Like what we do? Buy us Lunch at: http://tinyurl.com/donate-to-the-camps Osaka Script: Intro: Normally it only takes 45 minutes by train to get from Kyoto to Osaka, but that’s not how we roll. We weren’t able to put our bags down until 3 hours later! Why did our journey take 3 hours? Because ALL hostels in downtown Osaka were booked up and there was no way we were going to shell out $80 or more for a room! So we found ourselves an apartment an hour outside of Osaka in a suburb named Kita-senri. That meant more of a commute to get to the action, but it also meant that we had an entire place to ourselves where we could experience domestic life in a quiet Japanese neighborhood. Osaka Aquarium: Actually it was $37 dollars USD, it’s amazing how quickly your definition of cheap can be altered when traveling in an expensive country like Japan DOTONBORI: Believe it or not, Dotonbori has been around since the 1600s when it was mainly a theater district, today, it’s known for its active nightlife, huge neon signs, and most importantly… it’s food. In fact, Osakans call this unique foodie subculture Kuidaore (食い倒れ) , which literally means “to ruin oneself by extravagance in food.” Remember how we rented an apartment way out in the suburbs to save money? Well this is where those savings went… Ok, so you knew this was coming - of course we found ourselves in another Izakaya. What can we say? We were addicted. Nara: Nara park is home to nearly 1200 freely roaming Sika deer and if you’re like us, you might be wondering…why?? Well it turns out that deer hold a special status in Japan.. once as divine animals, and now as a national treasures. these deer are surprisingly tame and some have even learned to bow for crackers which makes them irresistibly cute, but they’re still wild animals… so annoy them at your own risk Sumo: Ok.. full disclosure, we went into this whole sumo experience expecting to only stay for a couple hours, but as soon as we entered the stadium and saw the first few matches we were hooked and instantly regretted not spending more on the expensive seats in order to get closer to the action. Sumo is the national sport of Japan, the only country in the world where it’s practiced professionally. With just 6 grand sumo tournaments taking place each year, getting to see one in person is quite a privilege. In many ways Sumo is a full contact martial art, but it’s also steeped in centuries of history and ancient Shinto rituals. Sumo wrestlers live and train together in communal facilities called stables, where nearly every aspect of daily life, from sleeping and eating, to training and free time are strictly regimented by the stable master. So if you’re lucky enough to be there when these Warriors come out to play, just know that you're witnessing the culmination of years of rigorous training and lifetime of dedication.. for them, everything is on the line. There are basically two paths to victory in a sumo match. You can 1… push your opponent out of the ring or.. 2…get him to touch the ground with any body part other than his feet. But there’s a twist, there are no weight restrictions or classes in sumo so it’s entirely possible for a wrestler to face an opponent twice his size… ________________________________________­______ FOLLOW THE BEARD! ✩ Instagram - http://instagram.com/becausewecamp ✩ Blog/Website - http://www.becausewecamp.com ✩ FaceBook - https://www.facebook.com/becausewecamp ✩ Twitter - https://twitter.com/becausewecamp ✩ Donate - http://tinyurl.com/donate-to-the-camps ________________________________________­______ MUSIC ♪ 'My Melancholy Baby' by ProleteR https://soundcloud.com/proleter-beatmaker 'Sheep May Safely Graze' 'George Street Shuffle' 'Marty Gots a Plan' by Kevin MacLeod http://incompetech.com/ 'Calmer Days' by Handbook https://soundcloud.com/handbook 'Father And Son' 'Bloodsport Triumph' by Paul Hertzog ________________________________________­______ Thank you for watching: Exploring Japan Part 4: Osaka | Kita Senri Apartment | Kaiyukan Aquarium | Dontonburi | Nara | Sika Deer | Sumo

• published: 07 Aug 2015
• views: 200