Osaka

This week started pretty much on Thursday (November 21, 2013) morning. Tina and I were on our way to Osaka, Japan. The trip started rough because we got the Ewha Station for the airport when I remembered I forgot my passport. I ran back to my dorm and picked it up. It was almost smooth sailing to the airport being the last call for check-in on our flight. We made the flight!

We arrived in Osaka airport, and we had some struggles trying to get to our hostel because Osaka Public/ Private transit is not bumpin! After some struggle like bullshit, we finally arrived at our hostel, and we dropped off our entire luggage, and we were ready to go and eat some Japanese food! We dined in this hole-in-the-wall where they served curry udon, which was delicious. I loved every bite!

We walked around the Osaka Castle, and discussed how dead Osaka felt compared to the vibrant life of Seoul. After some walking, we met up with Julian (one of my friend I met in Seoul, who lives in Osaka). He took us to Kyobashi Station, where we enjoyed a sushi dinner on a conveyer belt. Let me tell you, a piece of fish over rice could not taste better in Osaka! In Kyobashi Station, the nightlife of Osaka seemed a little more vibrant, but nothing compared to Seoul just yet. We were tired from all the walking and we had a long day the next day.

We got back to our hostel and sat in the common area when things are about to turn up for real! These two Australian boys walked into the common room, and we hit it off right away. Michael and Lachlan are going to be our new travel/nightlife buddy.

Tina and I woke up the next day, and we ventured off to Osaka Castle and saw the amazing view of Osaka. After the castle, we went to Namba and Shinsabashi to get in the food and the shopping! People are made of money I swear! From the food and shopping, we took the subway to the Floating Garden, which we had a really hard time finding. We finally got to the Float Garden and made our wishes on the stars and saw some Christmas lights. I really thought about how good my life was, and how blessed and how fortunate I am to be standing upright with my head held high, and having the time of my life.

We were done with a garden, and we headed back home to our hostel! It was time to see if the Aussies and the Americans can play together. We messaged them to go fuck shit up at 10:30pm. I brought along another a mate in my room to join us to see if more is merrier. We pregamed with some delicious Strong peach juice, which was delicious let me tell you. So freaking good! We went to hit up Namba and see what the party life is like in Osaka. We started out in front of 7/11 to get some cash money and more drinks! I knocked out 4 of those peach-flavored Strong drinks in less than an hour… I’m going to regret that later… We all went into a bar, which I do not know the name of, and we got our drink tickets went for a whiskey shot! As usual I did my dancing and twerking as the Japanese people looked at me with confusion… Is this bitch Miley Cyrus? Next thing I know I woke up in the bed of my hostel. Shit.

So Saturday (November 23, 2013), I woke up at 9:30 am, and Tina and I were on our way to Kyoto by 11:00am. I was so hung over it was unreal, but I toughened up and we did some serious touring around Kyoto! It didn’t take too long; it was about a 40-minute subway ride to Kyoto from Osaka Station. From there we got a little too late for us to rent bikes, which was a little disappointing at because Michael (Limmy) and Lachlan told us you can bike all around Kyoto. After taking a nice, long stroll to the Fushimi Inari Shrine, which took about 30 minutes, I figured it is really good that we didn’t rent the bike… Kyoto is bigger than you think. The shrine was amazing the orange pillars following the trail to the top, which we didn’t get to the top of because of the rigorous journey to the mountain itself. It was very pretty, and from there, we went to the Kyoto station to get to one more destination, which was the Golden Pavilion. We didn’t have much time to see it but I did get some good picture! The pavilion made of gold; it sat on a lake and with the reflection, it was very nice to see. From the bus rides and train rides, Tina and I devised a plan to take this Gold Pavilion, so we don’t have to study anymore and be rich with gold! Tina also filled me in on the night because due to memory loss from too much alcohol too fast. It wasn’t much, but we concluded that we don’t like the random that joined Tina, Lachlan, Michael, and me last night.

On our way back to the station, reality hit that we have not eaten today, and we don’t have a place to sleep tonight or tomorrow night… We need Wi-Fi fast so we can figure this out. We got to the mall and first things firsts, lets eat, and we stood in line for what seemed to be an eternity for this pork cutlet place. It was all worth it really after we sat down ordered three full meals and devoured them all in matter of seconds because it was absolutely delicious! It was sooooooooo freakin good! The cutlet, shrimp, and everything else were so juicy and delicious, and we were hungry! After a delicious meal, it was only right that Tina and I topped it off with a nice desert! We had some a chocolate ice cream with brownies. After the itis sat in, Tina and I went to Starbucks and sure enough Michael and Lachlan contacted us to go out, so we agreed! They told us to meet them at the hotel they booked and we can crash at their place because we didn’t have a place to sleep! How nice! (I know this might sound creepy, but if you knew these guys you would be like damn they are too cool!) We arrived to their room in about 2 hours, and we were ready to how I put it, “Fuck shit up”.  We took the JR Line to Namba station again just like last night, but this time we were looking for a more hoppin club! We went to a place Michael knew about called Giraffe, and indeed, it was more hoppin! We started with couple tequila and whiskey shots! We were drunk, and it was great! No responsibilities. No consequences. No ambition. I felt great! I’m partying in Osaka. This all came to a halt when at 2 A.M. Giraffe was closing, and they were making people leave… I wasn’t in Seoul anymore that’s for sure. Michael was talking to a girl, and to be good wingmen, we all talked him up a bit, and left him to do his thing! Lachlan, Tina, and I decided McDonalds sounds really good about now. We devoured 4 orders of large fries, and when we were done, Michael came back. We decided it was too soon to call it a night; we headed over to the place I still don’t know the name of that we went to on Friday night. The place was still deadish, but we made the best of it! We came back home in the morning and passed out! When we woke up at around 10 am, Michael was missing… We stayed in the room for a minute waiting to see if he would stroll back in; he didn’t. We started getting concerned, and we decided to look for him. Let’s go to Namba! So the Osaka Subway to Namba is not easy let me tell you! We went back and forth Namba station like 3 times before we got on the right train to the station. We still couldn’t contact him, so we figured we could eat while we wait for him to message us. We had some Ramon noodles, which were again delicious. By the time we were done eating and checked our phones with a hotel Wi-Fi in Namba, Limmy messaged us. We told him where we were and he met us here, so we could take Tina back to the airport. On the ride to the airport, we asked Limmy where we were, and he said, “No worries man, I was just getting some money out!” Well at least he wasn’t missing any organs or handcuffed to a bedpost…

After we left Tina at the airport, the boys and I came back, got some tempura, and catnapped so we could “Fuck shit up” one last time before all of us left Osaka.  We headed out to Giraffe one more time! (Side note: You can only get to Namba station easily if you have a drink in your hand.) We got to Giraffe again, and we started hard. We had couple whiskey shots, and we were dancing around talking to everyone! Lachlan told Limmy and I that there is an upstairs and that we should check it out! We go up and that’s when it gets really exciting! We go up and get more whiskey shots in us; now we are fucking brave! We dance and talk to everyone even the Yakuzas! They were tatted up and buying us drinks and we drank it all! Man we were drunk! Lachlan and I knew that the only way to cure this madness is to get McDonalds fries… We ventured out and bought 6 fries and shared it between the two of us! Unlike yesterday, Michael did not come and joined us when we were done. Once again, we lost Limmy. Lachlan and I ran up and down Namba yelling “Limmy”, when a Japanese girl asked if our friend was white! Yes, so she took us to him. He was face down on the stairs leading up to a random restaurant. He had already puked, and Limmy was cold, so being the awesome guy that I am, I took off my shirt and put it on his back… It was only a T-Shirt, so he was still cold… I could not stop laughing at the situation. Limmy is in misery while Lachlan and I are trying to convince him that he is okay to go to another club! Limmy insisted that if he sees a light, he would hurl; it was late anyways, and were tired, so we carried Limmy home.

We woke up the next day got all packed, and we said our good-byes! Lachlan will be in India when I’m in Australia, but Michael, I better see you in Melbourne! I came home, and that is my Osaka trip