Farewells in Osaka

Once Shannon, Nessa, and I returned home from Tokyo, we barely had time to breathe before it was time to leave for Osaka. I went back to work for a couple days and Shannon and Ness packed up their stuff and tried to cram all they'd bought into their bags. They went to Hiroshima on Friday, the 23rd, and had all their things packed up by Friday night.

On Saturday, the 24th, we got up and took the local trains to Osaka. It didn't take too long and we were there by noon, walking around in the rain and trying to find the hostel we had booked. Although at first we liked our hostel and its familial atmosphere, they later moved us into a different room in a different building and it turned out to be a poor choice. Luckily for me, however, I would only be spending a short time sleeping at the hostel.

Osaka doesn't have too many sights to see, except for maybe the castle and aquarium, which I've already seen. So, we went out into the rain and went shopping. The fun of Osaka is just to be a large city, look at bright lights, and watch people go by. We came across this street crowded with stuff,
before we walked down a shopping arcade in Shinsaibashi for a long time. We ate lunch at a very good restaurant and had some lively discussions.
Eventually we met Ludo and continued browsing in the shops. Shannon and Nessa found some type of vibrating exercise machine that they seemed to enjoy very much.
It was raining lightly when we made our way over to Amerika-mura, and on the way stopped at a shrine with fox statues.
Amerika-mura is a few blocks of town with many stores, restaurants, and bars trying to sell American things (like basketball shoes, hip hop fashion, and McDonald's, apparently). Ludo got into the spirit, although he looks more like Elton John than an American.
We went past Cutie Love Smile, which I believe I'll adopt as a term of endearment for you,
and then saw a really scary clown head.
It was really raining hard when we went back through the Shinsaibashi Arcade towards Ebisu- bashi and observed the mass of humanity with umbrellas making their way through the wet night air.After getting ready for the night at our hostel, it was party time. We started out at Café Absinthe, a bar that came highly recommended by a number of people, and with good reason. We met Britt, Amy, and Roo (Amy and Roo of Hiroshima-ken and from the Tottori Sand dunes trip), who were already drinking their absinthe, and Ludo and his Japanese friend Yusuke. First, Shannon and I had some absinthe of our own.
Then we all were eating and drinking and yelling at each other, and I took a bunch of pictures.
Yusuke, Amy, Britt, and Ludo (what the hell does Amy have in her mouth?)
After a little while, four more people showed up, which somewhat annoyed the wait staff I think. Andy, his girlfriend Kanae, her friend who happens to be from Minneapolis Lorna, and Rachel had been watching sumo wrestling in Osaka and stopped by Café Absinthe to join in on the fun times.
After I had my absinthe margarita, everything I saw had a greenish tint. This is how Shannon and Roo actually looked to me.And the bar. It was a cool place.
After we'd had enough of Café Absinthe, most of us continued on to a club in Dontonburi, an area in Shinsaibashi full of clubs and restaurants and bars. We went to Pure, a famous club in Osaka or something. It had a high cover, but it was all-you-can-drink, so it was worth it.

Shannon and Nessa, I believe, had some fun.
And so did Rachel and I.Kanae and Andy stayed till the end,and I even got to act a little crazy with Kanae.
We stayed until 5 a.m. when they turned on the lights and told everyone to go home. Overall, it was a pretty crazy night, but we were able to walk back through the rain soaked streets to our mostly uncomfortable hostel room and get a little bit of sleep.

On Sunday, the 25th, Ludo tried to get sumo tickets for us, but they were sold out. I was a little disappointed, but happy that I could sleep a little bit more. It was dry out when Shannon, Nessa, and I got up to look for some breakfast. They were going to Nara that day and I was going back to Wake. So, as we sat on a bench on the street, eating our combini pastries, we reflected on our travels in Japan. I told Nessa and Shannon they were lucky, because they would soon be in a place where people speak English, mostly. And they could get any kind of food they want, not only fish and rice. And there would be movies to watch and places to go and getting around wouldn't cost ¥10,000. And they'd be able to read menus and ask for something in a store without referring to a phrasebook or hand gestures. But, there are only four more months of that for me, so I can't be too envious of Nessa and Shannon for getting to go back to a place where people look different and houses are heated and no one needs to bow.

We said goodbye as I got on the subway and they went towards the train to Nara. And I came back to Wake, to my empty house, with a few more clothes in my possession than when the month began.