We made it to Japan and have spent the past 4 days in Osaka.

We took a bike tour around the city and stopped at several sites along the way…

The famous Osaka Castle originally built in the 1500s, and then rebuilt several times since…

Explored some around a part of town called Shinkasai, famous for its retro old-style Osaka vibe…

Went to the Katsou-ji Temple

This temple is well known because of the Daruma dolls that people bring and leave on the temple grounds. The dolls are based on Bodhidharma, an Indian monk that was credited for bringing Zen Buddhism to China around the 5th–6th century. According to legend, Bodhidharma meditated for so many years that his arms and legs withered away. That’s why Daruma dolls are round and limbless, and are a symbol of perseverance and determination. They are weighted at the bottom and pop right back up if they fall over. Remember these?

Except I think the Daruma dolls seem to have very angry faces….

People leave them everywhere!

… We also got some exciting news from Kelsey and Ben!

They are officially engaged, and we are so happy for them! 😀

So we left behind a special message of good luck for them…

and then took a beautiful hike back down to the train station…

and ended our last night in Osaka with a few of our closest friends...

Ready for some smaller crowds. On to Kyoto tomorrow!