Think we're turning Japanese?

14 November, Route Inn, Awaza, Osaka

(Later same day)

Just had dinner at a little back street noodle bar. It reminded us why we love travelling. This place had space for 15-20 people at a stretch. A little old grandma, hovering at the doorway, grabbed us and ushered us in to the bar seats. When we ordered two beers she tried to explain that they were BIG beers, but we won out. Everything was in Japanese, so we just pointed at what the people beside us were just finishing up. As they left, they gave us the thumbs up on their selection, so all was good. The young guy doing the cooking spoke a little English, so we discussed the meaning of life and other stuff and drank on. The end result was a great experience that would never be found in a main street, Western style Japanese restaurant.

15 November, Route Inn, Awaza, Osaka

We've just about had enough of museums, but it was a bit wet this morning so we headed off to the Transport (read Train!) and the Ethnological Museums. As might be expected, the Transport Museum was a big hit. We even got to drive some model trains!

In spite of a fair bit of museum overload, it must also be said that the Ethnological Museum was well worth the time. It has an enormous collection of artefacts from around the world, ranging from tools to yurts, with photos, videos, statues and all manner of things. Even though English signage is limited, it is extremely well presented. An added bonus is that the museum is located in the Expo Park, accessible by monorail. It was a while back now, 1970, but the park is still a reserve and this time of the year it is in all its autumn splendour. One of the centrepieces of the Expo still stands at the entrance to the park - a huge and extremely ugly statue called Tower of the Sun.

This close to the end of a trip, we usually do a review, but as this is our third trip to Japan for a total of six weeks of Japanese experience, there isn't too much more to add, except to say that there is a lot to be said for repeat visits. Perhaps our best comment on this trip would be 'We think we're turning Japanese... we think we're turning Japanese... we really think so!'