I just got back from a conference held at Osaka University (Suita Campus) in Osaka, Japan. The conference was Advances in Neural Engineering and I thoroughly enjoyed participating and learning. I arrived in Osaka several days before the conference began so that I could adjust to the time and do some sight-seeing. I stayed in the Hotel Hankyu Expo Park which was a 10 minute monorail ride from the University and probably 30 minutes to 2 hours to get to most places around Osaka and Kyoto (nearby city with many temples). One of my hosts told me the text “Banpaku-kinen-koen” actually means Expo Park. It was the site of the 1970 international expo held in Osaka.

Chapter 1: Osaka Castle

So on to the sightseeing! The first day I went to Osaka Castle (main site, Wikipedia link), a huge fortress originally constructed in 1583 and modified over the years with the changing political landscape. The entire park is impressive. The castle itself is built on raised land supported by massive stone walls which you can see in this picture.  Some of the walls extend as high as 20 meters (more than 60 feet).  When you get up close to the walls, you can see how big the stones are.  Many of them are several feet on a side – I can’t imagine how heavy they are.

The castle grounds are divided into an outer and inner area, and of course, there was a moat (a must for any decent, self-respecting castle) protecting the inner walls.  A beautifully textured wooden bridge crossed the moat to the inner sanctum.  From here visitors start to get a real idea of the size of the castle!

As big as it seemed from outside the castle walls or even just across the moat, it was much, much bigger in person.  It is fascinating to me that people built this castle without the modern conveniences of combustion engines or hydraulics!  If I remember correctly, there were 8 floors in the castle itself.  The inside has been completely modernized so that there is an elevator and stairs.  You can go the whole way to the upper pagoda where the view of the city is magnificent.

The museum inside the castle is very interesting and documents the history over the centuries as the castle changed hands and played a major role in the shaping of Japanese government.  Among the many artifacts were samurai outfits originally belonging to some of the rulers.  Their dress was intimidating!  Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take pictures of the older pieces.

Ornate designs decorated much of the exterior of the castle, such as the gold tiger in the picture below.

In the same inner area there was also a beautiful Japanese garden.  I was running out of time but walked through quickly.  The view of the castle was shaped quite well by the pond and garden elements.

Chapter 2: Osaka Kaiyukan Aquarium

On Saturday morning, I went to the Osaka Kaiyukan Aquarium at Osakako (the port).  Their claim to fame is a whale shark exhibit, which was appreciably large!  The fin of the shark was probably on the order of 5 feet tall.  The length must have been 10-15 feet.  It was a massive creature.

The theme of the aquarium focused on the variety of life around the Pacific Ring of Fire.  They had dophins, huge sea turtles, large crabs, manta rays, otters, and many other species.  Two of the exhibits I enjoyed the most (alongside the whale shark) were the penguins and the jellyfish.  The penguins were quite playful and would come right up to the glass to see the “human exhibit”.  This one in particular would come up to stare and play with some of the children holding their hands out.  The jellyfish were fiery orange and red against the blue lighting of the tanks – an exhibit I always love no matter the aquarium.

One of the most interesting things I saw was a diver feeding the stingrays and other creatures in one of the really large central tanks.  The diver would take a small squid or octupus out of a tupperware container and literally put the food into the mouths of these stingrays.  Fish of all kinds swirled around him all through this process.  In the background you can see the whale shark, in another area of the tank separated by a net.

Chapter 3: Kyoto

The last major destination I visited for sightseeing was the city of Kyoto Sunday afternoon.  I went with the hosts of the conference and several other participants and had a great time.  The weather was quite dreary and very wet.  After spending some time trying to balance both the umbrella and the camera, I finally gave up with the umbrella and just got wet.

The gardens of the temple were incredible.  The preparation, design, and maintenance were clearly evident.  I could probably have spent much more time in Kyoto, and in fact if I return some day I will go to Kyoto to see more of the temples and gardens.  I saw only two of the twenty or so temples around the city.

Chapter 4: Odds and Ends

After the conference ended on Tuesday we all went to a traditional Japanese restaurant in downtown Osaka.  The food was marvelous there as it was everywhere I ate.  In these restaurants, patrons remove their shoes before going to a secluded eating area, often upstairs from the main entrance.  We would approach these restuarants from sometimes very narrow (but brightly decorated!) alleyways, and walk through bright cloth banners in the entrance.  Dishes were always beautifully prepared as well as very tasty.

Japan: A Wonderful Experience

I spent only a week in Japan but I found the people warm and accepting, the culture fascinating, and the scenery breathtaking.  I spent a lot of time on subway trains; every so often, the train would stop service in the middle of a line.  I assume this fact was announced over the loudspeaker but I could never be certain because it was only in Japanese, so I sat happily in my seat while everybody else on the whole train got off.  Every time that happened (kind of funny that it happened more than once right?  you’d think I’d start to notice a pattern), a grandmotherly woman would smile and gesture anxiously at me through the window from the platform, or elderly man would shake his hand on my shoulder and motion to get off.  This experience was typical of all my interactions with people.  The hosts of the conference were especially gracious.  The students I met were as eager to learn about my culture as I was to learn about theirs.

I was also amazed at the volume of people!  At the Osaka/Umeda station in downtown Osaka, there is an underground shopping area that must extend for miles (not an exaggeration), all lined with department stores and vendors of all kinds.  This shopping center connects hotels, subway stations, and train stations, so at times there was a veritable sea of people moving in both directions (walking on the left, not the right!) and you could really only go with the swell.  Times like these it was easy to feel somewhat lost in the cadence of footsteps and blur of faces, although being tall and red-haired I probably was anything but an invisible face in the crowd.

Today, with the effects of travel beginning to wear off and sleep returning to a more normal schedule, I downloaded all 1000+ photos and started poring over them, revisiting all the places I saw and people I met.  It was a wonderful experience!  I think I will have many warm memories of Japan.