osaka

We went over to Osaka Castle, a reconstruction of the original. I had gone there last year with my buddy Masahiro but I wanted James to see it, so we went again. The inside of the castle is marble and glass with a full gift shop and elevators. But at least the outside looks nice. They have these dragon/tiger/fish things adoring the roof, which were supposed to be protection against fire. The view from the top is incredible.

Inside they dressed us up in samurai gear. Yes, I'm aware that I look like a peacock and James looks like a Viking.

We then went to Dotonbori, the entertainment district. By day it's not at its best, but by night they have tons of neon lights. There is still some wierd and random sights to see. This is just outside of a hotel.

We then went to Dohgusuji, a shopping arcade specializing in cooking and restaurant equipment. I bought some yakitori skewers and a set of okonomiyaki spatulas. We had fun seeing the industrial-size cooking equipment.

We then went to go visit the Osaka University Human Interactions Lab crew! My supervisor at U of C used to be a researcher at this lab so I was able to visit them last year, and they have sent some of their members to our lab. We met them at the train station (after some confusion), then went to the lab to see them, and then off we went to the most amazing Yakitori (chicken on sticks) restaurant ever! We had a great time, even had a few pieces of chicken sashimi (that is, raw).