Osaka, Japan: On Tsukasa's day off, we went to Osaka. I like the interactive food culture in East Asia. Here we are making takoyaki (spelling?) - balls of batter and veggies hugging pieces of octopus. I showed a surprising aptitude for making the little things with the equivalent of an icepick. Ask Tsukasa - mine were better than his. Ha. Then we went to Osaka castle. You also see: Glutinous rice balls with sweet syrup and green tea; The god of commerce, which is Osaka's patron; This crazy place where you pay for the opportunity to just hang out with dogs. You know, pet them, throw a ball. Poor urbanites.