’s essential to visit every shop, in every city, at every opportunity.

However, I’m routinely outvoted 2-1.

So here’s how several days of the trip were spent/wasted: in a selection of shops which were all the same.

Kobe:



Kobe, the next street over.

Literally one street over! Same:



Osaka. Same:



Osaka a few streets over. Same, but you get wet:



Everywhere we went it was the same.

The smells of unfamiliar foods.

General noise.

Music.

Hustle and bustle.

It was an assault on the senses.

Row after row of shops with bright electric signs.

Even the shop the sells the bright electric signs had, well, bright electric signs.






Then we came to a shop selling all manner of used kitchen appliances.

Some of them look liked they needed a wash and suddenly I was doubting the donut I’d had minutes earlier.



We found a shop that thinks it is an Australian radio station.



But I have digressed from my main point.

They are all the same.

Kyoto. Same:



Nagoya. Same, but closed.



Yes, we really did spend time in a shopping centre that was closed!

So here’s my tip if you’re visiting Japan:

Visit a shop if you must, but pick one. And only one!

You’ll save time.

You’ll save money.

You’ll save sanity.

And it’ll be easier on your knees.

 

[drron]

But I love Japanese shopping streets.
Of course even if I didn't mrsdrron would take me there.It is extraordinary.no sense of direction but she can always find the shops she wants.

 

[JohnM]

I sometimes go to those places, thinking (for some obscure reason) that 'I should'.

Barely five minutes in and I'm thinking 'Why the hell did I bother doing this?'.

A portion of the short remaining time of my life wasted...

 

[mrs.dr.ron]

You can ALWAYS find something you didnt need in a 100 yen shop

 

[Captain Halliday]

Left is right and right is wrong

In Japan I found that almost everything ran smoothly.

Transport departed and arrived on time.

There are systems.

Almost everything was logical and made sense.

In Japan they drive on the left.

On footpaths they walk on the left.

In shopping malls they walk on they left.

Even passing in a narrow hotel corridor you keep left.

It’s brilliant and it all works smoothly, except on escalators and stairs in Osaka where everything is reversed for no apparent reason.



You can see in the pic above, the escalators are on the correct side for their direction of movement.

But for some reason everyone stands on the wrong (right) side.

It’s infuriating.

Making matters worse, when you reach the top or bottom, you then have to “swim against the tide” to get to the correct (left) side.

This is because, despite doing the escalators and stairs on the wrong side, they still walk on the correct (left) side.

It did my head in.

 

[JohnM]

You can ALWAYS find something you didnt need in a 100 yen shop

Where is the 'huh, what?' button when it's (desperately) needed...

 

[Captain Halliday]

Status handcuffs seal the deal

By this point in the trip we had clearly established the difference between a subway station and a train station.

Google still hasn’t.

It had also became clear that the hotel we’d booked in Kyoto was further from a train station than any of our previous hotels.

In fact, it may have been further from a train station than any other hotel in Japan.

Luckily it was an Expedia booking and could be cancelled.

Despite my frustrations about the escalators I headed down to reception to ask about a three night extension.

“Sure Mr Halliday. No problem. The room is available.” Said the lady at the desk.

“Great.” I replied.

But was cut off as she continued, “I’ll just check the price with our reservations team.” And she dashed out a door next to reception.

I was optimistic they’d extend the same rate.

Better to get something for the room than nothing I figured.

She returned offering an additional three nights for YEN138,000... or almost AUD600 per night.

The price had doubled from our original booking.

I was rapidly reminded of the principles of supply and demand from high school economics.

Fortunately my demand wasn’t that great.

So I returned to the room and a hopeful looking Mrs H.

I shook my head and with some trepidation turned to google maps to formulate a new plan for the next three nights.

Nagano was ruled out due to the 12 hour train trip.

Most of the towns near Fuji required us to go all the way to Tokyo, then double back.

The hotels were also more expensive then staying in Osaka.

So they were also ruled out.

We then considered flying to Naha.

Google said it was AUD850, return, for the three of us on Jetstar Japan.

Too good to be true for a departure in <12 hours I thought.

The Jetstar Japan website confirmed my suspicion throwing up a price of almost 3k.

Another google fail.

Back to the map.

“What about Nagoya?” I suggested.

“What’s there?” Asked Mrs H.

I had no idea.

“Good chance there’ll be a castle.” I said, making no attempt to disguise my sarcasm.

And then it all fell into place.

First I spotted a hotel right near Nagoya station. No walking.

A Mercure.

At a reasonable price.

Then the most remarkable coincidence.

A marketing email landed telling me I only needed three more nights to retain Accor Gold for another year.

I lept to my feet and declared triumphantly, “We’re going to Nagoya!”

And so it was off the the Shinkansen.



Past the rice paddies.



And on to Nagoya.

 

[QF WP]

Wow, did you get lucky, or what . No walking, a hotel at a reasonable price and a new city. Can’t wait for the next installment.

 

[drron]

Pity I wasn't up to date with my TR by the time you left Osaka.The Lake Biwa Marriott is a short train trip from Osaka and they have a shuttle from the nearest station and often less than $100 a night.
Problem-you really need a car there as nothing else really around.A shopping centre that they optimistically say is a 5 minute walk away.
Would have loved to read of mrs H's reaction to that!

Nagoya was a much better option.Actually plenty to do and a good 100 yen bus service.Though the price I guess has gone up.

 

[Captain Halliday]

A personal tour of Nagoya Castle.

We arrived in Nagoya just before noon.

After dropping our bags at the hotel we set off for Nagoya castle under grey and drizzly skies.

Carefully following the directions on Google maps I completely missed the western entrance.

Miss H was hungry and we decided not to bother with the castle.

We walked on in search of lunch.

Nearing 1pm we were approaching the castle’s Eastern entrance.

Like politicians trying to agree on climate policy, negotiations resumed.

“We’ve seen a few castles already.” I said, knowing that Miss H can switch from hungry to grumpy in a flash... just like her father!

Then Mrs H spotted a sign offering guided tours in English at 1pm and beginning conveniently at the Eastern entrance.

It was enough to secure a unanimous vote.

We bought tickets and entered the grounds to discover we were the only people on the English speaking tour.

So we set off on our DYKWIA tour and weren’t disappointed.

The stones that make up the walls of the castle were brought in from quarries in the Osaka region.

Most are inscribed with a seals.



These seals represented the various Daimyo Lords.

In simple terms it was an invoicing system to indicate which region the stones had come from.

Sadly, main tower itself is closed for refurbishment.



When I say refurbishment, I mean demolition.

As mentioned a few posts back, the mostly concrete structure is too heavy for its foundations and is sinking.

The city of Nagoya has embarked on a complete rebuild, so just like Osaka castle, the original will soon be gone.

While the work takes place you can tour Hommaru Palace.



The original was built in 1615 to house the provincial governor, but burnt down in 1945 following an air raid.

Restoration didn’t begin until 2009 and it wasn’t fully reopened until 2016, but wow, they did an amazing job.





The artworks are all recreations of the originals based of photos and sketches.



The detail and lighting is exquisite.



Our guide explained that because tigers are not native to Japan the artist who painted the picture below (and several others) had never seen a tiger in his life.

The pictures are based entirely on verbal descriptions provided by people who had seen tigers in China.

Remarkable.



This is the castle master’s quarters.



In the photo below there’s actually three rooms.

The optical illusion is intended as a security feature to protect the castle master.



It was a great way to spend an hour and I’d recommend it even without the personal tour.

 

[Captain Halliday]

An actual room key

Leaving Nagoya castle we took the subway to a nearby shopping complex in search of lunch.

At the subway station I considered taking elevator #3 to see if the cricket was on...



But we were all hungry so we continued on.

By now it was well past 2pm and those who have children will know what happens when you push through the hunger barrier.

“What about this bakery?”

“No!”

Hungry was turning to grumpy.

“Sushi?”

“No!”

“Noodles?”

“No!”

“Dumplings?”

“No!”

Even the hot box at the Seven Eleven was dismissed.

As the whinging reached fever pitch Miss H told me to grow up and just get a burger from Maccas.

Continuing on we took a look at the Nagoya TV tower.



Including from a nearby viewing platform that has a large pond in the centre of it.



They love their ferris wheels in Japan and from the viewing platform we could see two.



The second, smaller one is atop the building to the far left.

Not long after we passed this cafe which made me immediately think of a few unnamed AFFers.

And it was nothing to do with the cheese.



Returning to the hotel I reached for my wallet to get the swipe card to open the door.

I had a flash of panic when I couldn’t find it.

Then Miss H stepped forward with...



Amazing how quickly children can adapt to new technology.

The last time I stayed at a hotel where I had to carry a large brass key, I wasn’t born.

A quick refresh and it was off to dinner...

 

[drron]

I think you should take Miss H to Mosburger.
But be warned it will probably confirm her belief that Maccas is best!