Osaka (20 – 21 Dec. 2010)

I really didn’t have any site seeing plans for Osaka, because I really did not think there was much to see in Osaka. This however allowed me to focus my photography on other things not so touristy. The largest  Ferris wheel is in Osaka, which I used to get some great pictures of the city by day. In the evening you can find street acts, people gambling at casinos, and of course people sleeping on the metro coming late from work (common in Japan). Other than that Osaka is a big city like Tokyo.

The reason I actually decided to visit Osaka was to try sleeping at a capsule hotel, which I can say is an experience worth trying only once. The problem is not so much the small space, but all the inconveniences of the stay. You place your shoes in a locker after you enter the hotel. You then exchange your shoe locker key for another locker key, which you use to lock your luggage. However the locker is hardly big enough for the luggage most backpackers carry with them. So you have to pay extra to have your luggage kept at the reception. The capsule you sleep in is located in a different area of the hotel, and you aren't allowed to bring your luggage there, which means you have to plan what you may need with you. Then there is the public showers and baths, which is not for the shy. They also don't have any free available electrical current outlets for loading your laptop, phone, etc. You have to pay to borrow a locker for loading. All in all this is more of a stay for the business man/woman who only wants a place to sleep for the night. For a backpacker hostels are more appropriate.

Quiz of the day: In which movie did the group in the picture below preform music?