Picture: Hand-painted jeans at the Evisu flagship store in Osaka.
Osaka normally does not feature on tourists itineraries. In contrast with its big sister, Tokyo, it has less to offer. The Osaka castle, once the seat of Toyotomi Hideoshi, the first uniter of Japan, has been destroyed many times. The current castle was rebuilt in the 1930s and they have done a poor job. The shell looks old but the inside is all new. The only impressive feature of the castle are its historic walls with massive stones, weighing up to 103 tons. The sheer extent of the walls with moats is even today impressive. Osaka is also home of the Yakuza, the Japanese equivalent of the mafia. The members wear elaborate tattoos. Therefore it is not surprising that the hotel gym explicitly bans tattoos! And last but not least Osaka is home of one of the iconic Japanese denim brands, Evisu. The flagship store offers a dazzling variety of jeans and you can have your own logo painted on the pants. How cool is that! Picture: Osaka is famous for its fast and cheap food. This is Doutonbori street that offers a plethora of food stalls and entertainment options from Karaoke to men's clubs.
Picture: Osaka is after Toyko and Yokohama Japan's third biggest city.
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