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Zoom zoom to Osaka
As we passed Hiroshima the amusingly named Mazda Zoom Zoom Stadium (for Hiroshima is their home town) was filled to capacity with fans of their beloved Carp baseball team. More lights at Osaka after I emerged from the subway at Namba, after transferring off the Shinkansen. Dotombori Street and Shinsaibashi Suji were filled with Asian… Read more
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Snow-saka
Tiny white flecks dancing through the air, up, down, all around. They land on our jacket, our hair, then disappear. Snow! We laugh with delight at this wonderful sight. When I gazed out of the hotel room this morning was greeted by a view across the South of Osaka. The sky was blue with scattered… Read more
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Rusty Waters and Terrific Toys
When demanding to return to Japan Alex insisted on onsens. The Kansai area is not particularly well known for its onsens, but I did find that one of Japan’s most ancient onsens does lie close by at Arima, just over the mountains from Kobe and that it has retained a reputation as a well preserved… Read more
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The saga is complete
I think I’ve finally done it. I’ve travelled along all the public lengths of the Sanin line. Didn’t I complete that last trip? No, there was one stretch, an old stretch no longer traversed by normal trains, that remained. And now I’ve ridden along it. The photo that won me the Jetstar voucher that paid… Read more
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Showers, sharks and shabu shabu
Kansai International Airport was barely open when we emerged from immigration. All of us felt grimy and smelly from the long flights and humid stops. A land side lounge provided 15 minutes of showers and an hour of shower room use for about $5 a pop. I didn’t know how to use 15 minutes of… Read more