Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Japan (Osaka) April 2010 D-2


Mochan of the Wish Club is the organizer of the 14 day Sakura bus trip for his local & overseas CS & HC members. He had abundant energy, a skillful driver, a team player, an excellent English speaker and throughout the rest of the journey, he was also our unofficial tour leader ! Each of us contributed Y2,000 (RM74) per day to share the cost of fuel and toll fees incurred on this trip.

After 6-7 hours of bus ride, we arrived in Osaka. In between, we had several stops and it was quite a chill in the air in the early morning - In one occasion. I was shivering the moment I stepped out of the bus walking towards a toilet nearby. It was a long night as we all slept in the bus and also after a long overnight flight - everybody showed signs of tiredness but the cold weather kept us fresh and awake by the time our bus arrived in Osaka.

I did not realize that Osaka was bombed flat during the 2nd World War. It was also briefly the first capital of Japan before shifted to Nara in the late 16th century. It has been a major port & trading center in the good old days.

Our group did not put up a night in Osaka, instead we stayed in Kyoto for 2 nights.

1) Our first visit to Osaka ! Cherry blossoms in Osaka Park !!




2) Plenty of cherry trees in the park. Picking a cherry tree to pose for a picture is quite a fun ! Always nice to take a picture standing besides a cherry tree - left, center and right !


3) Osaka-Jo (castle) - a UNESCO site, built in 1583 but was destroyed in 1615. The present structure is a 1931 reconstruction of the original


4) Cherry blossom parties in Osaka Park - socializing, exchanging hand-shakes, Japanese sake and plum wine, Japanese snacks; we were all guests of Mochan - our wonderful host and founder of Wish Club - long live Mochan !!! All smiling faces as though as we had known each others for quite some time


5) Osaka city & shopping center - time for lunch, window shopping and an orientation walk around the tourist areas


" The Secret of Life : Old friends pass away, new friends appear. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful, have meaningful friends and meaningful days in your life "

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