These two weeks in Tokyo have passed way to fast. I do regret a bit that I did not stick with my initial plan to stay four full weeks in Tokyo.

I had feared I would be lost in translation (and I am!) and be bored like in the movie… What a big error. There’s certainly no way to ever be bored in Tokyo, if you just leave the hotel bar!

I could have stayed there for four weeks without problem, and I do regret leaving it now as I have just started to develop that feeling for it, having a few places I started to go to, and automatically taking the right turn in the metro…

Still, It’s time to see a bit more of Japan, and the first stop is Osaka. Japan’s second biggest city, I’m downsizing from 37 million to a mere 19 million.

I took the Shinkansen bullet train today and travelled 550 kilometers in exactly three hours. Exactly. Japanese trains are on time, to the second.

It was a bit of an adventure, as I had conflicting info on the address (google maps versus airbnb) and still no mobile internet. However, my host had arranged for a friend to come and let me in and he mailed me detailed instructions.

So, here’s to Osaka, I’m really curious. The city was on my list for a long time. It was replaced by Tokyo pretty much by accident, as I had several friends who were traveling at the same time, and I had not really prepared anything…

But at least I can visit it now, and also make a few trips into the other cities as Kyoto and Nara.