Osaka

Writing now from Osaka, which has been described in various places as a sort of Chicago to Tokyo's NY vibe. So far I'm inclined to agree, although I've only experienced the subway and then a little walk through a sleepy pedestrian mall. In any event, the pace of things was noticeably slower than in Tokyo, though still a more metropolis feel than Hiroshima. It was also cool and rainy when we got here last night, which sat quite well with us after an intense Hiroshima morning.
Our first day in Hiroshima (with Peace museum and a little shopping) was hot but manageable, but the day after that and then yesterday the heat and humidity seemed to steadily climb, zapping any energy we had and generally making us feel kinda ill. This was augmented by the unexpected troubles that one ought to expect when it's least convenient. In this case our troubles began with a long search for the closest MosBurger - home of tomato sauce garnish and delectable buns. Garreth has been obsessed with these burgers ever since he was here 9 years ago and while the food was worth the trouble of finding it, the time spent wandering in the sun and heat was unexpectedly exhausting.
So, with full bellies we attempted our best pack-mule impressions, loading ourselves down with luggage and heading to the train station for the Shinkansen to Osaka and Kyoto (G&L). Here, however, we were met with further consternation as we tried to buy our tickets and were told that the only tickets available were not for several hours. While this was not quite accurate, the details are somewhat tiring - suffice it to say that G&L ended up with reserved seats for an evening Shinkansen and Rachel and I tried our luck with unreserved seats. The ticket agent had led us to believe that riding in the unreserved car was a crap shoot and we might be standing with our packs for hours on the train. But it turns out there is AMPLE seating in the unreserved car and that our companions need not have waited for their later train. We called them and delivered these good tidings, which seemed to cheer them up, and led them on the path to redemption from their earthly strife (i.e., waiting in a basement coffee shop for three hours.)
Anyway, in the face of such adversity our arrival in Osaka has felt quite sweet.
Today we are off to Osaka castle, a few other points of interest and then are off to meet with Yumi for some time wasting in Amerika-mura ("America Town"- another shopping district).