Night in Osaka (Picture by Chelsea)
Day four began with us waking up at our final day at the Buddhist monastery in Koyason and our second mediation session and vegetarian Buddhist breakfast. After breakfast and our spiritual service we went to pick up a quick snack and returned the audio guides from the previous days. We took a short bus ride to the train station and began our two hour journey back to Osaka on the express train. We dropped our bags off at the very nice Vista Grand Hotel and changed for the warm weather. We then proceeded to hit up a local Japanese grill to grab a quick lunch. Most meals, but not all, were brought out cold and cooked on a grill built into our table.
Food at Japanese grill K.N
Following lunch we took the subway to Osaka to visit The Church of the Light. After getting off the subway we strolled through a suburban neighborhood on the way to the Church. Church of the light also sometimes known as Church with Light is in the middle of a quiet residential neighborhood.Church of the Light was built by famous Japanese architect Tadao Ando in 1989. The Protestant church is defined by natural light and features a balance between light and solids. The back wall has a glass window cross that extends from wall to wall vertically and horizontally. The structure is made up off a main church, a smaller chapel, an information center, two porch sitting areas and a staircase leading up to a small platform that has a view of the local neighborhood. After spending a decent amount of time photographing and observing it was time to head back. We went to the hotel to greet Lauren who had just arrived from the states due to illness. After greeting Lauren we all took a rest.
We met back to go out and explore the streets of Osaka. We went to a local store and bought tape, glue and scissors to make a collage of flyers we have received from different places through out the trip. Then it was dinner time. Dinner that night was free for us to find on our own. Girls and boys decided to split up and deviate from the usual Japanese cuisine we have been experiencing. Although we have been thoroughly enjoying traditional Japanese meals we opted for a break. Girls went to an Italian restaurant called Cafe Tomato and ordered pasta, bread and salad. Boys went to a western restaurant and ordered a variety of meats and vegetables. After our first day in Osaka it was time for bed!
-Written by Chelsea & Raakhi
