Kansai - Day Two (Kyoto and Osaka)

Day two started with a trip to the conbini to pick up some onigiri for breakfast. Then we headed to the Fushimi Inari shrine (maybe you recognize this place if you have seen Memoirs of a Geisha). It was super awesome and really beautiful and peaceful (even with a crowd of people), but we didn't realize how big it is. We could not take the path through the torii all the way until the end because we had to head to Osaka to meet my friend's friend. But it is okay; it gives me an excuse to go back to Kyoto. I will finish it!

I really liked Osaka. Maybe it is similar to Tokyo, at least where we were, but I thought it had a nice atmosphere. It was lively and fun! We got bubble tea and delicious takoyaki there and then wandered around a few shopping areas, did purikura, and rested at Mister Donut.

I also got culture shock in Osaka! They stand on the wrong side of the escalator there. I knew about that, but I was still unprepared for the weirdness of it. Especially since when I say "wrong side" I mean on the right, so the side I stood on for most of my life until I came here. But we stand on the left in Tokyo, so I am used to that now, and it was weird and uncomfortable standing on the right!

We heard that the green tea dessert place we had tried to go to the day before had another location in Kyoto station, so when we got back we found it and waited in a long line (but not hour and a half long) to get in. It was worth the wait. So so good! My parfait had green tea ice cream, green tea jelly, green tea whipped cream, and mandarin oranges. We could also enjoy a nice view of the city while we ate.

Then back to the hostel to crash for the night.

Please enjoy a bunch of pictures from Fushimi Inari, the famous Glico man in Osaka, and the display case at the dessert place. Sorry I don't have more pics from Osaka to share, but I honestly didn't take that many there. We were really mostly just in shopping areas, not places where there was stuff to take pictures of.