My plane left early afternoon, so I took a leisurely stroll to Namba station after breakfast, and caught the bullet train to the airport. My overall impression of Osaka is a positive one. Had I been there longer, I probably would have returned to Kyoto or Nara, or visited Kobe. Perhaps next time! The trip …
Winter Travels 2019 – Osaka (Day 3)
One of the things I particularly liked about Japan was that in restaurants, they gave you water, as they do here, but it was cold water (as opposed to the hot water you get in China). I decided to visit Osaka Natural History Museum on Friday morning. This was in the south of the city, …
Winter Travels 2019 – Osaka (Day 2)
This trip was a short break – from Wednesday to Saturday. Thursday morning, after breakfast, I took the subway to the castle. This is an impressive structure, in the typical style of Japanese castles. It was originally built in the sixteenth century, but burnt down several times. The main tower of the castle was reconstructed …
Winter Travels 2019 – Osaka (Day 1)
Classes have finished for me, and as students prepare for their final exams, I decided to take a short trip. Not yet sure where I will be next year, and whether or not I will be in this neck of the woods (i.e. Asia), so I am trying to visit places I want to visit …
2019 is upon us
And so, 2018 comes to a close. This has been an interesting year, both in the UK and abroad. 2019 looks set to be an equally interesting – and difficult – year, as the UK crashes out of Europe, potentially without a deal, which will screw everyone and everything over, and I will switch jobs …
It’s Christmas!
Christmas is not really celebrated here. In my final class of the semester, with my second-year students, I did a lesson all about Christmas. We sang ‘Jingle Bells’ and ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’. It was nice to get into the holiday spirit, even if it is not a holiday they celebrate. There are …
Channelling Die Hard 2
There is a scene in Die Hard 2, when Detective John McClane finds himself once again forced to save the day, and at Christmas no less. Although the scene involves swearing and talks about a basement and elevator, it nevertheless reflects the situation that is happening now. McClane looks around and says, “Oh man, I …
