You know you:re somewhere special when your favorite place to be is the bathroom, and not for any of the wrong reasons. Did I mention the heated toilet seats?
I:m being treated like a queen here in Osaka, it:s no joke. For the second night in a row, my aunty knocked on the door to tell me the bath was ready- internal sensors that pipe in more hot water when it starts to cool down...
Overall, I:ve had really great experiences meeting people on the road. People have been kind and hospitable, have invited me into their homes with no reservations, shared food, stories and had many a laugh. All this despite language barriers, age and cultural differences.
And now, meeting my relatives for the first time has just been unbelievable. And to get along with them so well.
They are my mother:s cousins. They took me all around Osaka today- I was the one who ended up falling asleep in the bus on the way from the castle to Namba shopping district, and again on the train on the way home. They were so gracious, so patient.
We went to the aquarium and looked at the fishes. Whale sharks and manta rays. Sea otters, penguins and jellyfish. There was a huge ferris wheel. The manta ray was pretty cool. He had another fish stuck to him. Swimming in a constant vortex, around and around. Why do the sun fish look so - unfinished? Like a glob of playdoh smushed up. And they look at you like they want to say something, blinking their eyes. They are the heaviest known bony fish in the world. They have an average adult weight of 1,000 kg.
Namba shopping district was awesome- I:ll be going back there tomorrow to check out the clothes in, ahem, greater detail. The girls here are all wearing a similar fashion- a short loose dress over tights or thigh high socks, and knee high boots. I already have the dress part...
We had famous Okinawa food for dinner- Okinoyomi. Special to the Osaka region. They bring this delicious potato mash up and it fries up in front of you on the table like in teppanyaki but way more casual. Also some smoked oyster with noodles thing and an eggy pancake with arugula and octopus to dip in ponzu sauce. Wow! Dessert was azuki bean cake and corn tea. I can:t wait for tomorrow!