Korea-Japan, Day Thirteen: Osaka

We decided to stay in Osaka today, and while my friends went on a meat binge for breakfast I decided to take the opportunity for more walking, sightseeing and aimless wandering.

I roamed about our hotel, the Kita area, and then headed out to Osaka Castle. Although this wasn't a patch on yesterday's Himeji, it was still nice to watch the crowds spend a lazy Sunday in the castle grounds with their family and friends. Walking back, I passed by a riverside park with more of the same, but with live music playing alongside BBQs a-cooking. Unfortunately I had left my music and book at the hotel, otherwise I could have easily spent an hour or so hanging out.

After returning to the hotel to meet my by then well fed friends, we transferred to our second Osaka hotel in the Minami area. The Cross was another boutique hotel and I was glad to ride out the remainder of my time in Japan in style. We're ideally located too, mere seconds from the buzzing Dotombori.

After a brief rest we headed out to Minami. We visited the electic district of Den Den Town, walked up and down Dotombori and passed by Amerikamura, all the time lapping up the atmosphere. This afternoon was (finally) more about experiencing vibe than sightseeing and as such served as a winding up of the holiday as a whole.