TL;DR – Time to fly and begin my visit in Osaka by going under the sea.  

Disclosure – I paid for my flights, accommodation, entry, and everything you see purchased in this article.

Exploring Japan  –

I had always planned to go back to Japan one day, and had started making plans to go back in 2020, and then 2020 happened. But late last year, I finally had the chance to put those plans back in motion as I flew out of Melbourne for Osaka.  

On my last trip, I missed Osaka, so it was a bit intimidating to try and get my bearings on arrival, but soon I was taking a Hello Kitty train towards the city centre. While I would get better with the subway system during my stay, I don’t think I was the best tourist on that first trip through, and there was nothing quite like four flights of stairs to get out of the subway station near your hotel while holding all your luggage to help acclimatise you to the country.  

It was lunchtime by the time I had worked out the subway, directions, and the hotel check-in procedure. So, after exploring some of the side streets around my hotel, I found a burger place that was a good first pit stop to get some fuel for the rest of the day.

A couple of subway rides later and a nice walk through the Minato Ward, I was at the first key location of my trip, the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan. After queuing for my ticket, which had a timed entry, I took some time to walk around the place, see the large tanks of thyme they had, and get ready to see something large.

I was expecting there to be a wide variety of sea life in the aquarium, but even my wildest expectations were surpassed. When you start with otters, and they are only the beginning, you know you are in for a treat. Though I will say that there was an odd moment when a lady noticed a shoelace was not completely tied up; I thanked her and mentioned that I would attend to it at the next chair, only for her to stop me in the middle of the group of people and do it herself. There were a lot of sympathetic looks from the mostly Japanese group that were with me, so I just took it with grace and ploughed on.  

Now, I have heard tales of the big central aquarium; I have seen pictures, even some video, but can I tell you that nothing, nothing, prepares you for the majesty of seeing it in person. That first sight of a Whale Shark honestly took my breath away.

I don’t know, but I think I spent hours just sitting there watching all the fish, sharks, rays, and other creatures swim through the tank. Though at that size I don’t think tank is the right word.  

By the time I worked my way out, the Sun had started to set over Osaka harbour. I sat by the stairs and watched it fall behind the horizon, then, realising I was exhausted, started to make my way back to the hotel to get ready for the next day and my first trip out of the city.

Also surprise crabs

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Bluesky at @Tldrmovrev, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images and content have been created by the author unless stated otherwise