With the Tokyo part of our trip over (see part 1), we now had six days in Osaka filled with local sightseeing and trips to nearby areas.

Despite the rainy weather, our first day included walking along Tenjinbashi-suji shopping street as well as seeing the Tenmangu shrine and the House and Living Museum. We also managed to squeeze in a trip to Osaka Aquarium that afternoon. We spent a day in Kyoto to visit Gion and the Higashiyama District along with a train ride south to the Fushimi Inari Shrine. Another day we travelled to Iga-Ueno and visited Iga Ninja Museum, a personal favourite of mine and worth the long trip out into the country. On our final free day, we went to Nara to see Todaiji Temple with the largest bronze Buddha statue and other shrines within Nara Park. Other highlights included a day at Universal Studios where we had a caricature drawn of us and the wonderful Yakiniku Rokko in Shinsaibashi with all its tasty barbecue meat.

Before we knew it, our trip was over and we were travelling back to Australia. It already seems like ages and while at the time of leaving I felt ready to go, now I want to go back again. Maybe not for a while though.

Here are pictures from the Osaka part of our trip ^_^.