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  • minasan, konnichiwa. chika desu!

  • 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

  • and this observatory tower.

  • Don't forget to rub his feet for good luck!

  • On my last day in Osaka,

  • I decided to go visit Sumiyoshi Taisha.

  • Right now, I've come to Sumiyoshi Taisha.

  • This is a famous Shinto shrine in Osaka.

  • This place is really, really old.

  • It's been around since the 3rd century.

  • Alright, let's go in!

  • So this Sumiyoshi-style architecture that you see,

  • is said to be the oldest in the history of Shinto shrines.

  • It was built before Chinese influence,

  • and therefore, is known to be a purely Japanese

  • architecture style.

  • The place was just really amazing,

  • and really different,

  • I was there for like over 2 and a half hours

  • just taking pictures and filming.

  • I'm sure it gets really, really crazy for hatsumode

  • at the beginning of the year.

  • So I came at a good time.

  • I prayed and

  • did my nenmatsumode (end of the year shrine-visit)

  • at Sumiyoshi Taisha in Osaka.

  • So there you have it!

  • My first ever trip to Osaka!

  • I had so much fun!

  • and even though a lot of the places I visited

  • were typical tourist destinations,

  • I hope that you were able to kind of get a feel

  • for what Osaka is like

  • and how it's different from Tokyo.

  • Tokyo is pretty crazy too,

  • but...I don't know,

  • the displays, the signage, the posters

  • a lot more extravagant and colorful.

  • Kind of tacky from a Tokyo perspective I guess,

  • but it works here in Osaka.

  • Everyone is so friendly here

  • and I feel so much more comfortable filming

  • in Osaka than I do in Tokyo.

  • I feel like in Tokyo, people look at me funny.

  • The bags under my eyes are terrible!

  • but forgive me.

  • If I talk like this, you can't see.

  • so yes, you can look up my nose.

  • Even though our country is smaller

  • than the state of California,

  • we've got so many different cultures

  • within our tiny, little country.

  • and when you compare Tokyo and Osaka,

  • it is very, very different.

  • I mean, just coming from Tokyo,

  • it's kind of a culture shock.

  • So if you came from outside of Japan,

  • you'd have so much fun

  • looking at all of the crazy things.

  • There's so much more to it,

  • I couldn't possibly show you guys in a 10min video,

  • but I hope that this video gave you

  • some of the highlights

  • and made you want to go visit

  • Osaka for yourself someday.

  • Let me know what part of Osaka

  • you found most interesting in my video.

  • or if there's something else you want to see

  • or something else you want to know about Osaka,

  • let me know, so I can find out for you next time!

  • because I definitely plan on visiting again!

  • Alright guys, I hope you enjoyed this video.

  • and I will see you guys again soon!

  • See ya!

minasan, konnichiwa. chika desu!

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