Golden Week Day 1: Osaka -- Animals and Asian Amusement

At the beginning of May, is one of Japan's biggest holidays. Starting out as one holiday (Constitution Day), a second (Children's Day) was added occurring two days later. Several years later, a third (Greenery Day) was added to connect the previous two holidays. Then, as its Japanese law that if the holiday lands on a weekend, the following Monday also becomes a holiday (Sub Day). Add the weekend, and *BAM* its Golden Week or in my book, Spring Break II. All that to say, it seemed like a perfect time to gallivant around Japan, so two other ALTs, Sarah and Helen-Marie, and I decided to take a trip, which ultimately turned into quite an adventure as does anything that I do in Japan!

Our first stop was the Kobe Zoo to see the panda as they happen to be Sarah's favorite animal and she had never seen one in real life. Personally, I found the zoo to be very depressing (I highly don't recommend it), but I did have the opportunity to spot Yoda hiding in a tree.

As well as see first-hand what has to be the world's slowest roller coaster, which was powered by the riders peddling. Unfortunately, as I did not have a child to ride with (and I didn't think it would be a good idea to attempt to kidnap one) I could not ride.

After the zoo, we decided that we wanted to see some happy animals. So, utilizing the magic of purikura, we transformed ourselves into smiley creatures without zoo syndrome.

Then it was off to Osaka and Cat's Cafe where for 1500 yen (approximately $15) we could enjoy the company of 20 resident kitties, petting them to our hearts content, while sipping coffee in the restaurant. Cafes like this are quite popular in Japan since many apartments don't allow their tenants to have pets. It was amazing to see how many Japanese people enjoyed the experience just as much as we did. And for those of you wondering, the place did not smell at all like cat at all since one of the worker's chief job was to clean the multiple litter boxes whenever they got dirty.

On our way back to our hostel, we passed this familiar face dressed like a samurai....

...marveled at our newest vending machine find (yes, you can buy rice, fried chicken, hot dogs, and french fries in a vending machine in Japan)...

...and rode in a hot pink "Women's Only" train car decorated with a female, raspberry pudding character.

"Why a women's only car," you may ask? Well, come to find out, Osaka isn't the safest of Japanese cities and thus they are designed to keep the ladies separate from the gropers on the crowded trains. Thankfully, we did not have any issues with safety (and yes, that is a man getting on our train car too!) In fact, we were probably the scariest individuals on the car since we passed the time practicing the relaxation breathing techniques advertised on the in-service TV to the amusement of our fellow passengers!!

Next stop.... Castles, Cellos, and Crazy Cuisine.