只今! After two years, we’re back in Osaka! Just a two day trip from Shanghai and we’re in the Aqua Metropolis again – the Anti-Capital, the town where dodgy areas are other cities shopping areas, all in all a wild place.

This sounds familiar, the boys are back in town. And coming back to Osaka or to Japan in general feels a bit like coming home by now. Hearing all those sounds (beeping, jingles and announcements EVERYWHERE!), seeing the familiar sights and drinking Calpis. It’s like we’ve never been away.

Of course we stayed in our tatami mat hotel room (unfortunately still without the great breakfast from our first visit), just to add a bit more to the familiarity. But we just crashed in Osaka this time for we wanted to travel the north of Japan. Of course we explored the neighborhood anyway (as in geocaching), visited the “shrines” of Billiken – the god of things as the should be – and went for some food. We met up with Maija and Kim to go to a local Teppanyaki restaurant (鉄板焼き, where they cook and serve food on a big hot iron plate) we could recommend. Also we showed them the Glico man, which is a must-see in Osaka (or so they say) and got Kakigōri (かき氷, shaved ice with syrup toppings) for dessert. That completed our adventures with Maija and Kim, but we might meet again in Tokyo for the fireworks.

Actually those were our activities in Osaka. On the next day we were out for some bunnies!