Osaka Palace - Jan 2 2007

After 4 hours of studying Japanese, I felt that it was important to explore outside not to become a hermit. I took my usual path, crossing a river and going West on a big avenue. This time I kept going West for a long time and came accross a restaurant called MOS Burger. Apparently this is the Japanese version of McDonalds and they advertise to have the best coffee and burgers. With some hesitation, I went in and asked them what they suggested... they ordered some kind of cheeseburger with italian sauce. I took it as a trio and the menu was all in Japanese and I felt pressured to order rapidly so I took the first thing I could read on the menu: Orenji Juusu (written in Katakana). THe other ones would have necessitated more examination on my part. The meal came with fries, and it was OK. But I think that for western food, it is better to go to western restaurants and for Japanese food, the Japanese excel (and it only makes sense). After having heard about MOS Burger, I definitely had to try it though. I continued my walk and saw a sign that indicated that the Osaka Palace was 0.3 KM away. I decided to go take a look since it is one of the most important attractions in Osaka. I took some pictures and visited all around the castle, but it was already getting dark and I think I will have better views during the day. I will probably go back on a sunny day, these days are pretty gray. The castle is very imposing and seems to be overlooking the whole of Osaka. You can see it from far away. It is surrounded by two parks and it gives it a mystical look, almost mirage-like impression. This castle was rebuilt in 1995 and has modern touches to it, so it doesn't represent genuine Japanese castle, but it is still a very famous attraction. On my way back I stopped at a shopping mall and visited a HUGE electronics store called Midori. It is two stories tall and they sell all sorts of electronics, but they don't have the best prices! My electronic dictionary was 400$ more expensive here! Better go to DENDEN town in Nipponbashi. I also found a book store with the books I will be using to learn Japanese at my university. But by that time the store was closing and I had to leave, I was not sure which volume I had to buy. I will go back tomorrow. When I came back it was 6:30PM which means I had walked for nearly 3 hours. I will post a practical map soon showing the places I have been and the useful places.