Asia Perspectives Tour: Day 22 & 23; Kyoto & Osaka, Japan

“ A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people” – Mahatma Gandhi

Day 22 and 23 was spent exploring Kyoto, Japan’s culture capital and Osaka.

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1.?????? Arashiyama Bamboo Groove: We wanted to explore nature and hear the chirping of birds, so we visited Arashiyama Bamboo Groove which is a natural forest of bamboo with some having 90 feet tall stalls.

2.?????? Kiyomizu-dera Temple: Watching the sun set from Kiyomizu-temple has a chilling feeling. For context, Kiyomizu-dera temple is a Buddhist temple established in 778 during the late Nara period. I also got to drink from the Otowa waterfall, which is belived to have wish-granting powers. My wish is to learn and make the world a better place for the current and next generation.

3.?????? Sushino Musashi (kaiten / conveyor belt sushi): Why visit Japan and not try Sushi? We decided to grab sushi from Sushino Musashi, Kyoto. The line to get in is ~30 minutes long, and one can eat from a wide selection of various rotating types of sushi. After being seated, I had to wait another 20 minutes as my sushi choice (Salmon roe) kept getting selected by others upstream.

4.?????? Osaka: Osaka is the venue for the 2025 World Expo with sub-themes “Saving Lives”, “Empowering Lives” and “Connecting Lives”. Osaka has hosted 2 prior Expos – in 1970 and 1990.

5.?????? Osaka Castle: To learn more about Toyotomi Hideyoshi – the Second Great Unifier of Japan[1], who rose from a peasant background to become of the most powerful men in Japanese history, we visited Osaka Castle. One takeaway for me is that with diligence and determination, anyone can make the world a better place.

6.?????? Time Capsule to be open in 6070 (4,047 years from now): How do we share a bit of our history to future generations, how do we educate them about what life was in 1970? Answers to these was why the Osaka Time Capsule was buried in 1970 near Osaka Castle. The capsule is buried to preserve Japan's human history and its modern history of urbanization and reconstruction after the post World War II.

Next Perspective: Tokyo, Japan.

[1] Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the Second Great Unifier of Japan https://www.thecollector.com/facts-three-great-unifiers-of-japan-nobunaga-hideyoshi-ieyasu/