Osaka

We checked into our hotel at Universal Studios late Saturday night. The whole place was decorated for Halloween and Gabriella even got to trick or treat while we checked in. Our room was really spacious with separate rooms for the toilet and shower. There was only one channel on the television that was in english, so we watched Monsters vs. Aliens at least 20 times during our stay. Gabriella is still quoting from the movie a week later. We settled in and ordered room service and then went to bed, or tried to anyway. The next day we toured Osaka on our own, checking out Osaka Castle and the Hard Rock cafe. Osaka castle was surprisingly not located high on a hill, but it was surrounded by a moat. We walked up the 8 flights of stairs to the top of it. I'm very proud of making it to the top while carrying Genevieve in the sling. Greg carried Julia in the baby bjorn and Gabriella carried herself. The little girls love being toted around and slept most of the day. The castle was located in a beautiful park which we walked through enjoying the sounds of someone singing Bruce Springsteen at a post sports day concert and an impromptu Stevie Wonder song played on the harmonica. The subway in Osaka is just as timely as the Tokyo trains which made it easy to navigate our way around the city. With our shot glasses and pins in hand we headed back to the hotel for an early evening. We needed to rest up for our big day at Universal Studios on Monday.