Osaka - day 2

Day two in Osaka!  Our mission for this day was to find the Osaka Harley Davidson to get a momento for Cassio's brother, Caio, who has been so helpful - and to make our way to the Museum of Housing and Living.  Our secondary mission was to find a suitcase trolley because the poor wheels on our old well travelled suitcase had given out.  Of course, the sightseeing along the way is part of the package!  I will spoil the ending; we accomplished all tasks!

As mentioned before, the Japanese are super efficient.  Check out the car park below.  No need to waste space spiralling up a huge concrete ramp and more space for driving and parking.  Really neat! 

Just one of the many quaint scenes of narrow streets, very tidy and organized.... The only thing I wish they had more of is public garbage cans! It is very hard to find one.  Occasionally you find one for recycling cans, but that doesn't help if you are carrying around your banana peel from lunch!

Again, a prime example... see the gas pump hoses are suspended from the ceiling.  It is easier to move around and is safer... can't run into a pump this way :)

The two "beams" in the centre of the circle are actually escalators.  It is pretty construction.

Another pretty building - this time a TV station headquarters

I absolutely love the vibe of these tiny restaurants that are everywhere... It is just a counter and cook in behind.  In this case, the "curtain" was lifted for some reason, allowing us to see in and the owner was happy to let us photograph his place.  Now imagine the scent of broth with garlic and ginger....delicious!

The next few shots were taken at the Museum of Housing and Living which is located on the 8th floor of an office building.  You go up the elevator and are greeted with a life size tableau of an Osaka neighbourhood from the 1830's.  The fun part is that for 200 yen, you can dress up in a kimono and wander around looking at the different shops and scenes.  Maybe we should have done it too.... They also played with the weather and time of day.  At one point, the sky went dark, then you saw and heard lightening and thunder and heard rain.  It was kinda cool.

Stay tuned for our next post!