Osaka

Yesterday I took my first train ride alone to Osaka. Amazingly I never got lost, and I found my way home safely.
The first picture is of the Umeda Sky Building. You go up to the 42nd floor and they have "The Floating Garden Observatory." There is no actual garden, but the observation deck is amazing. You certainly can't be afraid of heights to go up there. The second pic is of the escalator you take after the elevator from the 35th floor, to the 39th floor. It was quite steep. Then you walk up the last few flights to the observation deck. It was a pretty clear day, so you could see everything. I had already walked aound the city all I could in the massive heat and humidity, but I saw from above the temple I was looking for earier. I think I was actually close to finding it before I gave up and went the other direction. In the third photo you can see smaller versions of the next two photos of the ferris wheel and Yodobashi camera, just for perspective. The ferris wheel is located on the 7th floor of a mall. It is huge! Yodobashi Camera is the big building in the 5th pic. There are lots of electronics, not just cameras. Plus there are clothes and restaurants too. When I was at the floating observatory, I saw Yodobashi Camera and was debating on purchasing a new camera. I had intended to, but didn't fall in love with any of the ones I saw. I thought about the camera I already have and how it takes pretty good pictures. Then I looked at the front and saw mine has 2 megapixels! Oh I definitely deserve a new one! So I went back to Yodobashi and bought the Olympus 810. It has 8.0 mega pixels and an ISO of 1600. In the next blog you can compare the pictures.
Aside from a pounding headache from dehydration, and almost passing out from the humidity, it was a great trip. The train is actually pretty easy, and the places are in English. Well, I'm going to watch the big baseball high school playoffs, where Wakayama is playing. It may be the final 1st place game, but I can't tell. All I know is that it is important!