Finally, after 7 years, I returned to Osaka! This time I didn’t get to stay in a hostel in Shin-Osaka central, as it had completely sold out; this time, I had to make my way to Mikuni. I caught the Shinkansen from the airport to Shin-Osaka, and wanted to get the subway to near the hostel, but couldn’t for the life of me work the ticket machine, so had to walk the 35 mins to the hostel. It actually took me 20 minutes to even find an exit from the station…! Got to the hostel for 9.20pm, checked in, and wanted to eat something before bed. Problem was that it was Obon week and everything was closed, so the hostel staff helped me find a little place that sold Katsudon which was just what was needed!

The hostel was lovely, run by a husband and wife, with their family living in a separate part of the building. Not the most convenient as the nearest station was the Hankyu line but it did introduce me to all the many private railways in Japan! After a long sleep, I went out to explore Osaka, starting with machine ordered ramen – really good but pretty cramped in there! I had been eaten alive in Taiwan so was still covered in some pretty damn impressive bites.

I then explored Shinsaibashi area, seeing all the pachinko machines, before walking down Dotombori beside the river, and seeing the massive sculptures of food outside some of the restaurants. Some lucky people were on river cruises.

Then I went down some of the side streets, to see a little temple and explore a bit of old Osaka. Quite weird, seeing all the modern shops and buildings, finding Chinese speaking shop assistants, but also there still being some more traditional Japanese items hidden behind the rows of shops.

Finally, went to Takarazuka to see Verity and the theatre; it’s been years! Had a lovely time together in a local cafe. Let’s not leave it so long next time, OK? Had a lonely train journey back home, and was quite pleased when I arrived as I was bit nervous that I was on the wrong train!