Good morning guys from Japan.

From Japan.

So this is our first full day here.

Yes.

We arrived last night absolutely knackered.

Jet lagged.

So we ended up sleeping in.

Like we had two different sleeps.

Like we woke up in the middle of the night we were on our computers and now we needed

a second sleep and now it is like almost 10 am.

Ten thirty?

I think it is 10 in the morning.

Yeah.

So we're like a little bit confused.

A little bit dazed but we figured let's go get some food.

Yes.

This is going to be brunch I guess.

Brunch.

And the plan today is to just wander around.

Yeah.

See what Osaka is all about.

Yeah, basically this is going to be our first impressions of Japan.

First impressions of Japan.

Our first full day here in Japan.

There we go.

Super excited.

Let's get it started.

Food!

So this is something that I'm finding interesting already.

In this street you have these vending machines just put in some coinage.

Yeah and they are everywhere.Get yourself a drink.

They are everywhere.

And it looks like cold drinks.

I wonder if these are heated.

No those are cold coffees.

Cold coffees.

Yeah.

There you go but I think we need something more substantial.

I could probably use a cold coffee with a big infusion of caffeine.

A jolt.

This isn't a bad idea if you are like on your way to work.

Yeah.

And you are running late you just grab a coffee from here.

Especially if you don't have time to brew one at home you just grab a cold coffee to

go.

Look.

With lots of caffeine.

There is black and cafe au lait.

Interesting.

We are also just noticing a lot of people riding their bikes which for me is so unusual

to see in a city.

I would expect everyone to get around by metro but no you see people in like business suits

riding their bikes.

People doing groceries riding their bikes.

And there is lots of bike racks as well so I think this is a common mode of transportation.

Pretty cheap as well.

So when we first arrived like we did a little walk around our neighborhood and we didn't

see a grocery store nearby just some convenience stores but look it is right here.

We found it.

And Sam loves a supermarket.

So here we go.

Something called Sokanbicha.

This looks interesting.

So what did we get?

Alright so we've decided to eat at family mart because the restaurants were just not

open.

We walked around for a while.

Yeah and it is always fun to eat at a convenience store.

So we're going to have what we thought we were having last night.

Remember the pork cutlet that turned out to be fish.

This should be pork cutlet.

Yeah.

With melted cheese.

Right.

And then we got some sushi.

So this looks really good too.

And some tea.

This is Oolong tea.

And all 3 of those came to just over a thousand Yen which is actually slightly under ten US

dollars.

Okay let's try this.

So opening this up.

It looks so nice and warm.

And something else I found just now guys.

Oh wow.

A second container.

So it doesn't get soggy.

They separate the rice from the meat.

So you can decide how to eat them.

Interesting.

So I'm going to grab a little rice.

Oh wow.

It is thick.

Thick on there.

Okay.

Grab a bit of that.

Working those chopsticks.

Mmmm.

It has got a bit of a sweet sauce.

Yeah lots of gravy on it.

Yeah.

It is really good.

Have it with a bit of rice.

Mmmm.

It is going to be a good lunch.

Good stuff.

Alright guys.

Time for sushi.

This was my pick.

When in Japan.

When in Japan.

Mmmm.

A one biter.

A one biter.

This is pretty good for convenience store sushi.

Yeah.

I'm really liking it.

Are you?

Mmmhmm.

Wow.

Okay so now that we've had some food we are just walking to the metro station.

And we are thinking of visiting Osaka Castle because why not.

Okay so here we go.

First press the English button.

Ticket.

I think it is subway.

Oh one ticket.

Uh huh.

Then you press which line is it on?

Good question.

Oh we are on the Nagohori line.

Okay.

But I can't find it.

Haha.

This is interesting.

Haha.

We have finally figured out our mistake.

We need to put money in first.

So let's try this again.

A big problem is like I have lots of Canadian coins.

Very smart.

Not my smartest moment.

Okay so hopefully here we go again.

English.

Ticket.

One ticket.

Subway.

And now it says please insert money.

No the coins go in there.

Oh right here.

Yeah.

Oh yes it is working.

They take 10s.

They take 50s.

Oh and this is how we figure out the price.

It says here 230.

There we go.

So the price is right here.

Now we know.

Now we know how it works.

We figured it out.

Oh my gosh.

It is actually pretty simple.

Watch this.

This is going to make our lives so much easier.

This should be the exact amount.

There you go.

Look and then you can press over here.

This is the fare button.

230.

Check that out guys.

Excellent so we've got a ticket for one person.

We've got a ticket.

Now we're going to do the whole thing again.

So when it comes to buying tickets we also have this massive map and shows you the fare

for each station.

Because based on where you are going you pay a certain price and it is all in Japanese

but it is also number coated so then when you come over here you find your stations

name and there is also a little number next to it.

For example we are going to Osaka Business Park N21.

Osaka Castle.

Prrr.

Is that a purring cat?

Haha.

It is or a pigeon.

Haha.

Anyways continuing with first impressions we've made it to the park.

Yeah.

What is a it called?

Osaka Castle Park.

Yes.

Osaka Castle Business Park that is where we got off.

That is where it is.

Um but yeah something we've noticed is that it is very quiet here.

Yeah.

Not just in the park but the city in general.

We noticed there is very little noise pollution.

Yeah.

Like even when people are out and about no one is being rowdy.

Everyone is just soft spoken and there is a sense of tranquility even though we're in

a big city.

Yeah that is really true.

I don't know why I was expecting it to be more busy and crowded.

Yeah.

But it has been kind of a nice surprise so far.

I mean we are heading to Tokyo soon and I'm sure we'll get our dose of that.

Our impressions may change.

Yes.

It will definitely be more crowded there.

But yeah so far it has been quieter.

I've also noticed um like I don't think we are experiencing as much culture shock as

someone who has never been to Asia before would in Japan.

Yes.

Because we have spent considerable time in Korea and Taiwan, Hong Kong.

I've been to Shanghai.

So there is definitely some similarities.

Mmmhmm.

But um so far we are loving it.

We are loving the nature too.

There is a lot of green spaces.

Yes.

I even noticed in some back alleys while we were walking this morning that people were

like tending to little gardens and things.

Like even in like areas where there doesn't even appear to be any space for these gardens

but you just notice a lot of greenery.

Pockets.

Yeah.

Just little Oasis.

Oasises?

Oasis.

Yeah.

I don't think that is a word.

Probably not.

Haha.

Anyways we've been really enjoying it so far and yeah this is just the start.

The update is we are going back to the apartment for a little nap.

And then we'll head out later in the afternoon.

I'm not sure what we'll do yet.

We made it to Co Co Curry.

We sure did.

And they have a very extensive menu.

Like it was they have the classic ones like with the pork cutlet.

The chicken and beef.

Then they have all of these like variations too.

Which is interesting.

Hot dogs.

There was a burger that was oozing out cheese.

There is fried chicken.

I forget where that one is.

Yeah.

Look at all of these different ones.

You can even go vegetables if you want.

Yes.

And this is the Japanese curry not an Indian curry.

And this is something I really want to point out.

It is really really cool.

Is you can choose the amount of rice you want.

Yeah.

So this is the base rice.

300 grams.

But if you are hungry you can go for 400g.

Super hungry 500g.

And it shows the price increase.

Yeah.

And so I'm being a little mindful of my belly so I actually went down a level.

My is -51 to get 200 grams.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And then you can also choose your spice.

Oh yeah you sure can.

So if you want to spice it up you pay extra but they have up to level 10 spice.

That must be insane.