Adventures in Kansai , part 1 - Osaka

The Kansai region is the second most populated area of Japan after the Kanto (Tokyo) region, with the three main cities of Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe all within about 30 minutes train ride of each other. As I had a week off work in October I decided to take the bullet train for the two and half hour ride from Tokyo to Osaka and spend a week in the region. I've been to this area three or four times before, so as well as enjoying some familiar places I already knew I also wanted to discover a few new places. My hotel was a "business hotel" - in reality a cheap, slightly shabby hotel with tiny rooms. Quite what is "business" orientated about it I don't know, but it seems to be a name they use in Japan for a certain type of low price hotel with the bare minimum of facilities.

Osaka is a vibrant, noisy and colourful city. Similar to Tokyo, I suppose, but also with it's own feel. One of the famous things to eat here is takoyaki, which you can buy at street stalls over the city. They are octopus fried in little balls which are then slathered in mayonnaise and other sauces and eaten with little cocktail sticks.

The takoyaki places are easily visible due to the often very large and ornate octopus signs and decorations hanging above the premises.

In fact, the shops and restaurants in Osaka do have some amazingly eye-catching facades, with extraordinary fibre-glass creations such as dragons, giant crabs with moving pincers, huge cartoon faces all competing for the attention of passersby.

you see sights like a ferris wheel on top of a building, or a giant 30 foot red whale in a shopping mall.

It's quite a crazy place, good fun, but it can get tiring. If you're not into city life then Osaka is really not for you. If that's the case then one good thing about Osaka is that peace and tranquility, and a more traditional Japanese way of life, isn't too far away.