Kansai Assessment

I haven’t thoroughly explored them yet, but now that I’ve at least hit up the three big cities of the Kansai region—Kyoto, Kobe, and Osaka—here are some initial thoughts.

Kyoto 
What the natives told me: Considered the cultural center of Kansai and of Japan.  Lots of temples.

My take:  Lots of temples, and that’s mostly all that I saw here.  I’m not much of a temple/shrine person.  They creep me out a little.  That night, I went to kaiten zushi (revolving conveyor belt sushi restaurant) in a shopping area, and I liked that area because I’m a consumerist, at least in Japan.

Kobe 

What the natives told me:  Kobe is lame.

My take:  I went with some SUA kids to check out hotels in the area.  Kobe is my favorite of the big three so far; I didn’t think it was lame at all.  Lots of weird Western architecture.  Lots of foreigners: many black people and Indian people and lots of openly-interracial couples pushing baby carriages.  Chinatown.  Harborland!  And a BMX park thingy.  Kobe is where I mistakenly bought really weird and nasty cheese cake… literally, cheese on a cake.

Osaka

What the natives told me:  The only thing in Osaka is the Osaka Castle, the former home of a daimyou (Japanese feudal lord). 

My take:  It was plum blossom season when I went, and both the plum trees and the castle were beautiful.  I had a lovely lunch by the castle with my fellow SUA students as well as some upperclassmen who graduated.  There’s a time capsule located at the park, and it is to be opened in 4,960 years.  Because Osaka Castle is supposedly the only thing in Osaka, we went to dinner in Kyobashi, a city nearby.  I’ve heard there’s a pretty big shopping district in Osaka, but I didn’t get to check it out this time.