Throughout the flight the video monitors on the plane displayed the moving map showing our progress from Seoul to Osaka. Based on that map, it appeared as though we were landing in the middle of the water of Osaka Bay. Since it was dark out, I couldn't see anything of our approach - it was black below us. I could see the lights of the city on the shore, so it definitely felt like we were about to land in the bay. Then the runway lights appeared below and we were on the ground. This morning I pulled up the map of Osaka on Google Earth and Kansai International Airport actually is its own little island in the bay connected to the shoreline by one long bridge.
The host hotel for the Symposium in the Rihga Royal Hotel - connected directly to th
e Grand Cube Osaka, the convention center where the event activities will take place. The Rihga Royal is a beautiful hotel. I explored a bit this morning after my "American breakfast" and discovered several restaurants offering a variety of cuisines from traditional Japanese, to French, Italian, Chinese, etc. There are also several bars, a gourmet food shop (that I will have to check out later today), and a variety of high-end retail shops offering Hermes, Lalique, and the like. Also a pharmacy, a Panasonic store, a florist and more. In addition, there are several beautiful gardens around parts of the hotel that deserve some attention later in the trip. 
My room is decent size. I love that they provide comfortable cotton kimono robes. I've included a couple of pictures of my room - the kimono is neatly folded on the bed (by housekeeping - not me).
I'll add some photos of the rest of the hotel area later today.
All for now. Please post any questions or suggestions of what you would like to hear about the trip in the comments.
What a bed and not a tatami mat...and where is the shoji screen?...are you sure you are not still in Detroit? =)
ReplyDeleteAh, a "western" Hotel room choice!
ReplyDelete