Nomads for now...a mum forever

Around Osaka in six days!

Travelling from Shanghai to Japan takes only two hours. We decided to head there for our Christmas.

We arrived at Kansai airport just under two hours of flight. Japan is a beautiful place but one thing that is really trying is making use of their subway and train system. It is so complex and the station is all huge. Getting out from the wrong exit will laand you at the wrong place and that was exactly what happened to us. From the station to the hotel was only a seven minute walk but it ended up a one hour walk because we came out from the wrong exit...so after dinner, we went to bed.

Notice the special lamp post? And guess who followed us to Osaka...

In the heart of Osaka

Buying the real stuff...takoyaki from Japan!

Universal Studio, here we come...

That was Ann's first visit to a Universal Studio and yes, she had the time of her life. Actually, whether you are an adult or a child, theme parks, somehow, always lift up your spirits.

All the sight and sound of the Universal Studio

My love - The Peanuts Gang!

...and I thought I could have some peace...

Kobe, NOT an ancient city

One of the most enlightening moment was discovering that Kobe was actually a very modern place.

All along, in my mind, I have always thought that Kobe is an ancient city. I was expecting alot of old castles and houses but I was pleasantly surprised...

Kobe subway station

The Oriental Hotel, Kobe. Beautiful isn't it?

Can you spot someone?

Pokemon is a popular cartoon in Japan

This metal slide reminded me of those which I used slide down when I was younger...ions ago

In Japan, there are many ferries-wheel. We realised that almost in each city, there will be at least one of them

We also found the Peanuts gang at Kobe

This was like de-ja-vu, a see-through church building, something I saw in my dream

Streets of Kobe

The Kobe harbour

Kobe harbour at night

Night scene of Kobe

One of the taller Christmas trees I have ever seen. Awesome!

A Christmas carriage and a special escalator, it actually bumped you up and down.

Great service, blankets provided to keep us warm while we have our chocolate

Shinsaibashi Shopping Belt

This was really an interesting stretch at Osaka...

Interesting, never-ending streets of shops, restaurants and many, many more. We even found a Turkish ice-ream man

Do you remember the Glico man?

Japan has lots of game arcades. Not very healthy, I think

Eating ice-cream at Baskin Robins

Guess what we saw? WENDY'S!

Beautiful sculptures can be found on the streets of Osaka

Pokemon Center

Yes, Pokemon is popular in Japan. They even have a Pokemon center.

All kinds of Pokemon knick·knacks for adults and kids

Glorious food of Osaka

In case you thought I have completely forgotten all about the food in Osaka...no, I thought I should put them all under one heading...glorious food!

This was one of the best sugar-paste works I have ever come across. They are all edible

Takoyaki - a class of its own.

What were these people doing behind the curtains?...............................eating ramen

A little of everything, our Christmas Day lunch

Okonomiyaki aka Japanese pizza and of course, ramen

Something special, mochi, greenbean paste with ice-cream. Yummy!

Simple toast and chocolate milk breakfast but they were really great

Walking through a Japan market (in fact, any market) is something which dh and I always enjoy doing. When we were in the US, we always enjoyed going to the farmers' markets...

Fresh tuna and salmon

The famous Japanese puffer fish. No, we didn't try it

Octopus and oysters. They were really big

more seafood

Dessert of various kinds

The best place for sushi and sashimi. Of course, none other than Japan itself. We found this small sushi cafe and tasted one of the best and most reasonably priced sushi and sashimi...