Picking up where I left off on my last Japan post, here are my favorite moments from our 4 day stay in Osaka!

We spent our first 2 days exploring Dotonbori, getting lost in train stations (again), and visiting “must see” attractions like the Osaka Castle. Looking back, I much prefer Osaka’s city vibe as compared to Tokyo. It was still full of energy, but a notch down on the frantic pace we experienced in Tokyo.

On Sunday, we went to the more suburban side of Osaka to attend holy mass. It was a charming experience walking around the quaint and quiet streets: we happened upon a little league baseball game, visited a neighborhood mall, and stopped to smell the flowers.

We also went to Universal Studios!!! We spent one glorious day riding (only) the rollercoasters and spontaneously dancing under the summer sun. We are definitely theme park people and after experiencing Six Flags/California Adventure/Disney World Florida (stories from another time, for another time) it kinda feels like we’ve seen and rode it all, but as a theme park, USJ did not disappoint. The whole day honestly felt like a YA movie—happy and full of pop music—but we had way too much fun being cliche to care.

We had a really great time in Osaka, even if I started feeling homesick after a while. But given the chance, I would still definitely come back to this part of Japan. It’s pretty cool how different it feels from Tokyo, even if it’s only a few hours and a Shinkansen ride away. Well actually, it’s amazing how different life is everywhere else; whether it’s only a block, a car ride or plane ride away.

One of my favorite things about traveling are the humbling realizations that come with it. I love being the main characters in our own travel story, and yet being just another anonymous family in crowd of people. I love remembering the grandness of being lucky enough to be alive in the world, and yet the smallness of being one among seven billion others. But most of all, I love remembering that there are so many worlds within this world and knowing that somewhere out there, someone is having the best day of their life.

Bea

All photographs captured with my Fujifilm XT-10 with a 16-50mm kit lens