I was wondering why cough drops were so sweet until I read the back and saw it was Vitamin C Throat Candy. At least it has a lot of Vitamin C.

After a long day of wandering around and taking in the sights, this was an amazing view to come home to.

These grounds had several smaller shrines, but this life sized horse was something that stood out because of its stark difference from the usual shrine.

The red torri gates mean only one thing, a shrine for Inari. Guarded by foxes that she uses for messengers, she's hugely popular as a goddess of prosperity. Companies will buy these red gates, as a donation, then place a smaller version in their office or factory, as a symbol of the offering to Inari. Whether or not the employees or owners believe in the mythology, it's considered good form, and that matters more than anything. In Kyoto, the major Inari shrine has a walkway lined completely with these gates, to the point it looks as if one is walking through a red hallway.

Such a simple little shrine tucked away behind the railroad tracks and amongst the neighborhood. There must have been something in the way the trees were arranged, because the moment you entered the shrine grounds, background noise seemed to fade noticeably. As if crossing through the torri gates separated you from every day life for a little bit.

All of the koi were on one side of the bridge. Off of the right side, there were none. No idea why.

I pass this every day on the train, but it's not near one of my regular stops so I've never taken the time to look around. Decided to fix that this afternoon.

A couple possibilities, either somebody decided it'd be funny to hide their friends bike in the river, or somebody was following directions way to seriously. There were at least 4 bikes along the western bank, and two motor scooters. 

And all of the fishermen were on to something. There were decent sized fish literally jumping out of the water. It's a bit hard to see in this photo, but the silver line in the middle is a fish that was a good 10 inches jumping out of the water.

Fishing in the river that divides Nishinomiya from Amagasaki is really popular. There were a ton of people out today, even with unpredictable weather.

The statue standing outside of the local high school baseball stadium. It's situated just feet away from the Hanshin Tiger's farm team stadium, kind of an inspring place to play high school baseball.

A map that details the Prefectural Trees of Japan. And Hyogo's tree, the Camphor. 

The bells are all locked into place, so they produce no sound now, but the tower itself is still an interesting break from the forest.

Went through the park I see every morning. Turns out I've been missing a lot. Little memorials like this, statues, tents of homeless people, a high school baseball field, this park was hiding a lot of things.

Sorry for the lack of updates recently. Been so caught up with school that I haven't really taken time to go wander with my camera/do much worth taking pictures of. But here's Osaka Bay at sunrise to make up for it. Insomnia can have its benefits. I'll do my best to get more pictures up here in the future.

He saw me playing Pokemon on my computer. Decided I didn't need to do it any more. Can't read the Japanese so I read it for him.

Baby Sora! So chubby and cute. Almost 5 months old.

To make up for my Costco lunch, salmon, rice (mixed with a raw egg) and coffee. Although the egg and rice mix would probably give a cardiologist a heart attack.

Convenience store food here doesn't leave you regretting eating it. 105 yen for this tuna bread.

This picture doesn't come close to doing it justice. But the view from the temple ground shows you everything. Both of Osaka's downtowns, all the way down the bay to Kansai International and Wakayama, both Amagasaki and Nishinomiya, and I could even see my school from not too far away. It was amazing, and definitely one of those things you had to be there for.

The stairs up to the temple itself. There were three different temples, a giant bell, and some Shinto sites. There was a temple up there that was maybe 10 years old. Virtually untouched by the elements, and it was amazing to see the difference between that and the others I've seen on my trip.

Temple entrance to Konnoji Temple. And Kai still passed out.

After coming down off the sugar high brought on by the ice cream, he crashed on the ride home. Still had ice cream stains on his face.

"Let me go first! I want to run!" The Costco is on the first floor, with a parking structure on the next two. So they have escalators to go up the floors for the carts, and the carts lock into place once you're on there. Kaioh almost ran off into the parking lot because he was ahead of us.

He calls me older brother all the time. See the family resemblance?

Wanted to move inside because he was too cold outside. Drinking that pineapple smoothie and eating the Hokkaido Ice Cream, I can't imagine why.

Worst meal I've had since arriving health wise. This and the coke were worth the artery clogging though for a taste of home. Even if there was a pigeon outside that kept harassing us for our food. Kaioh even chased it off and it came right back and stared him down.

So, the peanut butter and nutella may have been more on the want side of the Want vs. Need spectrum, but not a bad run to Costco. Pasta, Soba, bananas, rice, and cereal to pretty much last me the rest of my stay. I'll call it good.

Who says you can't go home? There's always something there to remind you. Beyond the song lyrics, it was really cool to see this here as a reminder of home.

After immediately sitting on the front of the cart and being shown the picture that says not to do exactly what he was doing, he jumped on the side and surfed throughout the store.

"Some Japanese come here because it's like being in another country." This is how Shige described it to me. And it's true. It's laid out exactly the same as an American Costco, yet you'll turn into one of the aisles and see it laden with products that are most definitely Japanese and it'll snap you back to where you really are.

My partner in crime ready to go to Costco. He was out of his seatbelt in like three minutes, but hey, I tried setting a good example.

Green Tea Oreo Sticks. I want to eat them all.

Got to be the best Japanese lesson I've had. Watched Iron Man with Kaioh, then chatted with him for an hour or so till he went to bed. He doesn't care that my Japanese isn't as good as his, just that I'm hanging out with him.

One of everything please.

Real life Power Rangers? Awesome way to celebrate Boys Day here.

Somewhere between soft serve ice cream and Greek Yogurt falls Japanese yogurt. It's got sweetness not unlike ice cream, but a texture much more akin to watery yogurt. All in all, really good. Thank you to Keiko Okiebisu for the gift!

Huh? Speak up! Looks like a pretty one sided conversation.

Nigawa. Although the river part of that is pretty much gone.

My attempt at making yakisoba. Despite no real directions, it was delicious. Or maybe I was just really hungry.

Oh hey there Dole.