Konnichiwa, Osaka!

We arrived in the Osaka Kansai Airport and took the Airport Express train to Namba Nankai Station at about 9 'o clock local time on Sunday. We got out of the station after about half an hour of finding our way (there were 25 exits).  The sheer scale of the station-cum-mall-cum-foodcourt-cum-cinema was amazing.  Our hotel, Swissotel Nankai Namba, was also huge (36 floors).

After freshening up, we left to the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan.  That was the most amazing aquarium (or zoo) I have ever seen.  Here is a picture of the aquarium:

 The central theme here is the Pacific Ring of Fire, or the Ring of Life.  There are 9 floors of absolute marvel here.  Imagine a deep water tank, and in the middle a spiralling glass walkway winding its way down, with water all around you.  The marine animals that live in the top surface of the ocean are on the top floors and those found in the depths of the ocean, on the seabed, are on the bottom floors.  There are sharks, penguins, otters, seals, dolphins and all kinds of amazing marine creatures endemic to the Japanese coast in the various levels.

  

We also saw huge crabs called Spider Crabs.  These crabs are found on the ocean bed.  The most exceptional animals, nevertheless, were the Spotted Eagle Sting Rays.  We saw them up-close, so we could even see their gills.  The stunning shark whales and hammerhead sharks filled us with wonder.  At the end of the tour were the invertebrates, the enchanting jellyfish.   There were in an astounding number of varieties.  One of the members of the genus was called the Moon Jellyfish and it had a beautiful pattern on it's anterior part. 

The Moon Jellyfish

                                                                           

At the end of the tour, however, came the real treat.  We touched a stingray!  At first, I was really apprehensive about touching the animal.  But, later, I touched it's dorsal surface and was amazed at how soft and smooth it was.  

Inside the aquarium, there were well-laid distance markers everywhere and it's well-thought design will always fill me with awe and admiration.

After that, we did a little shopping and went back to the hotel.  In the evening we explored more parts of this beautiful city.  Same as before, everything here is on a massive scale:  the Metro Network, the malls and the street bazaars. 

Tomorrow is going to be something completely different.

To be continued...

One of the bazaars, called Dotonbori