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Old 5th June 2015, 11:54   #1
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Photologue: Business Trip to Osaka, Japan

This February, I got a chance to visit Osaka, Japan for a month.

The experience: Too good. Clean environment, cold weather and warm people is how I could sum it up.

Food: I am a vegetarian, and it is hard to find vegetarian food, (Except for a few Indian veg restaurants, who prepare a cross-breed of Indian food in Japanese flavor). For non vegetarians who are prepared to eat anything, there are many many options, on the roadside to swanky restaurants.

Modes of Transport Available: Taxis are very expensive. The most convenient and effective mode of transport is the local trains. There is a myth that every damn thing will be in Japanese and we might get lost somewhere. However, the maps come in handy. There was not a single instance when I missed a station/connecting train. Local buses also available, but never tried them. There is a mini cruiser ride available through the river around the city.

Stay: Stay was in RIHGA Royal Hotel. The hotel is spotlessly clean, staff are courteous, and more importantly adaptive in nature.

Shopping: There are many interesting shopping options for the gadget gurus. I personally bought a Yamaha PSR S650 musical keyboard for very less (almost half the price of what it costs in India). Musical instruments, cameras, watches are few gadgets which will make you drool for more. Drone cameras among others was something I just gave a miss, considering the lack of warranty back here in India. (Warranty for majority of products bought are restricted to Japan only).

(Super)Cars: Cars, whether they are super or not are always loved, especially by we Team-BHPians. It was the first time for me to see so many super car showrooms at one place. I saw the Lamborghini, Ferrari showrooms et al. Pics of the showrooms are not supposed to be taken, hence they miss it from this photologue.

People: People, most of them, are extremely helpful and courteous. Though there is a prevalent language barrier for English speaking tourists, it is overcome by the intent to help.

First weekend was spent in Universal Studios Osaka. The cost of the entry was 7200 Yen per person. Universal Studios = colors and colors, a lot of them.

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Last edited by Rehaan : 6th June 2015 at 12:13. Reason: Adding some spaces between headings :)
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Old 5th June 2015, 11:58   #2
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re: Photologue: Business Trip to Osaka, Japan

Weekend 2:
Day 1: Kyoto
Day 2: Osaka Castle/ Osaka Museum of History/ Temposan Ferris Wheel

Kyoto is an hour's drive from Osaka. The best way to travel anywhere is to take a local train. They are famous for their punctuality, speed and convenience. The temples there are just amazing, typically on a mountain, have to climb to the top for the main temple, and few others on the way.

Osaka Castle is a landmark of sorts for Osaka. Any travel brochure you take will surely have a cover picture of Osaka Castle. (Compare it to the Mysore Palace on a Mysore Tour guide, Karnataka). It is bigger than you believe it is, surrounded by an excellently well maintained park.

By the way the pics of the second weekend (which you see below) are making it to a public forum for the first time (Few from the first set made it to Facebook earlier). Once the first set of pics were uploaded to FB all the line managers started commenting on my photo album, doubting if I would really finish the work assigned (I kept reminding myself that I was on a business trip). So the colorful pic uploading into FB stopped there, in the first week itself. Back here there is complete freedom.

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Last edited by kaushik_ak : 5th June 2015 at 14:13.
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Old 5th June 2015, 15:46   #3
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re: Photologue: Business Trip to Osaka, Japan

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

Last edited by noopster : 5th June 2015 at 16:06.
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Old 6th June 2015, 12:45   #4
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Re: Photologue: Business Trip to Osaka, Japan

Quote:
Originally Posted by kaushik_ak View Post
(Super)Cars: Cars, whether they are super or not are always loved, especially by we Team-BHPians. It was the first time for me to see so many super car showrooms at one place. I saw the Lamborghini, Ferrari showrooms et al. Pics of the showrooms are not supposed to be taken, hence they miss it from this photologue.
I didn't quite understand this point. Why exactly could you not click pictures of the supercar showrooms if you wished to? If you can click pictures of other buildings and monuments freely, why are you not suppose to take the pictures of showrooms?
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Old 8th June 2015, 09:59   #5
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Re: Photologue: Business Trip to Osaka, Japan

The issue with not taking the supercar photos is the lack of permission to take photos inside the showroom when customers are present. To avoid any issues with privacy (of the customers), I decided to keep the camera back.
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Old 8th June 2015, 23:33   #6
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Re: Photologue: Business Trip to Osaka, Japan

Those sets of the Waterworld are just amazing!

Though there may be supercar showrooms there, I didn't find as many supercars in Tokyo. Toyota is the undisputed king, followed by Nissan and Honda. Very few foreign brands such as Audi and Mercedes. I did spot a McLaren in an alley at night.
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Old 9th June 2015, 12:05   #7
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Re: Photologue: Business Trip to Osaka, Japan

Quote:
Originally Posted by S2!!! View Post
Why exactly could you not click pictures of the supercar showrooms if you wished to? If you can click pictures of other buildings and monuments freely, why are you not suppose to take the pictures of showrooms?
It is actually possible to click pictures, and then say sorry, but I just wanted to make sure I never violate any rules that they have set.

Quote:
Originally Posted by honeybee View Post
Though there may be supercar showrooms there, I didn't find as many supercars in Tokyo. Toyota is the undisputed king, followed by Nissan and Honda. Very few foreign brands such as Audi and Mercedes. I did spot a McLaren in an alley at night.
I did find many many super cars on road, especially at night near the Osaka City Station, or the Namba station. The road that connects Namba to Umeda is another stretch where we can spot a lot of them.

I got to see a heavily modified Hummer once too, but could not click a pic. The owner showed me a sign indicating "no pics" when I asked his permission.

Based on what I have seen, the order of brands most found on roads, Porsche, Lexus (luxury division of Toyota), Ferrari, McLaren. Audi and Mercedes are found almost everywhere. Toyota is the undisputed leader otherwise.

Last edited by kaushik_ak : 9th June 2015 at 12:13.
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Old 15th August 2015, 13:03   #8
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Re: Photologue: Business Trip to Osaka, Japan

Since you started this thread, let me post a few car pics I clicked in Tokyo earlier this year in this same thread. I am not very good at recognizing the models from a distance, but I did manage to get a front view of a rare beauty: Maserati:

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Then there were two Porches, a Carrera 4 and a Boxter spotted on my way back to the airport:

Carrera 4:
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Boxter:
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Then there was a two-seater Lexus:
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Narita airport usually has some or the other car on display. This time it was the Mazda Roadster:

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For those who think WagonR looks boxy, and boxy is not sexy, here are three photos:

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I have to say the boxy shape releases a HUGE amount of space on the inside.

Then there are the usual Nissan and Toyotas:

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For those interested in a camping van, here's a Toyota TownAce:

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A Jeep looking monstrous compared to the tiny little cars on the road:

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Couple of other two-seater/roadster cars:

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A surprise! A broken down car on the side of the road!

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A few two/three wheelers - I am amazed by the customization and comfort options available!

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And it's a BMW!!
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The airport limousine bus from the inside - the side mirrors are a set of three mirrors allowing the driver to see the traffic behind, on the flank and also in front of the bus. There is a screen on the front windshield to reduce glare from sunlight.

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And finally why people prefer hatches: They can be parked where no one would dream of parking!

Photologue: Business Trip to Osaka, Japan-why-people-prefer-hatch.jpg

Last edited by honeybee : 15th August 2015 at 13:07.
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Old 16th August 2015, 02:36   #9
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