Izumi in the Other Side of her World

CHAPTER 7 - OUTSIDE TOKYO

    The 16th today is our one special day to spend in Osaka. And I just feel so goddamn excited. Starting from Osaka, we will go anywhere we can pick. Matsuri will continue to be my chilling travel partner girl in all the places she is willing to show me. Early morning we get up to Osaka. It looks so far from Tokyo seemingly. Like a ten hour ride there. But she says: "The train ride is usually under two and a half hours. Because of... TECHNOLOGY! We now have Shinkansen bullet trains that are so much faster." But you know, it really is a curiosity to know more about how incredible those Shinkansen trains are. We get in anyways. And as the train starts to take off with us in it, just feels so much of a very new cool motion of speed you can see. It does feel so fast that the movement of the outside is even rough. Like a single motion picture you can move up way ahead in milliseconds. And while on the train... there isn't really much to do on the train. Besides Matsuri sneaking in earphones making me listen to Nana Mizuki. That can be one good example. I have a good knack for 2000s J-electro pop, and rock as well. My usual favorite J-music genre. That's why I would get too excited if it ever plays anywhere, and my heart beats to the rhythm of the music.

   We also choose to make a to-do list of what to do in Osaka. First thing I thought of is, visit Sana's home city. I'm kidding because it's literally the same thing. But seriously... Matsuri says you should go to Osaka castle very early like 9:00 AM. Or else you will wait a long line. That's why we left at 6:30 AM without having breakfast. We will just have it here in the train... with a bento! And it looks so cute as we got it. A train shaped rice Omusubi. A piece of tamago egg, Hamburg steak, small vegetable toppings, two pieces of raw salmon sashimi, and the fish cake topping. The good old name origin of Naruto. 

    While enjoying train breakfast, Matsuri bothers to talk to me more of the anime I really loved watching. "Kaguya-sama: Love is War. My favorite character is Ishigami. Haikyu!! Haikyu!!... I love it because it's fun. My favorite character is Tanaka. Tokyo Revengers I like as well, And Jujutsu Kaisen." I don't really enjoy those kinds of conversations with people; because I don't talk that much to anyone. Maybe between Alexa and Jill back in the Philippines. It's only something between us that is easy to talk those stuff like that. Of course... now we're all geeks and it's easy. It's hard not to become one of culture. I tell her as well: "I still fear the language barrier somewhat." In like a demanding worry thought that I still want Matsuri to teach me everything there is in the Japanese language. 

   She explained: "That's not how you learn Japanese. It will take you around 2,200 hours to learn fluently. You can't waste that much time just to do that in one go. 

   Don't fear the language barrier please. It's a terrible feeling. You can still survive here with English. Here is like a fun survival game. It's not hard. Just enjoy."

And as we finally arrive, Osaka... just looks so incredible around. As said, the first thing we do is take an early visit to Osaka Castle.

  The outside is very sunny with the green grass and the trees. But we even made a run to it. Pay for our ticket, walk up stairs which the stone feels very ancient. Take a picture with its cannon, and inside the castle we go. Goddamn the castle is big indeed. And I thought the observatory isn't so high up, but it is all the way at the top. We really did take a good view of the panorama of the upstairs of the castle. Not much, but feels like the best we have at least did.

  And after Osaka Castle is... (We did a little cheery shake with it.) Tennoji! The home of Sana. Seeing it, Tennoji is a really urban place in Osaka. With the park and the zoo, and a staircase. Giving me that Lombard street feeling in San Francisco.

    I was given the indecisive choice to go for a visit to Tennoji Zoo. I don't go to zoos that much. And this could probably be my rare chance. It must be that Matsuri also feels my pain of my indecisiveness. "We'll have lunch anyways in Shinsekai. We could still make it quick in the zoo. Who'd care about budget now?" I still partly paid for our visit, and we spend our next several hours enjoying in the zoo. I'm still reminded never to rush because the good zoos I would ever go to are in Tokyo. So I must enjoy.