My second major stop was Osaka. I really enjoyed the Nozomi train ride from Shingawa (Tokyo) station to Shin-Osaka Station.

The train was very clean and the ride was smooth. The person next to me showed me kindness and hospitality by sharing his food with me.

This is called Nozomi, the fastest train, because it has few stops, I remember a short stop at Nagoya.

If you use a Japan rail pass you can take the same train but it will have more stops (it will take more time to reach Osaka).

Osaka is to Tokyo as Manchester is to London, when it comes to people. In Osaka people are more friendly, more relaxed. The city structure is not as tidy as Tokyo.

There are many places to visit in and around Osaka: Kyoto, Nara, Kobe.

The average time to travel to any highlighted major tourist attraction is 1 hour by train.

I had a lovely experience at the

Everything was nice and clean. I really love the wooden texture. White goes well with wood.

This is how a kind of capsule room looks like. This is not a regular capsule hotel. It is more spacious. People were quiet at night, well behaved. Had comfortable sleep. Nice accommodation to book for solo travelers.

I have made new friends here. After checking in I had an hour conversation with a Chinese man in a work visit in Japan. He was excited to get married in the near future, having a longer holiday than usual. Westerners are envied here in Asia (China, Japan) because we tend to have longer vacations.

Here I met Jefer, from Columbia, and after striking a short conversation we met again in Nara where we went hiking on the mountain top.

I end this post whit a beautiful view of the Osaka Castle walls.