Osaka Part 2: I'm home!

Ken's house was a very nostalgic sight to see. A great mix between Japanese traditional housing and western style decor all tastefully juxtaposed together into a lovely place I call my second home. It was nice to Ken's mother, Maureen, who hasn't changed one bit. I guess some things never change and for once this is a good thing. Maureen's warm smile instantly drew me to give her a big hug. It's not often I hug one of the Yamashita's, but oh well...some things do change I guess.

Casey took me to his room to drop off my backpack and we set up the mini bed which is where I was to sleep for the next week. Casey was already complaining about the heat in his room and he was right. It was extremely hot. "Beep", the A.C. flashed on and started to blow cool 27 degrees C of air across the room. The funny thing is, 27C in Aomori is considered hot! 27C in Nara, was like a quick dip in the pool....so good.

After 2 hours of chatting to the Yamashita's in the family room, Ken came home and it was like his PS3 was specially equipped with "Ken motion sensor detector device" and automatically turned on the system as the door shut behind him. He ascending the stairs, opened the door, dropped the bag, "beep" was heard, and then grabbed the controller. Of course, Casey and I naturally gravitated towards his room.
"Yeeeeeea", was our greeting.

Osaka Part 1: Arrival

It had been almost 2 years since the last time I visited Osaka. My memories of the city still felt crystal clear, but I felt it was time to stop living in memories and booked a flight ticket from Misawa airport. My boss was kind enough to drop me off at the airport and surprisingly the flight only took an hour and 40 minutes. I had completely forgotten about the heat in Osaka until the moment I exited the airplane doors and it hit me like a face full of fist. At that instant, I understood exactly how a microwave worked.

I pursued to grab my backpack and headed for information and there I was politely well.....informed. The bus ride to Tenoji took over an hour due to Osaka heavy traffic. Nonetheless, I was overly happy with the fact the bus was blasting A/C at maximum capacity. I was chilled. Arrival at Tenoji came to a surprised because I was listening to music and did not hear the intercom. The fact that everyone was quickly exiting the bus gave hint that this was the only stop on-route. I descended from the bus and once again grabbed my bag and marched towards my train. Eagerly, the heat flocked to my body and attached itself in the form of sweat. I was feeling nasty. You see.... as I left Aomori, it was 20 degrees and raining and therefore, decided to attire myself with pants and a short sleeved shirt. This was a total mistake as pants was a ridiculous call for someone carrying a 15kg packpack.

After 40 minutes of sitting on the train from Tenoji to Yamatokoizumi, I was dumbfounded that everyone around me were also in pants. I guess they must have adapted to the heat and therefore had a built in resistance. Either that, I've just become a sweaty pig over the years. I looked out the window and what I saw was exactly how I remembered it. Nara had not changed much in 2 years. Actually, it hasn't changed much from the 1st time I visited which was 8 years ago in 1999. I inserted my train ticket, exited the station, and scanned the parking lot. The taxi drivers noticed my backpack labeled 'traveler' and flinched. Soon I found Casey in the K-car waiting. I greeted him with a, 'Jyeah dong' and hopped in the ride and we split for home.