Visa Trip: Osaka, Japan

As a part of my contract with the Do Your Best Language Institute, I was sent to Osaka, Japan for a work visa. You cannot get a visa in Korea, so all English institutes will pay for your trip to Japan or another nearby country to obtain one. I went with one of my coworkers, but wound up hanging out with another girl I met at the Korean Embessy.

Size Does Matter

This is a photo of Margo and I after getting to Osaka and submitting our paperwork. I met Margo at the Embassy and we wanted to get some coffee. She bought the super large and I bought the regular.

Japan likes street lights as much as Korea does. The only difference is I can pronounce the words on signs in Korea and even understand some of them. This is the downtown area of Osaka. There are lots of places to eat and drink. The area is pretty big and well developed. There's even a slight theme park feeling you get by walking around.

Before leaving Korea, I asked my coworkers who had lived in Japan what I should do or eat. They suggested sushi, and I'm happy they did. I remember going to a restaurant like this when I was with my family visiting Japan when I was a kid. The way it works is you just grab a plate of whatever looks good as it revolves around the conveyer belt. The sushi never runs out since the chefs are replacing every plate you take off. This sushi place charged by the plate. The place I went to for lunch the next day was all you can eat. I ate 13 plates at the all you can eat place. The two Japanese teenagers next to me ate 24 each!

Margo and I went out for drinks and found this small but friendly bar to start out the evening. We tried Sake while we were there. I didn't think it was all that good, but maybe I didn't drink the right kind or drink it in the right way. After this bar we hopped around to two other bars, I think. The mix of whiskey, Sake, and Guiness clouded my memory.

Japan was all around cool. For being there only one night, a Monday night, that's the kind of impression that will bring me back. I had to photograph one of the several light posts that look like long robots holding the lamps. Each one is positioned slightly different from the others. Artsy things like this and the generally crazy style of dress that the youth have, led me to believe that the Japanese people have more personality than Korean people. I know that's a broad statement, but the differences are glaring even for the casual observer.

This is the covered market in Osaka. It's not like the markets in Korea where raw fish, dog, pig, and other creatures are being sold next to underwear, socks, and body cleansing products. This place was upscale and any woman's dream when it comes to having boots made. It's about a mile long and it all looks like what you see in this photo.

I think I'd like to go back to Osaka again for another visa run, but next time I'll go on the weekend and spend more days checking things out. A summer trip would be cool because everything is better during the summer.