Central Japan: Day 7

Ahhhhh, the last day of vacation.

View of Osaka City and its fall colors from the top of the castle wall

Today I was in Osaka.  The hotel I've been in for the last 4 days has been in this area, but I'd not yet been out-and-about in the daytime until today. One of my top priorities was getting some momiji tempura (maple leaves deep-fried in sweetened tempura batter). 

This required a trip outside of the downtown area to a smaller city called Mino-o, which is famous for selling these little treats.  As you can imagine, they also have a lot of gorgeous scenery.  Lots and lots of autumn leaves for visitors (and residents, too, I guess) to enjoy, along with a famous waterfall, temples, and a quaint little shop-lined street selling local produce, snacks, and souvenirs.

Ryuan-ji temple in Mino-o

Some of the local produce

Souvenir shopping done, then back to the big city.  I headed for Osaka Castle park first. Before the main event, though...

...Ginkgo trees

...and this man, impressing everyone with his hawk.

And at last, there it was.  All shiny in the afternoon sun.

You'd think I'd have seen enough of these after a week of castle- and temple-gazing, but they are (almost always) quite a sight to see.  And this one is certainly no exception; all that gold is very pretty.

Next stop was lunch in the Shinsekai district, famous for--among other things--its abundance of kushi-katsu (or kushi-age, as it's called in Tokyo) shops and blowfish restaurants.

Shinsekai district with Tsutenkaku Tower in the background.  Can you guess where they sell blowfish?

Kushi-age (I'll stick to my local dialect) is a dish that I really like: skewered meat or veggies which are battered, covered in panko bread crumbs, deep-fried and then served with tonkatsu sauce.

The outside of the shop where I ate kushi-katsu

I always go for the veggies, and this time the shop even had "dessert" selections, too.  I chose banana--served with whipped cream--and ice cream.

L-R and top to bottom: onion, lotus root, eggplant, asparagus, and potato

After my late lunch, it was time to head back towards the main station area.  Just one more stop before getting on the bullet train to Tokyo: the Floating Garden Observatory, an open-air observatory on top of the Umeda Sky Building.  Got there just in time for this:

Some beautiful scenery to complete the trip!

And now...back to reality.  I'm home in Tokyo and will have one more day tomorrow to kick back a little bit before heading back to work on Monday.

Phew! What a week of posts...I hope you've enjoyed them.  Post your thoughts or questions in the comments section below; I'd love to hear from you!