Osaka

Friday was the vernal equinox, which is a national holiday in Japan. That gave me a three-day weekend, and I didn't want to waste it. Having been to Tokyo (well, sort of), Nagasaki, Fukuoka, Hiroshima, and Kyoto, I wanted to make one more trip in Japan. I decided to go to Osaka.

I took the last flight to Fukuoka tonight, hoping to take an overnight bus to save on a hotel. However, as I had once again not made any reservations, I couldn't get a spot, and had to buy a Shinkansen ticket. Round-trip fare from Fukuoka to Osaka came to about ¥26,800, which is a bit shy of $300. Not wanting to get a hotel in Fukuoka and deal with catching one of the first trains on the morning of a national holiday, I took one of the last trains that night.

I got off the train at Shin-Osaka at around 11 and began the search for a hotel. As I feared, the first couple of hotels were full. Clearly recalling my experience in Kyoto, I braced myself for an exhausting search in the chilly rainy night. I lucked out, however, and soon found a room at a Toyoko Inn for a wholly reasonable ¥6500.

The next morning, I lay around waiting for a phone call. Ju, the awesome friend who inspired me to join the JET Program, was meeting up with me. She lived in and around Osaka for the better part of three years, and Osaka is right about halfway between her (in Tokyo) and me (in Nagasaki-ish). She arrived at about 10:30, and we headed to Universal City.

I've been horrible at researching my Japanese travel destinations. In fact, I do most of my studying of the places after the fact, as I'm preparing blog entries. Osaka was no different: I knew next to nothing about historical and cultural landmarks in the metropolitan area. The only thing I knew about was also something that made me promise myself to visit Osaka:

Universal Studios Japan.

The idea of visiting an American theme park in Japan is, I know, a little silly. Had it been exactly the same as Universal Orlando, I probably wouldn't have gone. A few years ago, though, they closed my favorite ride in the whole wide world: Back to the Future: The Ride. I figured it was gone forever until I heard whispers of it surviving in Japan. A quick check on Wikipedia proved it: USJ still had it. That sealed the deal for me.

Outside the station, we met up with Lee, Ju's JET successor. Wanting lunch, and figuring food inside the park would be oodles more expensive, we decided to eat before going in. A quick stroll around the City Walk revealed noodle shops, a sushi bar, and... Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. We couldn't resist.

My lunch consisted of a shrimp po' boy, fries, clam chowder, and iced tea (mixed with 5-6 packs of sugar). It took an hour to arrive after we ordered, and the bill came to $20 each. The experience was just like eating outside a theme park back home!