Day 1-Japan

We got into Osaka, Japan, at around 7pm and decided to just walk around the area to get a feeling for where we were. It was actually a really good idea to lay low and see the area. It was a pretty nice, calm area. Although I must admit that in Japan there are casinos EVERYWHERE!! I was surprised to see that there were more of these than karaokes :) The weather was soo beautiful! It was pretty warm (still light coat/heavy sweatshirt weather), and the country was beautiful. I was so happy to see so many mountains and flowers. It must be nice to live in a place that has flowers and greet trees year-round.

We had ramyon for dinner, which was fun since it was invented in Japan. It was much different from Korean ramyon. I guess pretty close to what American ramyon is: kind of salty with a beef/chicken stock flavor. I don't know why, but there are many old, American diner-style restaurants with counter seating and such. It was neat, and definitely saves space, but that was something that was a little strange.

It was interesting to notice how different Japanese people look from Koreans. I think that Japanese people look very similar to Americans in terms of bone structure and face shape. Sooo many people have brown hair (that's been dyed I'm sure) that looks very natural. I wouldn't say that it looks bad. However, I have yet to see a Korean that looks natural in any other hair color other than black or very, very dark brown. Everyone was so kind. Lots of smiles and a few kids making comments in English as we walked around. Fun!!

I should mention that I was with Sam from All Nations back home. He's been visiting Heesung and I in Korea, so we decided to go to Japan since the country's so close. Our other friend who we met at All Nations is Japanese and living in the Osaka area, so we were able to meet her also. More about that on the next post...

Our hostel was pretty retro/hippie, but a really fun atmosphere. I can admit that I've never seen anything like it in my life. The people who stayed there were American/European/Australian, and a few Japanese people. We met a nice Australian, older guy who was really friendly and helpful in giving us tips on what to/not to see.

The hostel room
Different sleeping rooms and the hallway
Interesting shower area :)
Downstairs was an area to relax and eat/drink
Our first meal--ramyon
Sam
A really interesting shop: the mail level is actually filled to the top with water, and the second floor is open where divers would begin a descent and practice on the mail level. Pretty cool to see!
EVERYWHERE there were Pachinko and Casino areas!!