Last thoughts

Flying out tonight at 8pm. Its been a good holiday and I'm about ready to face the new year of work. A quick review of the trip after Tokyo:

Osaka

A more down to earth town than Tokyo (read dirty) with more friendly people. Food was amazing yet again, never have I had so many different types of fried meat and vegetables in the one meal. With Sid around we have token Japanese skills. Does not help much in ordering food.
The city appears to have a lot of covered walkways with places to eat, shop, go to hostess bars and play pachinko(kind of like pinball from what I could gather after losing a quick 1,000 yen)-where Australia has the pokies, the Japanese answer to this is Pachinko.

Himeji Castle

Big castle still built out of its original wood. Very large moat and extremely impresive donjon (keep). Was happy to pay the entrance fee rather than trying to storm the castle.

Kobe

A quick side stop on the way back to Osaka after seeing Himeji. Went to a Kobe beef place near the Shin-Kobe station-it was extremely expensive but one of the best, most marbled cuts of beef I have ever eaten. The garlic fried rice with fried beef fat was also extremely tasty but I'm sure it was bad news from a health perspective.

Kyoto

A beautifully rustic and charming city with modern Japan mixed in with more traditional elements. Having centuries old temples and quaint lanes, it was a complete contrast to the big city feel of Tokyo.

So its now time to go back to work... damn.