We ate at the hotel restaurant last night. It was OK. Although the iced tea is a barley tea and I didn’t care for it.
We were asleep by 8:00. Both of us woke up around midnight but went back to sleep. We woke up again around 3:00 and finally got up a little after 5:30. We ate at the breakfast buffet at the hotel then walked to the train station to purchase our train tickets to get into the city and for our trip Saturday to the starting point of the Kumano Kodo.
We got on the 7:20 train into Osaka. We managed to get on and off the train with no issue. A nice gentleman across the aisle helped us figure out the seat and the driver of the train confirmed we were on the right train. It was about a one and one half hour ride into the city with stops every five minutes or so. The train was very clean. It was very quiet even when it got crowded. Most of the other riders were on their iPhones and no one spoke. The train would get crowded and then a couple stops later would clear out and then get crowded again.
The older gentleman that helped us wished us a safe journey when he got off. Another gentleman did the same at the next stop. We were the only foreigners on the train that we could see.
When we got to Osaka we walked with our luggage about a half mile to our hotel. The hotel agreed to check our luggage for us so we didn’t have to drag it around town until it was time to check into our room. We went walking around Osaka. Lots of shopping places in this area with lots of brand name stores. Lots of young ladies walking around shopping. We didn’t see many men of any age or women my age.
We tried an ice cream cone in a green tea flavor with crumbled chocolate on it. Not a fan. Neither one of us could eat much of it. Had to try it though.
We rode a huge Ferris wheel that gave us a wonderful view of the city.
We had lunch at a KFC. The menu said the iced tea was Lipton but it tasted like the barley tea from last night. Think I will just be drinking water for the next two weeks.
It is over 90 degrees here today so very warm and humid. Lots of blue skies with puffy clouds.
We came back to the hotel around 1:00 and they were able to let us in our room early. The room is wonderful! It even has a charging station for our phones. The lady that brought our luggage up to our room showed us how to work all the fancy switches for the curtains and lights.
So far all the toilets are bidets. I finally got brave and used the wash and rinse buttons. They work! Most of the time the water is even nice and warm. Bit of a surprise when it is cold water though. I love the privacy button that plays music to hide the sound of farts.
We are most impressed with how helpful and friendly the people are here. We have not had a bad experience with any worker yet. Some speak fairly good English and even if they don’t we have managed to get our needs met.
Both of us have a bit of jet leg this afternoon. We are going to try not to take a nap so we can sleep tonight. It feels good right now to relax in our room and enjoy the beautiful view of the river with the mountains in the back ground.
Tomorrow we are going to the Osaka Castle and possibly take the aqua bus on a tour around the area. We may go back out later this afternoon after we cool down.
Nicole is a good navigator. She found a map of the city and has managed to get us where we need to go. The streets are not laid out in an easy grid to follow and street name signs are not on every corner so it is a bit of a challenge to get around. There are lots of people out and about but not as crowded as I feared it might be. Most are friendly although most are on their cell phones and not always paying attention to others around them.
Feels good to have gotten to our different hotel with no issues. We are having fun! Trusting by tomorrow our jet lag will quiet down. Glad we have these two days before our Kumano to adjust to the 14 hour time difference.
A bit nervous about walking in this heat on the trail. The forecast is calling for rain starting Sunday so maybe that will help break the heat a bit. Maybe the mountains will be cooler and have more shade. I need to let go of anticipating and allow it to be what it is.
All is well in Japan! What a beautiful country and friendly people.