Since coming back from the short holiday, I haven't had time to finally organise my thoughts and my postcards. For some reason, I inadvertently mixed the new postcards received this month with the ones received previously and were supposedly lined up for posting this week. I have no time to re-organise them but I just would like to post this one: my very first official postcard from Japan!

Yushifu is from the commuter city of Takatsuki, in the Osaka Prefecture of Japan. According to him, Takatsuki has a population of only 360,000 and is located between Kyoto and Osaka. Takatsuki was once a  sister city of Manila, Philippines.

There were no other details, in English, regarding the view shown in the postcard. It does look like one of the old Shinto temples set amidst a serene Zen garden Japan is known for. I have been to Japan in 2006 and I tell you, I so love, love everything I saw (and ate) there, especially in the countryside. I would love to go back someday with my husband :) 

Enough of my wishful thinking... 

Osaka is the third largest city after Tokyo brings the traditional and modern together. Osaka is home to the  historic Osaka Castle and the stunning 1,400 year old Shitennjo-ji Temple to Universal Studios Japan and amusement parts.

It is in Osaka where the Kansai International Airport is located but prior to the airport's construction, Osaka was the smallest prefecture in all of Japan. An artificial island was built in the middle of Osaka Bay to accommodate the international airport. I can't fully imagine how the Japanese engineers were able overcome challenges to build an international airport on a man-made island, and in a country that sits on an extremely, extremely high risk location where earthquakes, typhoons, and storm surges are normal occurences. Brilliant Japanese minds, I say. The construction was started in 1987 and operations started in 1994. The total cost, so far, according to Wikipedia is at $20million which includes land reclamation, two runways, terminals, and facilities. Reports are saying though that the airport is sinking at an alarming rate. Goodness, I hope the same brilliant Japanese engineers who made this possible will be able to find solution quickly to avert any possible disaster.