Osaka Memories

I am happy to have been able to go on this trip because my parents and I were in enough of a good shape to survive so much walking to get from one place to another. We are fortunate that we had a safe trip and the area we were in was not hit by the earthquake that hit Japan while we were there.

My mom and I had been wanting to visit Japan for a while now but have been apprehensive due to the fear of getting lost in a country with little English and because of the ridiculous travel prices two or three years ago. It’s a good thing that my college blockmate Rolf owns Madrid Travel Club, served as our tour guide, and was also able to get a great deal for our plane tickets (Php10,000 back and forth per head!)

Osaka Highlight: Todaiji Temple

For me, the highlight of the trip was visiting Todaiji Temple—the biggest manmade wooden structure in the world. To see and touch the wooden beams of this massive temple felt surreal to me. The beams that made up this building are bigger than any tree I’ve ever seen in my life. I cannot fathom how such a grand and complex work of architecture was built at a time when mechanics and technology were very rudimentary compared to now.

The brass Budha and guardians inside were equally striking in both their size and design. I’ve not seen these kinds of structures up close before. The guardians were massive and their features are meant to strike fear into anyone with the wrong intentions.

Incidentally, this trip was made more memorable because of my blockmate and tour guide Rolf. A year ago prior to this trip, we had a bit of a tiff. But during the whole trip were laughing and teasing each other all the time, I think that’s when we started getting close.