Osaka...or is it Midtown?

So I left Kyoto today by Shinkansen and arrived in Osaka--the bullet train was everything I had expected...exactly on time, with everyone orderly filing on and off the train at their designated locations. That thing really moves, too--we were at full speed in a flash, and despite the fact that Osaka was only 25 miles away, we were going fulltilt. Due to the population density, the shinkansen tracks go right through neighborhoods, and we were as close to homes and buildings as the elevated subways in NY are. Except at 150+ MPH.

Osaka is like midtown manhattan on steroids--it is very Bladerunner-esque. My taxi was stuck in traffic at street level, with a highway above and an elevated track crossing over that. Suddenly, ahead of us, railroad lights started flashing and a commuter train crossed the street (and sidewalks!) a couple hundred feet ahead of me. It was amazing--mostly because I couldnt believe that a train would have an at-grade crossing in such a dense urban area. It would be like having an LIRR commuter train barreling through Times Square at street level.

I haven't explored Osaka yet, but it is definitely a let down compared to Kyoto. Kyoto is also crowded, but not as much, and its setting surrounded by forests and mountains makes up for it. I had great sushi for lunch in Kyoto before I left--one of those places with the conveyor belt on the counter, and you just take the plates you want. Kind of a fish automat. Horner and Hardarts of the piscene variety. Anyway, I kept selecting plates, and when I was stuffed, I had 11 empty plates in front of me (each of which had 2-4 pieces of sushi on them). My total bill? 1,320 Yen. And that includes some otoro.

I'm really having a hard time with the whole no tipping thing. Tipping is not expected here, and it is driving me nuts, since I feel like the bellhops are giving me dirty looks when I stiff them after they have lugged my bags upstairs. Same with taxi drivers. But every guide I've read says the same thing about tipping. Not to do it.

Anyway, despite not tipping, I spent the last of my supply of Yen on the taxi to the hotel, so I'm off to find an ATM to reload. Then off to dinner. Menu? Sushi...duh.