The Beef from the Big City

Today we head to the second to last location in Japan. The suitcases are packed, and we've had our last breakfast in Nara. So, we trudge to the nearby train station. At this point, I’d like to commend that Nara was the only train station where we didn’t have to lug our suitcases. Everywhere else had escalators and elevators.

The train and subway systems are functioning quite well now. Only the large train stations are a real challenge. Sometimes, it can be time-consuming and nerve-wracking to find the right platform. Google Maps can confuse you with exit indications.

Around noon, we reach our hotel. The Holiday Inn & Suites Osaka - at the end of the world. We need to think more carefully about hotel locations next time. It’s a 15-minute walk from Shin-Osaka Station. It's convenient for the journey in 3 days with the Shinkansen to Hiroshima, but to get to the Expo and Namba, it’s about an hour on the metro. But we have to endure that now.

We had actually planned a good connection from Nara to the hotel in Osaka, where we had to take the bus last, but with a tight schedule, we missed the bus by 2 minutes. It’s not bad with the trains, as they run every few minutes. Unfortunately, the bus runs only every hour. Well - there’s nothing to be done, we set up the sunshade and rolled our suitcases for 15 minutes through the heat.

The young lady at the reception was pleasantly surprised that we walked, given that there is a hotel shuttle.

We are allowed to check in early for a small fee, and in return, we receive an upgrade to a 2-bed suite.

So far, it’s the biggest and nicest room. One has to compensate for the location somehow.

With a kitchen,

wardrobes and a washing machine with an integrated dryer. We put it to use right away. Simply amazing.

This afternoon we head to Kobe for steak.

There’s not much to see in Kobe - Chinatown

or the Meriken Park with the Port Tower,

the museum with its interesting steel structure

and the Oriental Hotel, which stands out due to its unusual shape. It looks like a giant ship.

We have a table reserved at the restaurant for 5:30 PM, so we have 2 hours to look at a few things. There was a festival in the park today.

Tents, street food, a big stage with Japanese