Kenny and I are superstars! Well, that may be a bit of an exaggeration. Let me back up for a second.

We arrived at KIX without a problem on Thursday, and the four of us (including Adam and Stephanie) were immediately weirded out! Our first challenge was to find the train that would take us from the airport into Osaka central, about an hours ride. Luckily, a kind Japanese man helped us, and we were on our way.

Our second challenge was to buy a subway ticket to get us to our hostel. As expected, there wasn't much English on the subway map! Somehow, we found our station and got to the right neigborhood.

And our third challenge was to actually find the hostel! After making many wrong turns, we stumbled upon our hostel. We were immediately impressed- large, clean room, private bathroom, swanky reception area.

After freshening up, we were off. The main nightlife district in Osaka is in the area surrounding Dontombori, near the river and Namba station. This area was like no place I'd ever been, but if I had to compare it to something, I'd say like Freemont Street in Las Vegas. All the shopping arcades were covered, there was lots of neon, and lots of gambling! None of us expected that!

We were on the hunt for conveyor belt sushi- some of the best and cheapest in the country (Osaka is right on the water). I've eaten a lot of sushi before, but this blew everything right out of the water. The fish was so tender, so fresh, and seemed to melt right in your mouth. Out of everything I ate, I liked the crab salad and salmon best. Yum!

At this time of night, Dontombori was hopping. Flashing lights, large animals on the sides of buildings, the smell of warm octopus balls (Takoyaki), and a swarm of people. We must have taken 50 pictures between our three cameras. What an introduction to Osaka!

The next morning, while we were exploring our neighborhood near Tennoji, Kenny and I were stopped by a camera crew. They wanted us to say into the camera, "Osaka is Number One!" Needless to say, we didn't have any problems saying that!

Up Next: Kyoto