In any case...
IN THE LAST EPISODE:
Lauren ventured out by train, braving neatly dressed women, crying children, and suit-clad sexual harassers, and arrived in the concrete jungle of Osaka, Japan. After serving justice on a side street, she proceeded to Nara, where she battled with the Holy Deer. With the blessings of the Giant Buddha, the deer were stripped of their horns -- and there was much rejoicing as peace once again reigned in the Kansai region of Japan...
AS THE STORY CONTINUES...
The night that we returned from Nara was relatively uneventful. I went to the central shopping streets to meet up with my friends from Amakusa -- coincidentally ALSO in Osaka for new year's -- and ate dinner there. As I was on my way to the train, I stopped in at a random bar. It was tiny, but classy. There was a 500 yen cover charge, but once I was in, I figured I may as well stay. I nursed one drink -- a Cuba Libre, which happens to be my drink of choice as of late -- and proceeded to chat up the bartender. There were only about 3 other people at the bar, but they were a group that seemed uninterested in my foreignness. I didn't mind at all.
As I went to leave, the bartender smiled at me and told me the drink was on the house. Turns out he was just a lonely man with poor social skills. That was, quite literally, the reason why he opened the bar in the first place, he confessed. As a child, he couldn't really talk to people because he was always nervous, and he wanted to create a place where others could converse and gather. I think he was happy that someone tried to hold a conversation with him despite his reserved appearance. So next time you go to a bar, talk to that surly bar tender. He may just need a friend!
December 30th
Anyway, the next day was a complete wash-out -- it rained ALL DAY. Since there's not much except for shopping during the day in Osaka, I decided I may as well spend the rainy day in Kobe. I caught an early afternoon train to Kobe, which is only about 30 minutes from Osaka. Regrettably, I couldn't really see much of the city, but it seems like a beautiful place.Kobe is famous for sake, among other things. There are several breweries in an area of Kobe that have been making sake for generations, and most of them offer tours and free sake tastings. I decided "Why not? That's what trains are for!" I went to Kikomasamune, a brewery that has a small museum displaying the items that they use to make sake, and a really helpful English video explaining the process. The method used by Kikomasamune today is the same as it was a long time ago, with the exception of a few more machines. The biggest point, from what I understood, is that they even let the rice create it's own lactic acid, as opposed to introducing foreign lactic acid. Consequently, it takes a lot longer for the sake to be done (about 20-something days for one batch), but the results are worth it. The free sake had a really delicious, clean taste, and I ended up buying Umeshu, which is an alcoholic spirit made from plums. It's sweeter than sake, and I personally like it better.
December 31st
On the day of the 31st, I went to Sumiyoshi Shrine in the early morning. "Great, another shrine," you may think to yourself with waning enthusiasm. "What's so special about it?" you ask. Don't knock it, I tell you. What distinguishes Sumiyoshi Shrine from the rest is its age: estimates date it back to around 200 A.D. As it predates the influx of Chinese culture into Japan, it can be said that Sumiyoshi shrine is an authentically Japanese shrine, its architecture untouched by the influence of the mainland. If you go to any other shrines, and then see Sumiyoshi, you can understand. There are six or so individual shrines on the complex, neatly side-by-side. In particular, the crossed beams are of interest. The tapered tips of most of the buildings indicate the shrine of a male deity, while the horizontal cut of one set of beams indicates the shrine of the only female deity at Sumiyoshi.
There are also three bridges that lead to the entrance of the shrine grounds, round in shape, which is also rare. It's said that you cross the central bridge for good luck.
But back to the story. It just so happens that as I got near the shrine, I couldn't find the entrance. A nice woman with a cute baby hanging in a sling from her front immediately offered help, and we walked around the shrine together. It turned out that her father was the head priest of the shrine, and that it had been in her family for generations! Completely unexpected and welcome surprise, convincing me that for the most part, Osaka people are great.
After the shrine, I returned to my hostel where an old college friend of mine from Osaka came to pick me up. I took him around in the States when he was studying English, so he was my tour-guide for the afternoon! We drove to Arashiyama in Kyoto (about 40 minutes from Osaka). Arashiyama ("Storm Mountain") is a beautiful area of Kyoto. There are still some shrines, but they're more natural, slightly removed from the more touristy albeit stunning shrines. As we descended from the car, he turned to me with a serious expression and said, "Today, we're going to eat a lot." I was confused, but he made sure of his promise. While we walked through the forested area, he proceeded to stop me every 15 minutes or so to eat at some randomly placed stall or restaurant, and thus we ate many small, delicious foods...
 |
| Arashiyama - the Bamboo Forest |
Hot Tofu...
Zenzai: a hot, sweet red-bean soup with pieces of mochi (a sweet, soft, sticky ball made from rice flour).
Beef Croquettes (Somehow, they're crispier here...)
 |
| My friend Ryuto, posing with the croquettes and his man-purse |
Kushikatsu: Literally "stick fry." Osaka is pretty famous for this food as well. There is no documented evidence, since it was consumed too quickly.
As if that weren't enough, as we drove back into Osaka, it struck him that we hadn't eaten Takoyaki, an Osaka staple. Before I knew it, were were parked on a side street just off of a main Osaka thoroughfare, eating mouth-scorching doughy balls filled with octopus in his car.
 |
| Nighttime drive through Osaka |
Had it not been New Year's I would have been ready to throw in the towel and call it a successful day. However, the adventure was not over yet! After being dropped off, I met up with my OTHER awesome college friend. We went to a bar to drink for a while and catch up. The bar, called Lapichu, is co-run by a Japanese man and his Colombian employee. The atmosphere is really fun, and they serve pretty much anything, as well as hookah. My friend and I had planned to catch a train to Tennoji Temple (where my other friends were meeting) for the countdown, but we were so absorbed in talking that we almost missed the 11:30 train! By some miracle, we made it. However, the temple was crowded with people coming to pray before the new year. In looking for my friends, we lost track of time (again!) and barely caught the last 5 minutes of the countdown.
 |
| Tennoji Temple |
 |
| Tennoji with my friend Satoshi |
I then proceeded to wait in line for an hour with my friends to ring the bell. In Japan, it's tradition to ring a shrine bell at new years for luck. It was freezing, below 0 degrees celcius, but we somehow managed to stay alive by playing Shiritori, a Japanese word game where the next word begins with the last syllable of the previous word. Just don't use a word that ends in "n," because then you lose!
NEW YEAR'S DAY
On New Year's day, my friends were dead tired. So, like the travel trooper my mother raised me to be, I set off on my own for Sumiyoshi Shrine once again. THAT again! Yes, that same shrine. Why? Hatsumode. Hatsumode is another New Year's Tradition in Japan. From around January 1 to January 6, people visit shrines to pray for luck and whatnot in the new year. The previous day, I saw what seemed suspiciously like booths being prepared. I was completely unprepared for the mass of people that came to Sumiyoshi, slowly trudging through the crowds to cross the lucky bridge and toss 5 yen coins into the prayer box (5 is supposedly lucky because it's got a hole in the center, representing eternity and continuity, etc.)
 |
| Over the Bridge |
 |
| Omikuji - tied to a fence to dispel the bad luck foretold by the fortune |
 |
| It's the Year of the Snake! Wishes written and tied on wooden plaques |
 |
| Goldfish Scooping! A traditional Japanese game for festivals |
 |
| Dragon Dance outside the shrine gates |
The morning was cold and crisp, and the sunshine was glinting off of the red-orange Tori gates. On the small road leading up to the bridges in front of the shrine, maybe a hundred vendors had set up booths, selling games, stuffed animals, but mostly FOOD. I grabbed my breakfast there -- an interesting "Chinese style" okonomiyaki (at least according to the vendor) and a hot cream Tayaki (a sweet bread in the shape of a fish, traditionally filled with sweet red-bean paste, but now also with chocolate, cream and caramel).
 |
| Vendor street food! |
 | ||||||
| Breakfast I: mini-"Chinese" Okonomiyaki |
 | ||
| Breakfast II: Cream-filled Taiyaki - perfect on a cold day! |
 |
| Sea-shells, anyone? |
Somehow, I was able to call my sister and tell her that the world hadn't ended in the future, although that transmission was short-lived due to the crappy application I was using. After a nice lunch with a Korean girl and a Japanese girl who I met at the hostel, I took a nap and rearranged my things, then set off for the airport in the evening. I had an early flight the next morning, and since my airline had a strict early policy, the owner of the guest house suggested that I sleep at the Manga Cafe in the airport (In Japan, "comic book" cafes offer lockable cubicles and rooms with couches that you can rent by the hour. If you're ever traveling and find yourself without a hotel in the middle of the night, a "Manga Kisa" is your best bet!)
DISCLAIMER: No pictures for the rest, since I was too exhausted to take them from this point in the story.
My flight was in a different terminal, which was in a completely different building than the cafe. While I intended to go back to the manga cafe after checking out my terminal and eating, I was so tired that I didn't feel like catching the bus back. I settled near some of the other waiting passengers, and tried to sleep in the terminal like them...with the music blasting from the cafe behind us. I arrived at around 9 pm, and my flight the next day was at 7 am... needless to say I passed out as soon as the plane took off! Best hour of my life -__-
January 2nd
The plane landed in Fukuoka, where I had to wait get my reimbursement for the ill-fated flight to Tokyo. About to die from sleep deprivation, I managed to drag myself and my luggage to the Shinkansen and train back to Kumamoto city, where I caught the bus to Amakusa. My amazing supervisor from the board of education picked me up at the station and drove me home. Total travel time? Let me not even mention it, since it makes me sad.All in all, my trip to Osaka was an amazing experience. I saw so many things that I hadn't thought to see, and the coolest part was seeing the things I had studied in school up close. There are no words to describe the value of personal experience over textbook/second-hand learning. That's why I encourage you to go anywhere you've had even a remote interest about. I promise, even if it falls short of your expectations, you're bound to experience something incredible along the way!
