Day 2-Osaka

We met Mai (our Japanese friend who we met at All Nations) at the hostel in the morning, and showed us around the city. We were staying in Osaka, so it was a natural place to start the touring.
We walked up the road about 20 minutes and ended up at Osaka Castle. It had a moat around it, the walls were slanted for defensive purposes, and it was so beautiful!
We were in Japan at a great time. There were 2 big festivals. The first was a festival for the "Coming of Age" for all 20 year old, single people. It was so neat to see people dressed in beautiful, colorful kimonos everywhere!
The second festival (Toka Ebisu) was in honor of god Ebisu who is one of the seven Buddhist deities of good fortune. The shrine we visited was the Imamiya-Ebisu Shrine built in AD 592.
People would throw their old bamboo branches and charms into this bucket and then go to another area to pick up new ones for the new year. People who come here are typically business people, because they are coming for good fortune in their businesses.
So many people!!
Girls selling charms and bamboo.
There were girls who brought good fortune bamboo to different shops in the area. It was like a beautiful parade with people all dressed up.
Crowded shopping streets!!
Shinsekai area and tower. It's supposedly the most dangerous area in Osaka. However, when we asked what is considered "dangerous", Mai said that there were things like pickpocketing. So I'm sure not dangerous as we consider in the States. But still a really neat area of twisted roads and old shops everywhere!!
Downtown Osaka