Osaka - Tour Starting, Day 1 Arrival

The Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Walking Tour begins today.  We meet our tour guide and others in our group this evening at 6:30 pm at the Il Cuore Hotel.

Prior to this, we went out for breakfast, which we were able to get at small shop.  But, the most interesting thing we saw on the way to breakfast was an army of business people come out of an office building with long tongs and plastic bags.  They all worked for a single company becasue they wore name badges with a prominent logo which matched a sign in front of the building.  It is customary here to identify which floors in a builiding the tenant companies are located.  These workers all worked on 5F (meaning fifth floor).  They preceeded to pickup every tiny bit of trash and litter on both sides of the street for several blocks.  When we walked back after breakfast we passed along the same street and it looked very nice and clean.  We think we saw this in Tokyo, too but there were a lot less folks participating.  I can imagine what my co-workers would have said if they were asked to pick up trash around our building for 15 to 30 minutes.  Betsy says it is an example of how the good of the commuity outways the rights of individual.

We packed up, checked out of the Crowne Plaza Hotel, and navigated our way to the new hotel.  We arrived about 3 hours before check-in so we left our luggage and went walking.  After getting pointed in the correct direction we walked through the train station, south along a shopping street, largely for electronics and "big-eyed, kiddie dodads" for doting grandparents.  

There were lots of computer stores, gaming equipment, and electronic media stuff.  Advertisements and signs for such "oldies" like JVC, Kenwood, and Panasonic were present. 

The street or area is known as Nipponbashi Denden Town.  We made it to the Tennoji area where the Tsutenkaku Tower stands; and had an ice cream cone as a brief break.  

Adjoining the tower, which is at an intersection of 5 or so streets, there is a park, zoo, numerous shrines and temples, graveyards, a garden and ponds with turtles that rise up in the water and beg for food.   They look you directly in the eye.  

We next walked over to the Shitennoji Temple complex.  Again, an area of numerous temples, shrines and other religious sites, but it was mostly set as a bazaar or market with stalls selling all manner of stuff.  Items for sale included used clothing, kimono fabrics, pocketbooks, leather goods, food snacks (some recognizable, others not), some crafts, good luck charms, religious paraphernalia, etc.  

We walked back to our hotel, stopping at a store for snacks and then through a large market area adjacent to the Namba train station.