Tuesday, March 10, 2009

its a mini vacation!

osaka.
me, makensie & anthea eating takoyaki.
i am a firm believer that, if you start out the first couple days of the month with love & vollgenuss, the rest of the month will follow suit. with this in mind, its impossible for this march to be an even slightly bad month due to an unbelievable adventure in osaka with my lovely friends (makensie & anthea) on the 1st & 2nd. although we only had two days, we managed to fully pack our schedule with plenty of excitement. i'll share with you only a few places, which have forever impressed my memory & that i hope each of you will one day explore yourself! 

the infamous dotonbori street.  please believe me when i say: you've never seen anything like this.  we spent hours meandering about the busy, pedestrian street, which runs parallel to the osaka canal. neon signs & illuminated, enormous sea creatures adorned every square inch of each building, which lined the street. venders selling delicious okonomiyaki & takoyaki competed against each other on each corner while souvenir shops displayed copious cell phone charms & sweets. yes, this street is 
complete insanity, but not at all unbearable or exhausting. i can't wait to go back.

the osaka castle was just as incredible, but in a completely different light. its grounds, which are spread over a vast 15 acres (huge for japan), include plum gardens, zen gardens & walking paths. the actual tower is enclosed by a moat & is only accessible by crossing a beautiful, traditional bridge. once we got to the base of the actual castle, i was enamored by its size & historical significance--where i stood,over 700 years ago thousands of samurai fought for the unification of japan. crazy!

finally, the "HEP 5" ferris wheel  was thrilling for me, scary for makensie & glorious for anthea. this amusement park ride has, by far, the best arial view of osaka. not only is the ride huge in itself, but its located on top of a seven story building! it was the best ferris wheel i've ever been on. 

<------here's a picture of the ferris wheel from the street





here's a picture of anthea & makensie boarding the ride. we were so excited!--->


here's the view of osaka from the very top of the ferris wheel. do you see the hand drawn map in the bottom left hand corner? it was pretty much a work of art, & i loved it! of course i tried to peel it off, but it didn't budge. :)

5 comments:

Rose said...

Leah,
Wonderful and beautiful. Love. Mom

Anthea said...

YAY! A post! Great one I miss it already! Birthday party next weekend!

TMFA said...

That looks crazy cool!
I have always wanted to go to Japan and this post sure reinforces that feeling :)

Living Loving Life

hideGF said...

oh you had great mini vacation in Osaka!
Osaka is the most exciting area in Japan. so I think you might very very tired but also very enjoyed, I found it so in your pictures.

Julia said...

I love these pictures. Very beautiful!