7/15/2023

Hello Blog Readers,

It’s another day, another adventure here in Japan. Our morning took us to Osaka Castle in Osaka. Osaka Castle is a national treasure in Japan, as it marks the site where Japan was first unified in the late-1500s. Commissioned by Hideyoshi Toyotomi in 1583, the castle stood as a symbol to both Toyotomi’s power and Japan’s potential. I was quite impressed by the size and scope of the castle and its surrounding moat and gardens, which seemed well ahead of their time in style and architecture. How it is that Osaka Castle was built nearly 450 years ago and yet still looks modern today is a mystery to me. Toyotomi was clearly ahead of his time.

After touring Osaka Castle, we had lunch and relaxed for a bit in Osaka before once again riding the bullet train up to Kyoto. This time, we headed to Fushimi Inari -Taisha -a place so photographed, iconic and popular that I’m sure you’ll recognize it from the below photos alone.

When we were finished navigating the endless sea of torii gates, we left the area and taxied back over to the Gion District. Our purpose in returning to the District was to enjoy another phenomenal dinner – this time at a Michelin Star rated sushi restaurant called Matsudaya.

Unlike the dinner from last night, we weren’t allowed to take photos during the course of the meal, but I’m happy to attest that the sushi here is pretty much the best that you can eat on the planet. Period. It’s ranked, for Pete’s sake!

Our reason for having had a reservation at such an amazing restaurant relates to my brother-in-law, Trey. Trey’s friend’s girlfriend’s family happens to run the restaurant. They invited us to the place as a celebration of our time in Japan, and of my sister’s recent birthday. Yet unfortunately the girlfriend (Minami) became sick recently and couldn’t join us at the restaurant, meaning that we were on our own for the dining experience. Nevertheless, we were SO well taken care of by her family during our meal, and we all felt greatly humbled and thankful for the hospitality. My family has quite the network of friends at this point – a network that spans the world – and it’s crazy to see that even in a place as far away as Kyoto, Japan we can still find ourselves in the presence of friends that feel like family, and we can feel right at home.

As we finished our amazing meal, we bid farewell to the kindly family/restaurant and wandered the night streets of the Gion. The nighttime district had a completely different feel from the daytime district that we had seen the day before…as well as WAY more people.

Okay, that’s about all of the energy that I have tonight. See you all soon for another Japan blog entry!

Cheers,

-Rob