Here is what I have done so far. part 1

On Wednesday, June 25, Chrissy, Rex, and I went to Nippon Bashi, an electronic and model street in Osaka, well we tried to at least. we started of by walking the opposite direction. After getting directions to Nippon Bashi, much to the disapproval to Rex and I, we finally got there. Our main reason for going, to find model trains. Well, we found them, and all at discount prices too. Both Rex and I looked at the trains like little kids in a candy store. We did not have much yen on us at the time, so we decided not to buy anything and went home.

On Thursday, June 26, Chrissy and I went to Kobe for the day (it is about 15 minutes via a Hankyu express train). We just walked around the shopping streets for awhile until I bought a Jinbi, a traditional Japanese men summer wear. I got it for about $20, which is pretty cheap compared to $100 Jimbies of the same quality. After that we walked around for a bit then went home.

On Friday, June 27, Chrissy and I got "lost" on the JR (Japan rail group), well I thought we were lost but Chrissy says she knew where we were. We just kept getting on the wrong train. I did get to see rural Japan on one of the wrong trains. It did take us about 4 hours to go to Umeta, take the loop line, and then get back to Nishinomiya (it should only take a hour). But we did do it because we had time to kill (about 4 hours).

Pictures of Ebeisu Temple

It has been 1 week already! Part 2

As of today, I have been here in Japan for 1 week! So in honor of that, So here is the second installment of the 1st week's recap.

2nd Day: Tuesday, June 24, 2008

On Tuesday, I went with Chrissy to the nearby temple. This is a well kept up temple. I got to see the main complex with a girl being trained to preform a tea ceremony. I also got to see the Sake barrels beside the temple and the Kirin that guard the temple grounds. Kirin are lion type creatures that are really cool looking. After looking around the temple grounds, we went to the Kansai Super (the grocery store). they had a bizarre going on outside where I picked up a Japanese scroll painting for 500 yen ($5). After being at the Kansai Super for a while, we went back to the apartment to drop off the scrolls and to get our bikes. Here in Japan, there is not much room to park cars, so a lot of people commute by bike and train. So after we got our bikes, we went to Nishinomiya-kitaguchi, the Hankyu train station. At some rail stations over here, they have malls, including Nishinomiya-kitaguchi. We walked around the mall for a bit before we caught our train. We had to use automated ticketing machines, which are not that hard to figure out. We took the train that went in a large loop around Osaka that took about 1.5 hours to complete. We then met up with Rex and went home. They had me lead the way to see if I remembered the way back. Back at the apartment, we all had dinner, talked, and went to bed.

It has been 1 week already! Part 1

As of today, I have been here in Japan for 1 week! So in honor of that, So here is the first installment of the 1st week's recap.

1st Day(s): Sunday, June 22nd and Monday, June 23rd, 2008

On Sunday, June 22nd, I woke up at 4 am to get ready for my 8 am flight to Honolulu. When I got to Seatac at 6 am, I checked in for my flight and went through security with no problems. I then looked around Seatac before getting on my flight. on board my flight, I had the front exit row seat that had 4 ft of leg room, even when the flight staff were sitting in their jump seats. the flight staff on this flight were also really helpful and were a joy to have.

Then I arrived in Honolulu after being on a plane for 5 hours with 3 hours before my next flight, so I walked around the airport and got a bite to eat before I boarded the flight to Kansai International Airport in Osaka. On this flight, I had an exit row seat over the wing of a 747! it also had a jump seat in front of it, but with less leg room. I fell asleep right after takeoff for about an hour. When I woke up, the were starting to serve the first meal of two on a 8 hour flight. This was a great meal and took photos of it. After the meal, I went to sleep again for 30 minutes. When I woke up, I had a sore neck that kept getting worse as I sat in my seat to the point that it was unbearable, then I finally asked for some pain medicine. After that, it didn't hurt for the rest of the flight. They had the movie " 27 dresses" playing. Then they served our 2nd meal. And a hour after the 2nd meal, we were on final approach.

I arrived 1 hour earlier than I should have! Going through customs was fast and easy since I was 1 of 5 people who were not Japanese nationals on my flight. When I got to baggage claim, my bag was one of the first ones out. :) I did have to wait for Chrissy to pick me up (due to being 1 hour early). She showed up 45 minutes after I had landed and she was surprised to see me waiting for her already. We then caught the next bus to Nishinomiya (were Chrissy and Rex
live in Osaka). The bus ride took about an hour to get to our stop ( it was an express bus too) and i took some pictures a long the way too. We then walked about a mile to Chrissy and Rex's apartment. After I got settled in, we had dinner and talked for a while. And after we talked for a while, I finally went to bed after being up for 26 hours!

Hankyu Pictures and stories from June 24 2008

Due to the matter of youtube not letting me upload videos, I have pictures of the Hankyu trains.





June 24th was my first full day of being here in Japan. And what did I do, I rode the Hankyu rail line around Nishinomiya and Osaka. :) I had a lot of fun doing so and I have 1.5 gigs of pictures and videos to show for it. First, we had to get to the Hankyu rail station in Nishinomiya. Let me just say that Nishinomiya-kitaguchi is larger than the King Street Station in Seattle. Once we got to the station, Aunt Chrissy and me had to get our tickets. They use ticketing machines over here in Japan. After we got our tickets, we boarded our train to Takarazuka, then on to Umeda. This line is very beautiful to travel for $1.50, if you play your cards right. after riding on the line, we got of and went back home for the day. I had to lead the way back.

Nishinomiya is a nice suburb of Osaka, about 15 minutes to Umeda Station (Grand Central Station of Osaka) via a express train.


I will post more tomorrow (6-29-08)

Matthew Walker

The Hankyu Part 1

This is video of the Hankyu Rail in Osaka, Japan. This rail line is a really nice (and cheap) way to get around Osaka and to travel to Kobe and Kyoto. Near the end of the video, I forgot to turn off the camera, so sorry about that

Starting Today: Japan trip entries

Starting today, I will be posting entries on my trip to Japan.