Kyoto - Day trip to Osaka

Osaka was only a short 1 and a bit hour train ride from Kyoto and is Japan's second largest city after Tokyo.  As soon as we got off the train, one of Osaka's landmarks was in sight ... the impressive looking Umeda Sky Building. 

Worth the trip was the futuristic escalators up to the Floating Garden Observatory on the 39th floor of the Umeda Sky Building.  

Osaka is known as a culinary destination and is famous for a number of local dishes including Okonomiyaki which is a pancake dish with a whole host of toppings including shredded cabbage and various meats like squid and prawns. We went to a restaurant where we made our own on hot plates at our table.

We did a bit more exploring around Osaka and then headed back on the train to Kyoto station where we were most impressed with the station and the night lights. 

 

Dinner was at one of the many restaurants at Kyoto station and we went with a ramen bar that did amazing pork ramen. Huge bowls of ramen for less than $10 a bowl!