May 15th was the first day we were responsible to getting to the campus on our own. Class today was at the Nakamozu campus where we worked on our Kikocho Tankyu and played Chronology to get to know more about Japanese history. After that we listened to a lecture on Japanese architecture and discussed many different aspects of it.
After the lectures were over we had lunch at the campus and began our field trips to the many places we went to in Osaka. The first was the Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine. We were able to walk around and look around the shrine and some of us bought charms. We took a group photo on the bridge at the shrine, which we had to take quickly to not block the path for the people trying to get across.
The next stop on the fieldtrip was the Shitennoji Temple, the oldest temple in Osaka. Outside of the temple we got a quick briefing about the significance of the temple and were able to get a good view of the outside. Then we entered and were able to look at all the buildings and got another group photo at the temple.
After the temple we went to Osaka Castle. After the walk up to the entrance we got tickets to go inside and look at all the information displayed on each floor of the castle. There were many diagrams and models of the castle and information about various events that had to do with the castle. At the top there was a view of the area around us that we could look at. There were gift shops in the castle in which we could buy souvenirs.
After going back down and exiting the castle we got tickets to the figure museum that was nearby. The museum was interesting and had a lot of figures on display from many different things. We got a coin to do the gacha in the museum (I got a Buddha pin). After getting through all of the displays in the museum there was a gift shop. There were a lot of figures and little collectable items you could buy in the gift shop.
After the figure museum, I walked around the city with a few others and we stopped at a cafe. On the way to the cafe we were able to see a lot of life in the city. It was interesting to go outside of touristy areas and get a view of what life is like here. When we got to the cafe we ordered at the front and were able to sit on the second floor. The second floor had a lot of books on display you could read if you wanted to, though they are all in Japanese. Since I don't drink coffee that often, I ordered the recommended drink they had on display. It was very good and it was a nice break after walking around everywhere all day.
Once we were finished at the cafe, we made our way back to Namba. The station was close by and we navigated using the map inside of the station to see where we needed to get on and off. After the commute back, we stopped at the hotel for a quick break before going back out.
We walked around a mall near the hotel that had a lot of stores. We looked at a lot of clothing stores, though most of the clothes on display there were very expensive. After looking around for a bit we left without buying anything and decided to go out to eat dinner.
For dinner we got Okonomiyaki. The restaurant we went to had a nice view of the river from the back window that we were sitting next to. The wait for the food was a little long, but that is how it usually is for Okonomiyaki. The wait was definitely worth it because we were able to make more room in our stomach to eat all of it.
After dinner we were all pretty tired and decided to head back to the hotel for the night and get some rest for tomorrow.
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