The Jpeg makes it look waaay more saturated than a rainy day.

Hello!! It looks like I'll be skipping over the Nipponbashi Street Festa cosplay post for a sec, because hanami (cherry blossom viewing) season is here!

This year appears to be a fairly busy hanami season for myself, so in this post, I'll try to highlight as many hanami spots as I can that are in the Kansai area. Ratings will be based on crowds, cleanliness and closeness to convenience stores (because you can't start running out of booze in the middle of a party).


As there are a few more hanami spots left to visit, we'll call this post a W.I.P. until the end of the season (in the next couple of weeks).


Utsubo Park - Osaka City
★★ (out of 5)

Utsubo Park is a pretty large park located smack in the center of Osaka City. It's Osaka's ossan Central Park? A very sad and enclosed Waterfront (D.C., for those not hip) even. But it's not all bad!

There's a park, a playground for children, way too many tennis courts , and some water fountain-things. It's within walking to 3 train stations, Awaza Station, Honmachi Station and Higobashi Station, which means that, naturally, it is surrounded by convenience stores. Easily one of the best places for a spur-of-the-moment hanami adventure that requires store-bought snacks.

I know what you're saying. If I like it so much, why don't I marry it? But I have a very simple response to that: People. People, in Japan and most other metropolitan areas, are not uncommon. But with Japan being the miniature version of most metropolitan areas, the people start to increase at ridiculous rates. And this sakura spot is FULL of people.

Taking up shots was the only to avoid people..

It's near the municipal kindergarden, which means every child under 7 in Osaka probably plays here, and since their friends play here too, that means the moms are out in full force. It's also surrounded by 3 Elementary schools, a middle school and there's a university nearby.

NOT TO MENTION the hundreds or offices located in Honmachi, as it's somewhat of a business hub in Osaka City. That means that any space near a sakura tree has already had dibs called for it by a blue sheet with a office's name on top. These sheets are out there the entire hanami season (about 2-3 weeks).

People aren't supposed to do that, but rules in Japan are more like suggestions any way so there's that.

So yeah, people.
No thanks.

Osaka Castle Park
★★★★ (out of 5)
This might be my biases talking, but Osaka Castle Park is my go-to for hanami in Osaka City. I go every year, and despite the large groups of people, I always have a good time, and I think that's because of the park's biggest asset: being big.

Like, Osaka Castle Park is pretty huge. Walking from one side to the other probably takes the better part of an hour, but because of it's size, you never feel like it's crowded, even when it obviously is. This size advantage lends to people have more areas to choose for their group. Though the biggest collection of sakura is located near the south, near the main entrance to the castle, the entire park has sakura lining the moat, so you're almost guaranteed a spot.

Unless it's the weekend. There are no guarantees on the weekend, but you'll be better off at this park than, say, Utsubo.


I would say that some of the negatives are the trash. People seem to be pretty terrible at cleaning up after themselves sometimes. Also, even though BBQ's are not allowed in the park, I've seen people BBQ'ing (again, Japan and rules being suggestions), and have found seating areas covered in spent charcoals. THAT was not done by non-Japanese, for sure. Only other Japanese would have the balls blatantly disregard huge signs written in their language (the "No running onto trains" is another blatantly ignored one) and try to ruin public property in the process.

Another somewhat negative is the distance to convenience stores. You're sure to find a few near the train exits around the park, but once you enter the park, especially the area inside the moat, you're at the mercy of the food stalls within. That food is probably no more expensive than what you find at festivals, but probably more than you'd like to spend.

But the solution to that is easy, just buy a crap-ton of food and drink, then go inside and have the time of your hanami!

Also, you can enjoy nighttime hanami in Osaka as it doesn't close (neither does Utsubo, but again, office people)! Nighttime is a great alternative for those that want to avoid big crowds of children during the day.

That's all I got for now, but sakura just started blooming literally this week, so there's still time for more! As always, questions and comments welcome! And if you're looking for help or suggestions about the kansai area, don't be afraid to ask!

★Peaces★

So, not quite too long ago, but literally last year, Shota and I took a bit of an impulsive trip to Okinawa. It was really a combination of good timing (Peach LLC was doing a time sale for 1500yen one way tickets), my stress levels reaching a boiling point, AND my birthday. It's kind of like how in movies, when the planets line up and all hell breaks loose.

Hell didn't break loose, but we had a good time. :)

Now, I'll try to keep this short since it isn't about Kansai in the slightest, but it's now probably my second most favorite place in Japan. I completely envy the residents of those gorgeous islands. Except for the jellyfish. I hate jellyfish.






 Our flight from KIX (Kansai International) was an early morning flight around 9am. And because the carrier was Peach LLC, it was in a completely different, very far away terminal. Thank goodness the airport bus went directly to the terminal (they do have shuttle buses that run between the main and Terminal 2, but I'm not sure about the wait time).

We ended up in Okinawa a little after 12 maybe. I don't rightly remember anymore, but such are the downsides of blogging about events months after they have occurred. Lesson learned.
 We stayed for a total of 3 days, so for the first day, we spent most of our time in the capital city of Naha. Naha is where the main airport is located and also the location of Okinawa's most famous castle.

←This building is the city hall building for Naha, which completely blows the city hall building in Osaka out of the water. Plus there's a Shiisa.
 And then how can you not take a photo of a really old-looking tree. There was a sign located near it, but I forgot what it said. Probably something about it being a really old tree.

I had a very strong urge to climb it, but I fought against temptation and won. Barely.
 After walking about Naha and Kokusai Street (International Street), we decided to get a bite to eat. It's really difficult choosing a spot to eat on Kokusai Street because they're all catering to visitors, so they all look GOOD.

In the end, we settled for a fairly nondescript place that served agu, which is an Okinawan pork steak. It was so soft, juicy and delicious! I might have to scour Osaka's Taisho area for a place with agu steaks.
With lunch, I had a glass of Awamori, which is similar to shochu and native to Okinawa. I would say the flavor is quite similar to shochu, but it's probably stronger alcohol-content wise. I couldn't finish this tiny glass alone (Shota couldn't drink since he was driving later).

I miss you now awamori...
 Here's the interior of the restaurant we ate at. Very simple, nothing particularly Okinawan about it, but the food was good!
 Then there was this hand coming out of a building. That was different, but I didn't bother to see what they were selling (probably more souvenirs).
 A HUUUGE shashin, which similar to a shamisen, but is native to Okinawa. Supposedly most Okinawan households have one, but I wouldn't know since I didn't bother to invade anyone's home.

I did buy one though. I WILL learn how to play 'Nada Sou Sou.' And I will sing it in Uchina-guchi.
 I also thoroughly enjoyed Okinawa's Christmas decorations in the monorail stations. Every station I went to had it's own tree and trappings. A+ for effort.

 Then we were off to Shuri Castle (ALSO, my first UNESCO World Heritage Site I think... I've kind of been to Mt. Fuji before...), which was the seat of Ryukyu Kingdom (the name of Okinawa before it was subjugated by the mainland Japanese government).

I couldn't help but feel a bit of sadness while walking through the reconstructed grounds (most of it had been destroyed by previous wars and WWII). Not only had the Ryukyuu Kingdom been taken over by the mainland Japanese government, had their people sent to schools to help 'rid' them of their language (Uchina-guchi), but then they had to suffer through the horrors of war about a generation later. I also learned about how Japanese soldiers told Okinawans that they would tortured by American soldiers when they landed, so they convinced them to commit suicide (this, along with the general discrimination many Okinawans faced from mainland Japanese just makes me.. ugh, sad beyond words). Siiiigh, I know it's uber depressing, but I think we missed out what could have been a  truly wonderful culture. That being said, I did try to absorb as much of the Ryukyu culture as I could. :)
 The path leading to Shuri has a series of gates, similar to most other Japanese castles, but I like to think the Chinese influence is much stronger here than on the mainland.
 One of the several water sprouts that provided water to the inhabitants of the castle. I don't think it's drinkable by today's standards.
 This was the main courtyard where official ceremonies took place. So we took the most official poses we could think of.
Shota did an Ultraman pose.

And I did the GLICO man pose.

5pts. for originality! I suppose I wanted to bring a little Osaka to Okinawa. :)
 Then we made it around to the reconstructed tea room for some traditional Ryukyu snacks and Sanpincha (Jasmine tea). I'm now a maniac for sanpincha and very much regret not buying a crap-ton of Okinawan sweets...
 Beneath the reconstructed ceremonial building was the foundation of the original castle. I thought was was neat since Osaka has no such exhibit (I believe Osaka castle was completely burnt down then reconstructed... the foundation might still be there though).













The following are more photos from inside the Seiden (State Hall) where the Ryukyu King would conduct his diplomatic business as well as ceremonies with family.




 After walking what felt like the length of Naha, we got our rent-a-car and headed to Mid-Okinawa, where we stayed at the Rizzan Sea Park Tancha Bay. It was about an 1.5hr drive through mostly small towns, and because it was near 9pm, we couldn't really see anything!

So we stopped at the grocery store for a quick dinner and drinks. I opted for the Habushu (Okinawan Snake Wine) while Shota got some Okinawan beer. Although habushu is an alcoholic beverage, it is thought to have medicinal *cough* properties. But you can check out the Wiki article for more information on that. :P
And as luck would have it, on the evening of our first day in Okinawa, my favorite vacation movie came on TV!

I subsequently listened to the soundtrack all through the night (which is ama-za-zing btw).













That's all for part 1 I guess? I have more photos (some on my now uncharged DSLR), so look forward to another post or two about Okinawa, with a little Kansai in between ;)

★Peaces★