Let's Go Tigers, Let's Go!

It's been pretty full on since the last post. We've been to a place called Mino-o, which has a waterfll and nature trails. We even saw a wild monkey (quite big!!). It was such a fantastic day - we walked for a few hours there. Their local specialty is momiji-no-tempura, which is the leaves off this tree, battered and deep fried. It was actually quite nice! There was a look out point, where you could see the whole of Osaka, it was amazing!







We went to Himeji castle, which is about an hour's train ride from Osaka. It was so beautiful, the grounds were covered with cherry blossoms, and the castle looked amazing! The inside was a bit scary, becasue it was jam packed with people and you couldn't move around much, but the grounds were breath-taking.







After that we went back to the hostel and had a bum around afternoon. We met a couple of Aussies, Adrian and Samantha, who were thinking of going to the Hanshin Tiger's game, and we thought we'd go along as well. After we figured out where to go, we jumped on the train and tried to find the stadium. After getting a bit lost we eventually found our way there. We decked ourselves out in Tigers merch and got our seats. There were Asahi girls roaming the aisles selling beers from kegs strapped to their backs! We met one called Mariko, who had spent some time in Australia, and her english was really good. Our dinner was iffy looking rice and curry and a yakitori stick. I also had a sardine (UGH GROSS!). We met these two guys who took us to a small foodhall type place foor a couple of beers with other Tiger's fans, and along the way we saw the tiger-leotard man (see below) who was leading the crowd in a Tiger's chant. Oh, the tigers lost as well!! When we were at the foodhall we met these two ladies who were quite excited to speak to us. One had been to NZ twice, so was stoked to talk to me. In the end the two ladies start giving us all of their Tiger's merchandise!!! We didn't know what to do, but it was just so lovely of them!







In the morning we packed up our stuff and got on the train to Hiroshima. I wasn't feeling tip top, so I had a nap while stacy went out and got lost roaming around the city. When he came back he'd already eaten, but I was starving so we headed out to find food. Somehow when I asked for noodles with pork it was lost in translation as "Spaghetti with cabbage, mash potatoes, and tentacles" *sigh*. After I took the tentacles out it didnt taste too bad, so oh well :D




till later!
xx Laura