Kristin's family trip to Osaka, Kobe, & Kyoto

View from the Umeda Sky Building in Osaka.
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On January 14th, Kristin headed to Osaka with her parents, while Phil had to go back to Yokosuka for work.  Osaka is the 2nd largest city in Japan and is historically the commercial capital of Japan.  We went up in the Umeda Sky Building, which kind of looks like something from outerspace.  At the top, there is a "floating garden" and a beautiful, 360 degree view of the Osaka skyline.   The following day we visited the Osaka Castle and attempted to go to the Osaka Aquarium, home to whale sharks, but it was closed.

Kristin's parents in front of Osaka Castle
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Next, we took the train to Kobe (30 minutes from Osaka).  Kobe has been completely rebuilt since the 1995 earthquake.  We mainly just walked along the water and visited Kobe's China Town.

Our last stop on this trip was in Kyoto, the formal imperial capital of Japan.  Kyoto was also one of the few cities spared during WWII.  It is absolutely amazing!!!!  There are more than 2000 shrines and temples...no worries though, we only went to half of them!  J/K.  :)  It SNOWED while we were there!  The highlights were Nijo Castle, the Imperial Palace, the Golden Pavillion, Kiyomizu Temple, Heian Shrine, Maruyama Park, and Gion (the geisha district).  We even  spotted real geishas on their way to their evening appointments!  We can't wait to go back to Kyoto!

We stopped for a "DORINK." :)
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That's all for now!

-Kristin & Phil