We took a quick (ie. 14 minute) train ride from the city of Kyoto to Osaka for a day of exploration.
Our main purpose: watch a Japanese baseball game, as we heard people are fanatic about the sport here.
Andrew and I (being the world’s worst fans of baseball) knew we’d only make it through after a few drinks; so, we shared a bottle of wine pre-game outside of the stadium so as not to be a hindrance to Shane’s enjoyment…
The game itself was quite bland with no runs scored until the last exciting five minutes… but no worries, we found several alternate means of entertainment:
A. The mascot for the “Orix Buffaloes” is a cute pink creature. That must be real threatening to the other team.
B. The people selling beer in the stands wear kegs on their backs and fill cups as you order. You can also buy snacks from them – just grab one dangling off their shirt. It’s an all-in-one get-up!
C. The best moment of the night:
We left the game a few minutes early, and with the home team winning, we decided to high five the little children on our way out of the stands. As soon as we started, the most hilarious thing happened: every other man, woman, and child ran to the stairs to keep the high-fives going. There were even adorable little grandmas that ran out and couldn’t wait for a high five. This in itself made the game completely worth it!
And thankfully we somehow made it on the LAST train back to Kyoto (thank goodness or we’d have no bed for the night), and made it to BOTH Mo’s Burger (Japanese ‘McDonalds’ with teriyaki burgers and burgers made with rice patty buns) and McDonalds before they closed. Great success!
An interesting discovery on our train ride home: women-only cars.
