The rain continued to accost Japan today, so we took another day trip to the city of Osaka, which is a quick 15 minute train ride on the Shinkansen line.

We headed there to get sushi and check out a Manga Kissa, which is essentially a comic book and internet cafe.

First, the sushi. Chinedu found an excellent place called Harukoma, which was located in the Yodagowa ward. There was quite a line at 11:45, so we felt good about that.

And now for the food, which was excellence. I am not usually super adventurous with food, but enjoyed trying all of the different oceanic tastes.

 

It was fresh and tasty and the price was very reasonable ($15 / person roughly).

Next, we stopped by the Manga cafe for an hour. Manga cafes are intended to be places to come and read from the massive collections of comics present. However, they allow visitors 24 hours a day and you pay for the time you stay, so many people use them as low-budget hotels. They are actually really nice. The one we visited had free drinks including Cokes, coffee, etc. A massage chair was $5 for an hour, and only $30 if you were to stay overnight. They have showers, free towels, and many other amenities. Unfortunately they allow smoking, but otherwise I would think about staying at one when we return to Tokyo.

Since we were in the area, we took a walk in some heavy rain to see Osaka Castle.

The castle area was massive, especially the moats. It was fun to imagine what this would have been like in ancient times when it was loaded with Samurai warriors (the castle has been destroyed and rebuilt but still fun). It must have been near impenetrable.

The rest of the afternoon was set aside for some rest, laundry, and writing these many blog posts, which are of highest quality. I did pass this guy on the street on the way back to my AirBnb. Oh, Japan..

It’s time to head out to dinner. Until tomorrow…