Arashiyama, Monkey Park
by Randy121
West of Kyoto Station is Arashiyama.
Can get there by the JR Train or local bus. We made a mistake by taking the local bus. It took about 45 minutes from Kyoto Station. The JR line would have been alot faster.
When we got there, we rented bikes 420 yen for 2 hours. The sidewalks were crowded with people and the street with cars. So, the bikes was not that effective in the main city area. However, the bikes were useful outside the busy city streets.
Rode to the Monkey Park entrance which took about 5 minutes from where we rented the bikes. Admission to the park was 500 yen.
The hike up took 20 minutes. Along the way we saw monkeys playing in the trees. At the top on the mountain there is a rest place and lots and lots of monkeys. When we got there, the worker was feeding them. In all, there was about 200 monkeys eating. Interesting to see how they react with one another.
People were going really close to the monkeys trying to take pictures and the monkeys would sometimes get mad.
The monkey on the tree stump was the bull. When the feeding started he sat on the stump like it was his reserved seat. No other monkey bothered him. Food was set on there just for him. It was pretty funny to see. We got some laughs watching him eat on his perched stool stump.
It was fun.
seishun 18 kippu
by bebejepang
Do you know about "seishun 18 kippu" (read:seishun juhachi kippu)?
With the ticket you can go to several places in Japan by local train, one ticket for one day or one person.
Ticket price = 11500 yen for 5 days or 5 persons. So for one day only 2300 yen, it is very cheap!! For e.g., from Okayama-Osaka normal price 2940 one-way, round ticket is 5980 yen. using 18 kippu you only pay 2300 yen for round trip.
The ticket is available only on 1 Mar-10 Apr, 20 Jul-10 Sept, and 1 Dec-20 Jan. You can buy it in the ticket counter at the train station.
You also can use the ticket on the osaka loop line (train).
Osaka Tip
by rmiya84778
OSAKA SPECIALITIES- Takoyaki. In Osaka, there are many stalls that are open and located on city sidewalks that sell Takoyaki. Takoyaki is small octopuss balls and is prepared by pouring batter in tinplate with
small chunk of octopus. (similar to muffin tin) It is delicious and do not get impression not good. In Osaka, my friends will always challenge me to try things I never would even consider and I have taken them up on this many times. There are so right too, must try before saying do not like!
It is so good and can be additctive. Takoyaki has a unique, delicious taste@!!!!!!!
Dotombori at Night
by vic&michael
Dotombori is so fun. It is always bustling with people and has a vibrant feeling in the air. There are trendy clothes shops, but mostly, there are restaurants, all advertising their food with bright colorful signs. Look out for the Crab restaurants, with the huge waving mechanical crab on top of the restaurant! You can get a set menu of Crab for about US$30.
The Anti-Japan
by Rabbityama
While the Japanese are known worldwide for being polite, respectful, shy, and humble, for citizens of Osaka, such formalities waste too much time!
The people of Osaka are known for being opinionated, good-humored, and blunt! The people of Osaka tend to prefer speaking in a way that is gets the point across quickly without all the fluff that is necessary in the rest of Japan. The Osaka dialect is well-known in Japan, as it is used by most comedians. Because of this, many Japanese find it to be humorous however, it can also sound a bit gruff and rough around the edges. Outside of the Kansai area, particularly in Tokyo where standard Japanese is preferred, people tend not to be very fond of Osaka speech. When you come to Osaka and much of the surrounding areas, though, love it or hate it; you can't escape it!
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Calpis! Where can I get this?!?
Monkey at Tennoji Zoo, Osaka
Many great restaurants...
Orderly queues but the crowd's just too large
