This is our seventh blog and our first full day in Osaka. As always, our daily itinerary is well planned out and this particular day, we had set aside a business day for Wakai Trees to visit a couple of Bonsai / Pine Garden Companies and research materials, etc.
Today was a bit of a more relaxed start then the previous morning, but it was back to the train station to catch another train, but instead of using the main JR line which we have our passes for we had to catch a private local train to take us to the edge of the city to the start of the mountains as we say. As like most of the cities and towns they are built on a plateau flat area with the outer edge landscape of built up hills, or mountain terrain!
We also have a Japanese card called Suica card, which you can top up with money at machines called ICU machines. You can use these cards also at local shops buses, etc so are very handy. You basically like we did today just tap them on the entry ICU machine into the station and they tell you how much credit is left, if enough they let you in! Then after your journey to exit, they deduct the monies owed in our case was only 230 Yen (about £1.40) for our train journey that had taken 17 minutes to the outskirts of the city. From this station we walked for about 25 minutes (7 minutes by bus) to our destination.
On entering the premises, it was like a ‘Tardis’ it just opened up and there was so much to see. We walked around the premises a few times to absorb the materials which also included thousands of bonsai plants of all sorts of varieties and sizes from seedlings to 100 plus year-old trees. The materials, tools, pots etc were fabulous.
Being so far out from the main centre as we suspected the proprietor and staff spoke no English at all, so again we introduced ourselves and managed to ask questions, etc. We selected and purchased some materials, etc for ourselves and Wakai Trees with future business in mind moving forward.
It was again a lovely warm sunny day, so we enjoyed our walk we did find a lovely coffee shop on the way back for a coffee and a treat before our train journey back!
Later that evening we also found a really nice restaurant which we both enjoyed a nice delicious meal.
We’ve been out in Japan for 7 days now and still not come across any English tourists! So, I think we are trailblazing!!
In total we walked just over 8 miles.
Kind Regards
Stephen and Anthony
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