Osaka: Days 1 - 3 (REUPLOAD)

After years of waiting and 18.5 hours from London via Hong Kong, my father and I landed at Osaka Kansai International Airport at 21:05 Japan Standard Time (JST) or just after noon in the UK. One of the main reasons for travelling all this way was to see the beauty of "Hanami" or simply cherry blossom viewing, and to experience a unique culture.

To bring those up to speed on the city of Osaka: it is Japan's 3rd-largest city, after the inner-city area of Yokohama and the Greater Tokyo metropolis, known primarily for FOOD and COMEDY.

A popular phrase or saying in Osaka is (食い倒れ) or romanised as Kuidaore, which can be translated rather dryly as eat until you drop; which we'd sort of taken to heart, as we'd eaten a lot of street food, mainly Kushi-katsu in the central district of Dotombori.

As well as sampling some of Osaka's famed street food, we'd then decided to visit Osaka Castle, one of Japan's 12 original castles, before transiting through the urban metropolis to a place of serenity amid all the chaos: Shitennoji Temple and the Tsutenkaku Tower.

Up next in this 5-part series: A Delve into Hiroshima.

See you soon. :)

Editor's Note: The photo gallery has been removed due to technical issues displaying it on the live site, so it won't be reinstated to avoid errors.