More Osaka, and some Kyoto

So what else did we do in Osaka? We went to the castle park one day, and had a picnic.

We also went to the ultra-modern waterfront, and rode the ferris wheel.
It was too rainy and crowded to actually go to the aquarium, but we did wander around the Universal Studios shopping center. Hopefully we'll get to go back soon.

By the way, these pictures are all on Siena's facebook page. I think you need to be her friend to see all of them, so I'll still upload a bunch, but there are more (really cute ones) over there.

Now I'm in Kyoto, where I've already gone to a ton of cultural things.

Like Arashiyama (super popular bridge and garden),

Ryoanji (zen rock garden),

Kiyomizudera (drank from the holy spring, forgot to do the womb tunnel),

and the National Museum exhibit on Zen treasures.
I like how this museum, built in the late 1800s, looks very European.
Except they used Eastern gods of art and culture for their relief.
By the way, my favorite artist was Hakuin, from the Edo period. This is a portrait of Bodhidharmu, known as Daruma in Japan. This portrait is huge, and I saw it in real life.

Oh, and Kyoto Station, which is not ancient at all but still really awesome.

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I feel weird sending postcards from places I haven't actually seen, but I feel weirder sending multiple copies of the same postcard. I understand that this is silly.

Yesterday, I was eating a ビビンバーガー bibimburger (bibimba is a Korean dish, and this bakery decided to put it in a bun) by the side of the river in Shijo (between the Geisha district and the shopping district), and a HAWK FLEW DOWN AND SNATCHED MY LAST BITE. I think that is my craziest experience in Japan so far.

Also yesterday I located an outdoor supply store (in that shopping district), right underneath an anime store I'd been to twice. Anyways, now I have a new bag for my tent, and padded biking gloves. Hurray!