Osaka, Nara, Uji, Kyoto

March 29, 2025 · 3 min read

A Jumbo Post

In this one I'm going to touch on the end of the Osaka leg of our Journey and Kyoto.

So, Osaka. As with any good trip to another country we visited a famous castle in the area. This current structure is a recreation of the original, which was built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who rose to become the preeminent leader of Japan from humble origins. There are other interesting facts here, like how he ordered his adopted heir to commit suicide after having his own blood heir, but if that interests you I recommend a trip to Wikipedia.

Osaka

Pretty, right?

In between more history-oriented activities we took a couple of classes in which we learned how to make sushi and takoyaki.

Harder than you might think, but not that hard

...I tried

We even saw the Mona Lisa!

...I tried

Dotonbori

We also visited Dotonbori, a lively shopping district with more than a passing resemblance to Times Square.

...I tried

Some of us might've gotten a slightly addicted to the crane game

Nara

To change things up we visited Nara, a smaller city known for quirky shops, the Todai-Ji (temple), and bowing deer.

Fried chicken udon

Todai-Ji

Due to complaints about pictures not featuing me

-another one for y'all

Deer

Some Deer. They'll bow if you ask nicely. Or if they detect the vaguest whiff of a cracker on you. They're fiends.

Uji

After a couple trains we arrived for a day trip in Uji. Similarly to Nara, Uji is a smaller city. It's known particularly for its shops and high-quality matcha.

Another temple, Byodoin

Matcha I ground myself

Kyoto

Kyoto, as I'm writing this I have to get up to prep for a 5AM hike but Kyoto has been awesome. It's much quiter than Kyoto, with lots of interesting architecture and historical attractions. It's a beautiful balance of the old and new. There are visitors from other countries everywhere, and the cherry blossoms aren't even quite ready yet!