After our tour of Osaka High School, we all piled into a vW bus and headed downtown. No, no, wait, that's not right.
We headed to the train station, then southward into Osaka, where we could begin a stroll around Tennoji towards Tsutenkaku. After this, we made our way to the Abeno Disaster Prevention Center.
First, on Tennoji.
The Eiffel Tower was built in 1889 for the World’s Fair and to commemorate the centennial of the French Revolution. The Tokyo Tower was built in 1964 to commemorate the Olympics held that year in Japan, and Tsutenkaku was originally built in 1912 and had been once considered “The Eiffel Tower of Osaka.” There was a fire, it had been dismantled in war efforts of WWII, and was rebuilt in the 1950s. It now stands rather forlorn in the Tennoji area. Still, Tennoji itself has an old charm, if you will, and great food, which you would expect from the city with the best food in Japan.
Here are some candid snaps of the train ride there and a few others. Enjoy.
Our second leg of the journey was learning about how to prepare for disasters in Japan, and specifically in Osaka, at the Abeno Disaster Prevention Center. We watched very heart-rending footage of the 311 earthquake and ensuing tsunami, learned how and when to turn off your power source, and where to seek shelter.
The last part of the tour involved experiencing an earthquake. Watching the video might explain it better, but I just want to say that I might have yelped a bit myself.
Finally, here is a poster addressing the upcoming G20 Summit which will be held in Osaka THIS Friday and Saturday. Most cool cats are leaving town to avoid the chaos. That will be us, too. We will be at Koyasan (look that up!).
Loving all the pictures. ❤️