Nothing super interesting in the blog entry today. No attacking monkeys. No overcrowded trains or even navigation dilemmas. We originally intended today to be a rest day after the crowded craziness of the preceding 2 days. Instead we started the day by walking almost clear across Kyoto. Started off the day with a walk with Angela and Charlotte, while Veronica grabbed some extra sleep. An hour later we returned to find out that Veronica had woken up 15 minutes a...

1. Don't look the monkeys in the eyes. 2. Don't go too close to the monkeys. 3. Monkeys may attack when threatened. I can confirm that number 3 is true. I sort of broke rules 1 and 2. I also discovered a new rule that they didn't mention: 4. If a monkey growls, hisses and screams at you, don't do it back to the monkey. Wild monkeys, I have discovered, have no sense of humour. More monkeys later. My day was started by writing last night's blog entry....

Firstly, let me apologise for the lateness of this blog entry. I'm writing this at 6:30am on Monday because we were all exhaused last night after a huge day, and with a really substantial headache a blog was the last thing on my mind. We were all in bed by 6:30pm last night (which doesn't seem so weird when it is completely dark at 5:30pm). Was a little bit hesitant about going down for breakfast this morning. Breakfast at today's Toyoko Inn was listed as "miso ...

Another start to the day, another unorthodox toyoko inn breakfast. Today's offering was tiny sausages (only a few centimeters in length), cold pasta salad, croissants, bread rolls and salad. Another very quiet day today, with not much planned. All in all, Osaka isn't a great place to spend much time on a Japanese holiday. I'd recommend seeing Dotombori at night like we did last night. And do so on a Friday or a Saturday night when it is at its most crowded and...

With afternoon naps had by all, except me, we were ready to head out and see Dotombori and the surrounding district as it was meant to be seen. At night. The sun sets very early in the Japanese winter, so with it already dark, we left the hotel at 5:30pm and headed north east. Once we reached the outskirts of the shopping and eating districts, the contrast between daylight and night time popularity of the region became apparent. The sheer number of peop...