So anyways...yesterday. The first day it really rained here, and oh boy did it pour! It wasn't freezing, about 70-75 degrees I think. So for an Oregonian who is used to it being FREEZING when it rains, I kind of liked it. Oh...except for walking between train stations and such in the rain. Anyone familiar with how I walk? Kicking my heels back towards each other? A full 16 inches or so of my pant legs were soaked.....my socks were soaked through, AND my shoes. My legs were dripping on the trains I think....lol. But I felt so lively once it began to really rain. The air felt lighter--I hadn't even realized I was still suffering from the humidity.
Okay, so I'll explain Kaiyukan now that I've tempted you all with the wonderful foreign name. Kaiyukan is one of the world's largest aquarium's. It has 8 floors, and I think all but 2 or 3 are open to the public to see the animals (2 are gift shops and entrance/exit, so i kind of think the bottom/basement must be staff space and supplies and such).
Kaiyukan had two whale sharks in one of its tanks. They were very impressive! There were also dolphins that splashed around and flirted with everybody, and these great ugly round fish called Sunfish. Ooh they had a capybara from the Amazon (no piranhas) and a great big iguana. They had hammerhead and tiger sharks, and some really freaky looking fish. I.E. fish I wouldn't swim with because looking at them, and how big they were, just made me think of the story about that river in India where catfish have been found to eat people who cross the river because people tossed partially cremated bodies into the water .....
It's too bad photos at aquariums are notoriously hard to take. The water and glass makes most pictures blurry, and the animals don't exactly stop swimming and pose. It was a lot of fun tho! Lunch sucked, but its not like there's a lot of choice at the rest areas in the middle of the aquarium. Greasy, greasy food.
When we finished with the aquarium we discovered that it was pouring cats and dogs out of the sky. So we pulled out our umbrellas and walked over to the ferris wheel--which each booth is covered. And up we went 112.5 meters into the sky. We were looking down on the huge double-decker suspension bridge and the harbor and that huge aquarium. EVERYTHING but the sky was below us---okay in the distance some skyscrapers might measure up, but they were far enough away that they didn't appear to. It was a lot of fun. It was kind of funny standing up on the thing and watching the others glare when the ferris wheel rocked......If I can't see air beneath my feet or a really steep drop, I love heights.....lol. Okay I hate the clicking of roller coasters, but going upside down is fun....
And then because it was still absolutely pouring we slipped into a mall that was right next to the ferris wheel. There was a store dedicated to Hayao Miyazaki's works---all really expensive of course. And a ninja store. No, I didn't buy anything. I can't really think where I'd put a second katana in my room. Short of buying a whole wall rack, but I'd rather collect memories than collect swords I'll never use. Eventually we decided it was time to head back to the subway.
I like the train better than the subway I think---it comes more often. But to get to the correct train station, that would get us to the line that would take us back to Hirakata (where my school is) we had to dun-dun-dun use the subway! Lol. It wasn't too terribly confusing, just a lot of transfers. At one transfer we walked out, following a sign to a shrine we decided to see, and found ourselves not at a shrine but at the Osaka Castle garden----Osaka Castle is a huge complex, and we found ourselves at nearest edge of it to the aquarium (i think). It was uhm....funny. Let's go with that. I'd say pretty but.....we didn't see a lot. It was too late to bother going into the castle and really to go in we should have gone one more stop on the subway. So we wandered around, made it back to Hirakata where I said goodbye---I wasn't going to go hang at the dorms when I was already at the train station I needed.
So the locations in Osaka I know that I want to go: Osaka Castle, I want to see the ferris wheel again with clear skies. I also want to see Kyoto and Nara, and a beach. Even if I don't swim, I want to see a beach here. I want to see Tokyo, but I'm still working on plans for that. So late, I know! Because there was no point asking when I was sick and without a group to go, and now that I think I've got the second part worked out, I have to ask--I think I'm well enough to ask, since I was allowed out to play yesterday! Yatta! well, maybe.
I was kind of laughing inside at how long the line for the bus was....goodness there were probably 100 people in line for buses away from Hirakata station.....and thats a LOW guess. Yeah, a lot of people get on teh train, but its never that crowded when I've been on, and theres more cars to a train than there is room in a bus.
Maybe its not so bad having to commute an hour each way daily.
~Jessica
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