Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!
OSAKA RULES!!!
So this morning we checked out of the hotel in Hiroshima and took a trip to Osaka! It’s between Hiroshima and Tokyo!
AND IT HAS A WATERPARK!!!
Well… Kind of. It’s nothing like the American waterparks. And it’s more of an amusement park than a waterpark. But still!!! It’s got pools!!!
And it’s on top of a mountain! That’s why they call it Ikoma Sanjo! Mount Ikoma amusement park! and you can see all down into Osaka!!! We took the train to Ikoma station, then we took a cable car right to the top of the mountain, and there was the park!!!
It was… an alright park. I mean, I think its location is the best thing about it. But it does have video arcades and pools and places to eat… it was fun!!! And the funny thing is, because it’s on top of a mountain, it shares space with television and radio towers! Japan sure knows how to use space efficiently! We wanted to see the view when the sun went down, but it closed at 5 today. So we took the cable car back to Ikoma and the train back to Osaka, where we stayed the night. Osaka is a pretty city though! And we’re staying at a pretty nice hotel!!! The rooms are a bit crowded because there are so many of us, but they’ve picked some nice places to stay, so I can’t complain! Being packed in like sardines is the Japanese way!
Tomorrow we’re going to explore Osaka a bit, and then take the shinkansen back to Tokyo.
After we get back to Saitama, I don’t know what we’re going to do. Emiko’s been pretty tight lipped about plans for the second week. But even if we don’t do anything else, this has been so much fun! I love it here!
… but I do miss home too. I love Japan, and it’s part of my heritage, and I love Emiko and obaasan and ojiisan… and everyone else… but I’ll be glad to get back home too.
Monday is Lily Day, and I won’t be home for it. That does make me a little sad. Okay, a lot sad. It’s not because they give me things or take me places or… it’s because they love me, and that’s a day they tell me that. But I guess there’s after I get home… and always next year.
Speaking of waterparks, Sabby told me that today one of the waterparks back in Austin dumped 15,000 lbs of ice in their pools!!! HAH!! I wish I could have seen that! And they had snow machines too!!! But I can see Texas waterparks anytime.
Well, remember what I said about being packed in like sardines? Everyone wants to go to bed, and I’m tired too. So bai bai!!!