(or
as I occasionally called it, Ocado!)
This
is the heart of a megalopolis of 19 million people, taking in Kyoto
and about twenty other cities of the coastal plain, and it shows:
huge retail and entertainment areas crammed with people.
On our
first night we were overwhelmed by the area known as Minami, where
thousands of restaurants and bars cluster around a canal and the
street Dontonburi. Huge electronic signboards blare out their wares,
and waiters try to drag you into their competing establishments. The
area where we stayed, Shinsaibashi, is scarcely less busy, a grid of
narrow lanes. On this weekend, families were roaming the streets,
apparently looking for something to do. Our very trendy hotel, all
polished concrete and eco options, had great public areas, but
minuscule rooms, seemingly built for crabs as you had to go sideways
to get anywhere.
To
escape the madness we walked through some of the leafier quarters to
the relatively wide open spaces around the castle. This is largely a
reconstruction but still impressive – the largest in Japan –
moats within moats formed of giant granite blocks, with the many
tiered castle at its centre.
We also caught a local train out to
Minoo park, a calm and heavily wooded deep valley gouged out of the
surrounding hills. Deep into the gorge, where we caught a glimpse of
the local monkeys, is a waterfall, a favourite spot for local
walkers. Definitely the highlight of our stay here.
We
took a chance one evening on a yakitori restaurant, which offered the
chef's choice of assorted skewers. Most were delicious but one
comprised barbecued chicken cartilage!
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