Osaka
Shinkansen for the win :) It is a great mode of transportation indeed. About 3 hours after leaving Tokyo, I arrived at Shin-Osaka station, and from there it's just a few stops by a subway line to get to the center (Umeda / Kita).
First impressions:
- Osaka clearly has a different "vibe" than Tokyo, though I can't exactly pinpoint it.
- less tourists (outside Dotonbori etc, that is :)
- cars are fancier on average, but a bit older as well
Osaka castle
Even though I only saw it from outside, it's impressive, as it's surroundings / fortifications. And as with many places in Japan, it's the contrast between new and old that adds to the vibe. Like skyscrapers not-so-far away, or airplanes on approach, in the sky above the castle.
Underground stations
Underground stations (Umeda especially) are like towns, with many "streets" and insane amount of exits. Took me a few days to discover (and memorize) the exit nearest to my hotel 😀 And also, speaking of hotels... when you're navigating back to your hotel from an unknown direction, check the name you're putting into the navigation, and resulting location (on a map). There may be multiple similarly named ones, and if your rely on auto-complete too much, you may end up slightly off-course. Don't ask me how I know 😀
Umeda Sky Building
It's a distinct cool-looking building and worth the visit. In addition to "normal" (inside) observation deck, there is also an open-air observation deck at the top.
Also, some massive construction was going on nearby, which slightly complicated navigation.
Dotonbori
It's just crazy. Overcrowded, "touristy", and overall, not exactly pleasant. But there are ton of food places there (some of which had quite long queues btw). So... if navigating through crowds is your thing, go ahead. If not - look elsewhere.
Food
Osaka is known for it's love of food. And there's ton of different restaurants, street food etc. Won't give any recommendations, except maybe try Okonomiyaki?
Osaka bay
Bay area (subway stations Osakako / Cosmosquare) is nice. If you have the time and are looking for a relatively chill place, Osaka Bay area might be worth a visit. There's also a really impressive Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan (which I didn't visit at that time), Legoland (if that's your thing), Ferris wheel, promenade etc.
Sun vs trees
My impression was that Osaka has way less places (trees / parks etc) to hide from burning sun than say, Tokyo...
And... eventually it was time to move to the next destination - Hiroshima
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