I'd planned my first full day in Osaka weeks before, after breakfast (miniature sausages, burgers, croissants, and scrambled eggs, eaten with chopsticks of course) tried to walk to Osaka castle as the subway looked horrifyingly complicated. ¾ of an hour in jungle humidity and 35OC heat, with my shirt in danger of dissolving forced me underground. With the help of an old lady I was on my way on one of Osaka's 7 subway lines.

After a couple of changes and asking a policeman, I found the Castle. With a dramatic appearance from behind the tree lined park and over the multi-story moat, the castle must have been a forbidding site when originally constructed in the 16th century (NOTE: virtually all historical sites in japan are less than 50 years old in actuality, for the obvious reason). The park surrounding the castle has multiple uses, the Baseball practice I saw was probably one of many evens that happen here throughout the year. After drinking Japan's favorite refreshment 'Pacari Sweat' (tasted a little like Lilt) I carried on to the Osaka City Museum of History, designed to look like a boat with a sail (the brown section is the museum and the sail). Though a thoroughly interesting and well laid out experience, without the audio guide I would have been stumped.

Catching the subway back, without really understanding the pricing system, I got back to the hotel. I got a meal from a Japanese fast food restaurant (buying a ticket for the food from a machine, sitting at a table and getting the meal in minutes, it tasted great too). My first day alone in a foreign country had gone surprisingly well, but it was exhausting and called for another drug induced sleep.