2018年3月23日金曜日 - 
Kyle
I haven't
done many of the things in Japan that I thought would be priorities for me
once I got here. I haven't gone to Osaka Castle, I haven't been to the Osaka
Aquarium Kaiyukan, and I certainly haven't been to Umeda Sky Building. I'm not disinterested in any of
these things, or in other, similar places and
activities; I plan on doing my share of sightseeing at some point. I've just
been much more interested in meeting so many new people. The people of Osaka
are, for the most part, very outgoing. I only
speak a little Japanese, but I've still been able to function well here, be it
in social situations, in restaurants, or while setting up things like a bank
account.
The food
in this city is absolutely incredible. Things like takoyaki and okonomiyaki,
which can be difficult to find in the United States, might as
well grow on trees here. I've always liked Japanese food, and I knew b
efore I came that Osaka has a good culinary reputation, but I was still astonished when I got here. The quantity and quality of food here is staggering. I had a piece of fatty tuna recently that I barely had to chew; it nearly melted in my mouth. Generally when I travel, I don't take food into consideration when thinking about destinations. I decide where to go based on what I want to do or see. What I'll be eating is usually an afterthought. I'll be thinking a bit differently in the future, I suspect.
I've been
doing some research recently on places to go hiking near Osaka. I haven't left
the city since I landed at Kansai International Airport, and, as exciting as it
is, I'm starting to miss trees. Fortunately, it looks like there are lots of
different places to go, like Minoh Valley or Mt. Kongo. The next
time there's nice weather on one of my days off, I'll make my way out there.
I've heard excellent things about Minoh Valley. Apparently, the trail has amenities (toilets
and vending machines) that I'd never imagine finding on a hike in the US. And
of course, the valley itself is said to be quite beautiful, especially in
spring.
priorities：優先するべきもの
disinterested：興味がなくなった
outgoing：外交的
culinary：料理の
astonished：驚いた
staggering：驚異的
fatty：脂ののった
barely：かろうじて
take
～into
consideration：～を考慮する
afterthought：付け足し
Minoh
Valley or Mt. Kongo：箕面と金剛山（関西のハイキングスポット）
amenities：文化的な設備