Flight logistics required we arrive in Osaka a day early for our tour. So Jane and I decided to do a little (about 5 miles) walking to get some of the long haul kinks and stiffness worked out.

Osaka is Japan’s second largest city with a population of 2.7M in 2015. It is an industrialized city with a thriving port and much commercial activity.

It doesn’t have many major tourist attractions. But the main one is Osaka Castle. The original castle was built around 1438. That structure and several successive ones have been destroyed by wars and fire over the centuries. The current structure built in 1938 replicates the main castle tower but is slightly smaller at 58 m of height. It is surrounded by a moat and impressive walls said to contain over a million stones some of which are enormous.

A very relaxing walk along a pedestrian/bike trail following the Okawa River gave us a glimpse of how locals are out enjoying the last days of fall with the trees just starting to turn colors. There was even some kind of fishing contest underway. The carp were quite large.

Day 1 of the tour consisted of a nice orientation dinner at the hotel with some group socializing.

Monday, our first full day on our tour found us exploring Osaka. We started the day with an hour-long river cruise which took us by a number of interesting sites - Osaka Castle, Japan’s mint for their coinage, the Osaka rose garden, under some of the hundreds of bridges that span the rivers and canals, etc. Unfortunately, the seating configuration on the boat and roof did not offer many photo ops.

Following the cruise we took a coach to the Dotonori Street business district, which is one of two major business districts in the city. It is a huge collection of retail shops and food emporiums covering many square blocks and laced with pedestrian/bike only avenues. One of the interesting features is that many of the food shops are cooking their product right on the street to entice potential customers to buy takeout or to come in and eat. Many of the emporiums have large figures on their facade that help one know in what they specialize- seafood, beef, puffer fish, etc. For lunch, we sampled three traditional cooking styles: okonomiyaki (a pancake filled with cabbage and topped with a meat and sauce), takoyaki (a dumpling filled with something - ours was octopus) and kushi-katsui (skewered meats and vegetables battered and deep fried). They were delicious.

One note on Japanese culture regards tipping. With few exceptions tipping in Japan is not customary. One of the exceptions is tour guides who because they ply their trade escorting foreigners from tipping cultures have now grown to expect a modest tip for a job well done. But most workers do not expect a tip for their services. Japanese culture requires workers to perform their jobs to the best of their abilities. Anything less is unacceptable. So when a tip might be offered by an unknowing visitor, it can sometimes be construed as rude or impolite or at a minimum confusing - why would a stranger offer me more money for doing a job well and for which I have been fairly compensated? When the random tip is offered, it is best done discreetly in an envelope and presented as a gift.

Tuesday we took the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Hiroshima and then to Miyajima Island via ferry before ending our day in Kyoto.