13 August 2007
Mastercard and life adjustements
Osaka is like a giant Shibuya - except people are essentially looking for fun, not for commuting.
My first impression when I visited last year is confirmed: young japanase people with a twist and bleached hair come to party in Osaka.
You could think it's therefore not the place to go when visiting Japan - well, it's actually so friendly, and crazy and smooth that the town makes a pleasant stop on your way to the south or back to Tokyo.
I hadn't planned to go back there but I don't regret it came up in my adjustable travelling plans. I could stay at the Hotel Chuo I mentioned in that blog before: it makes your life easy at around 15 euros a night for a private room, connected to a high-speed internet access that your laptop has been craving for, and 2 subway stops from the liveliest district. I also appreciated the one night-break that was the western-styliness of that room. It made a big contrast with my stay in Kyoto where I traded comfort, privacy and air-condition for a bargain that came along with mosquitoes, tropical heat, and... travellers. But then it was just for 3 nights and it meant more pocket money for shopping. Some times in life, you gotta know what you want.
My first plan was to leave Kyoto to head north for the Noto-Hanto peninsula. But then that's just the day when somebody somewhere decided I couldn't withdraw money until the day after. My plans were set back for a day, so Noto-Hanto was out of the picture as I wouldn't get the time to enjoy it properly. I rearranged my plans by way of Osaka, and headed south instead, to the Inland Sea.
Manabe-Jima is the name of the island where I arrived with the ferry, the only gaijin, to discover a small paradise, with the nicest people, and a beautiful beach almost to myself.
-- Joelle.
My first impression when I visited last year is confirmed: young japanase people with a twist and bleached hair come to party in Osaka.
You could think it's therefore not the place to go when visiting Japan - well, it's actually so friendly, and crazy and smooth that the town makes a pleasant stop on your way to the south or back to Tokyo.
I hadn't planned to go back there but I don't regret it came up in my adjustable travelling plans. I could stay at the Hotel Chuo I mentioned in that blog before: it makes your life easy at around 15 euros a night for a private room, connected to a high-speed internet access that your laptop has been craving for, and 2 subway stops from the liveliest district. I also appreciated the one night-break that was the western-styliness of that room. It made a big contrast with my stay in Kyoto where I traded comfort, privacy and air-condition for a bargain that came along with mosquitoes, tropical heat, and... travellers. But then it was just for 3 nights and it meant more pocket money for shopping. Some times in life, you gotta know what you want.
My first plan was to leave Kyoto to head north for the Noto-Hanto peninsula. But then that's just the day when somebody somewhere decided I couldn't withdraw money until the day after. My plans were set back for a day, so Noto-Hanto was out of the picture as I wouldn't get the time to enjoy it properly. I rearranged my plans by way of Osaka, and headed south instead, to the Inland Sea.
Manabe-Jima is the name of the island where I arrived with the ferry, the only gaijin, to discover a small paradise, with the nicest people, and a beautiful beach almost to myself.
-- Joelle.
Labels: Japan, Manabe-Jima, Osaka
