Hey guys! It's Chika!

Welcome to the Japanagos Channel!

Today, I want to share with you guys

a little bit about my trip to Osaka

that I took last month.

Osaka is the third largest city in Japan

and about a 2 and a half hour bullet train ride

from Tokyo.

A lot of people already know about Kyoto and Tokyo,

and Osaka is kind of the new tourist spot for Japan.

I got to go there for work last month

and since it was my first time,

I decided to do some exploring!

a two and half hour bullet train ride from Tokyo,

that's not very far.

I could definitely take a day trip there,

but when you get there,

it's like you've entered another country!

Osaka is famous for being "hade." （派手）

"Hade" means extravagant,

but it can also be used to describe things

that are too flashy, gaudy, or even tacky.

You will never see displays like that in Tokyo!

Maybe some parts. Maybe a few things,

but every restaurant, every store, every shop

has a huge display outside!

Here's a dragon behind me.

That's one big sushi and a huge hand

coming out of that window!

Everything is just so flashy, so crazy,

so bright!

If you think that Tokyo has a lot of neon lights,

wait till you come to Osaka!

Another thing that's very different about Osaka

how the people are.

My first night there, I had a meet-up with

my chika-tomos (chika-friends) from the Kansai area.

They're very open, they're very friendly.

They've got this merchant spirit so they're very direct.

but not in a way that makes you feel bad.

People in Osaka don't sugarcoat things,

they don't beat around the bush.

That makes things a lot easier I think, in a way.

I feel like, living in the states for so long,

that if you came straight from the states

it would actually be a really comfortable place.

but coming from Tokyo,

I've lived in Tokyo for 7 years now

So I'm used to the Tokyo ways.

which is like...

Everyone is kind of cold,

there's a bit of distance between everyone.

and the way you say things is kind of roundabout.

I don't know if you guys have ever heard this term,

but there's a term called "nori ga ii."

This is used to describe people or a person.

This means that they are

always wiling to go along with anything.

"nori" means ride,

and "ii" means good.

so good ride. like they're good riders.

They'll ride on, get on with everything.

and people in Kansai (or kansai-jin)

are known for being "nori ga ii."

Aside from all of the awesome people,

another great thing about Osaka

is all of the delicious local specialties!

like kushikatsu!

Kushikatsu Daruma.

It's a chain. They've got them everywhere in Osaka.

but it's okay!

It's my first time here, so let's try something typical.

Kushikatsu is an Osaka meibutsu (名物)

or local specialty.

They're deep fried skewers,

anything from meat to seafood to veggies.

They're well-battered, lightly breaded,

and fried to perfection!

And with their wide selection of

non-mean, non-seafood ingredients,

it's a great vegetarian option as well.

Satsumaimo (さつまいも) This is yam.

It's my favorite!

satsumaimo no kushikatsu

Oishii (delicious)

I might have had one skewer too many.

chotto tabesugichatta kamo (I might have eaten too much)

The third day, I hung out with my friends from

the Wrecking Crew Orchestra.

who I met in Australia,

they're the cool guys that do the light performances.

They're actually from Osaka,

so I met up with them and

they gave me a tour of the area.

We met up in the morning

and took the water bus to Osaka Castle or Osaka-jyo.

Osaka-jyo is one of the three great castles of Japan.

along with Kumamoto-jyo and Nagoya-jyo.

It completed in the late 1590's

and was built to be the center of a new unified Japan

ruled by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

In other words, it was THE castle at the time,

built very strategically,

with massive stone walls,

and multiple moats making it very challenging

for the enemies during battle.

But the castle has been reconstructed

a number of times since then.

and the last time was in 1997,

when they made it a bit too modern

with an elevator right outside it.

wheelchair accessible, which is really, really nice,

but kind of odd

that there's an elevator going up to the castle.

Inside is this museum

with historical documents, artworks,

and old battle uniforms.

But there's nothing left of the original interior

nor anything that resembles it.

I think they modernized it a bit too much.

It's almost a bit tacky.

I wouldn't go as far as to say

don't go in, it's not worth it,

but the highlight of the visit

is definitely seeing the castle from outside,

and walking around the beautiful park.

Oh, and if you're there in the winter,

don't forget to get some yaki-imo (焼きいも）

or baked sweet potato

because they are so good

and they warm you right up!

It's like dessert!

OMG, it is so sweet!

After teasing our appetites

with the delicious yaki-imo,

we were ready for a full meal!

So we decided to go eat okonomiyaki!

Yup, they're dancers!

Okonomiyaki is another Osaka meibutsu.

It's like a savory pancake with chopped up cabbage,

and other customizable ingredients.

"okonomi" means preference or as you like it,

so you pick all of your favorite things,

and they'll make it as you like it!

Itadakimasu!

atsusou! (looks hot!)

Our last stop of the day

was a place called Tsutenkaku.

It's a small observatory tower

inspired by the Eiffel Tower

in an area called Shinsekai (New World).

Shinsekai was built in 1912

inspired by the cityscapes of New York and Paris.

There hasn't been much development since then,

and it's been known as the sketchy area in Osaka.

Now, we're going to go up to the top of the tower!

This Tsutenkaku tower was seriously

the strangest place!

It was supposedly modeled after the Eiffel Tower,

but inside was a candyland,

a hallway full of gacha-gacha machines,

a manga exhibit,

and statues of Billiken,

a charm doll invented by an American

art teacher in Kansas City, Missouri.

or perhaps, better known as the official mascot

of St. Louis University.

So Billiken was introduced to Japan

in the Meiji Period.

and became a really popular character.

Around the same time,

an amusement park called Luna Park

was built in this Shinsekai area,

and a statue of Billiken was put there.

and since then

he's become kind of a symbol

of the New World (Shinsekai) area