Long weekend in Osaka, Japan

The family on a good day

The other 364 days

We finally got a good flight deal through the Cathay Pacific "FanFares" on a trip to Osaka.   I (Paul) am a big fan of Japan and was happy that we could finally return.  We had three nights so we were able to get a little bit of everything:   old-school Japanese temples and gardens,   modern street food scene,  and some entertainment for the kids.   

On our first day,  we got a glimpse of the past with our trip to Nara.   Nara was the capital of Japan from 710-784 AD.  It hosts a number of beautiful and historically meaningful Buddhist temples,  along with a beautiful park and national forest.   We were only there for a day but I was still able to take a lot of great pictures :).

This is a picture of Todai-ji,  or Eastern Great Temple.   I was going to start pulling interesting factoids to frame the cultural and religious significance of this temple but it will be faster and more honest for me to just post the Wikipedia link here.

The inside of the temple was really impressive - the centerpiece of which is a gigantic bronze Buddha.  

Here's a view from the temple (it is raised up a large flight of stairs),  looking back at the gate into the grounds.

One particularly interesting aspect to Nara Park are the many deer that roam the park.   They are generally tame and friendly to all the tourists walking by.

Well...actually let me qualify that.   They are tame until you try to make your kids happy by purchasing special deer crackers at the local vendor.  Once you pick up the crackers (they've been trained to stay away from the vendors), all bets are off!

 

Chandra is bummed that we didn't get video,  but this is a pretty good action shot.   The deer is literally biting my ass.

Paul Eli is chuckling now that Daddy is finally getting what he deserves...

Paul Eli was (rightfully) frightened by the uptick in aggression,  but we were able to get one nice picture of him feeding a deer.

After a nice lunch and some soothing Tiger Balm for Dad's ribs and posterior,  we walked up through the forest to more beautiful sights.

This is a picture of the steps going up to Nigatsu-do, another beautiful temple.

On our way back to the bus stop,  we got a little lost and found some other cool sights:  a rice field 

and a big bell.  Unfortunately for PE,  we weren't able to gong the bell.

Our hotel was in a great location,  right near the primary train station in the southern hub of town.  It was within a 10 minute walking distance of Dotonburi,  which was a labyrinth of shops, restaurants, bars,  arcades that only had one game (the crane that drops down and hopefully picks up your toy) and Pachinko shops.    This pocket of town would have been fabulous for Paul Sonda circa 1996-2004,  but less suitable for domestic Paul Sonda who by this point in the day was forced to carry his daughter on his head.

 

 The kids (sans nap) were doing relatively great but still weren't really in the mood for Osaka debauchery so we cut it short.   On our way out,  I was able to find a great place for some authentic Osaka takoyaki: 

Takoyaki are octopus fritters fried in round molded frying pans.  It's kind of a cool process - they use chopsticks to rotate the balls in the pan to let it cook evenly on all sides.   Then they drop in a box and cover with sweet brown sauce,  mayonnaise, and bonito shavings.   Delicious!

The next day we decided to do something completely different...

Universal Studios Japan!   We love amusement parks and we thought it would be interesting to see the Japanese version of an American classic.  I don't have a ton of pictures of the "big kid area",  a lot of the rides were a bit dated and only in Japanese.  We also just missed the Harry Potter World,  which opened a few weeks later :( .  The highlight for the kids (especially Esme) was the Universal Wonderland which was a weird mishmash of Hello Kitty, Snoopy and Sesame Street.

They also thought that the middle of June was still Easter-time.   I guess Easter decorations are like Christmas lights in America.    The Sesame Street playground was a lot of fun,  along with the age-specific driveable cars for PE and Esme,  but the pinnacle of the area was the Hello Kitty Robbon collection.   Chandra and Esme first got to try on one of Hello Kitty's dresses:

She has a third arm here.

After walking through a few halls of very exciting ribbons,  we finally got a chance to take a picture with Hello Kitty herself.   Esme was very happy.

 

There was a lot of hugging and smiling from Esme.  Even Paul Eli got into the act. 

Sayonara from Universal Studios Japan!

For our final day in Osaka,  we visited Osaka Castle.  

Here's the walkway to the castle over a pretty impressive moat.

A nice picture of father and son with Osaka castle in the background

The grounds and surroundings were very peaceful.   Here's a picturesque plum orchard just outside the castle grounds.

   I'm sure it would be more impressive during blossom season but it was still pretty cool.   There was also a fun playground with a sweet roller slide:

We need to get one of these slides back home :).

..And Next Seoul...

After the kids and I left Singapore, Paul stayed on for work until flying home Friday night.  But the layover in HK didn't last long, as the next morning Paul and I left for Seoul for five days.  Paul had a work trip and I was also able to piggyback a work trip on top.  So we had Saturday and Sunday to explore (Paul's been to Seoul before, but it was my first time), before working Monday to Wednesday.  Our hotel was conveniently located close to a fun shopping/night market area called Myeong-dong.  Korea is known for its cosmetics (and cosmetic surgery) and this area is packed with cosmetics and skin care products shops.  It's kind of weird actually.  Placenta face mask, anyone?  You can find it here.  Here's Paul enjoying the Korean night scene.

 

There was good street food to be had and Paul snatched up grilled squid on a stick dipped in a sauce and then sprinkled with dried shaved fish flakes.  He thoroughly enjoyed it.  I abstained.

 

A popular item in the tourist areas was crazy forms of cones that they'd fill with soft serve from both ends.  We saw cane shapes, long swirlies, extra long swirlies.  We meant to get one to try it out, but then didn't leave enough stomach.  The internet says the cones taste like Corn Pops cereal.

 

A selfie of the two of us as we wrapped up the evening walking around.

 

The next day we started off with a walk down another shopping area in the Insadong neighborhood.  It's more artsy/craftsy, no cosmetics shops at this place.

 

 

Then after lunch we moved onto the nearby Changdeokgung Palace, which is a UNESCO heritage site.  The palace was built in 1412, but like many sites, was burnt down and rebuilt many times over the centuries.  This pic is of the main entrance gate.

There are many buildings throughout the walled in complex, but this one below is the biggest one, the throne hall.

Our group tour guide told us to stop and take a picture of this corner of the hall because people like to take this picture.  Sure, it's nice.

The buildings are guarded by animal statues on the corners and the more animals there are, the more important the building is.

While I'm more partial to the glitzy Thai palaces, this Korean palace does have really nice painted designs.  These buildings are part of the complex where the royals lived.

Oh fergodsakes, isn't the little pagoda on the hill a little peaceful spot?  It's where one of the kings kept the woman he really loved while the woman he was forced to marry lived elsewhere on the property.

No one lives here now as the royals died out with no heir.  Probably because the last guy horrendously married an American woman for love rather than a son-bearing-Korean like a good Korean royal would do. 

One last pic on our way out! 

 

 

Malaysia and Singapore: Legos and a Luge

Wow, was June busy!  It flew by with three trips in three weeks due to public holidays, work trips and half price plane tickets.  The first trip of the month was to Singapore.  Paul had a work trip and due to a public holiday in HK, the kids and I were off from school and work, so we had to take advantage of the long holiday weekend and Paul's paid for plane ticket.  We arrived in the evening, ate late, and went to bed.....

His beauty sleep mask came from a school activity on blindness that week.

...to rest up for Legoland!  An hour's ride away across the border in Malaysia is Legoland amusement park and the Legoland water park. 

We were happy to find the park wasn't crowded and we hit all the rides and major exhibits within the first half of the day. PE's favorite was the build your own car and race it building.  Mom and Dad enjoyed the air conditioning. 

 

My favorite part was all the major Asian cultural sights made out of legos (I love mini things!).  It was fun to see mini versions of some of the places we've visited already, like the Wat Arun in Bangkok...

 

And preview places we have yet to visit, like Angkor Wat in Cambodia that is #1 on my must-see list...

 

Petronus Towers that were impressively tall...

 

Esme takes a stroll through mini Malaysia and later gets eaten by a Lego lion.

 

 

We enjoyed the waterpark more than the amusement park, but don't have any pictures other than the entrance since cameras and waterslides don't mix.

 

The next day was spent exploring Singapore, which really was mostly spent in Sentosa island resort area for easy entertainment of the kids.  We didn't make it far before three Chinese tourists asked if they could take pictures with our kids. 

 

 

We took a chair lift up a hill so we could ride down the luge.  It was a hoot.  PE was a crazy driver. Esme was bummed she had to ride with a grown up.

 

Next up was the fish spa.  Four years ago when our friends, Chris and David Plaut, lived in Singapore and we visited, Chris took me to this same place. 

 

 

It was fun to bring the kids to it, though at first I worried it may be a waste of money if they were scared of the fish nibbling on them.  The so-called doctor fish nibble the dead skin off your feet and legs.  The first minute is hard to get through with the tickling and nibbling that feels kind of like electrical buzzing.  It's a little creepy, but fun to do.

 

They found my feet far tastier, or less wiggly most likely.

 

I loved catching the kids' first reactions in this video.

 

Later that night we had fun meeting up for dinner with Paul's college friend Byron, his wife Anne and their daughter who now live in Singapore. 

The next day there was only time for a quick walk around the Marina Bay area before the kids and I headed to the airport back to HK while Paul stuck around for work for a few more days.

 

We had a dramatic ending with a taxi cab chase to the airport when Paul realized my phone was in his pocket.  OK, it wasn't super dramatic, but enough drama for us.

Next stop Seoul!