Day 6 of the Japan trip… Today is the official last full day left in Osaka.
I went out on my own this morning since my travel mates and I were traveling to different places this day. We decided though to meet at the hotel later on in the evening and go out to eat dinner together for the last night in Osaka. Another reason why I separated from my travel mates was because I wanted to take some photos of the surrounding areas around the hotel, including the roads, alleys, and shopping districts (the independent small shops).
So I set off at around 9am and went strolling around the Namba City Centre. The place was lively as usual with employees outside their shops enticing passerby to come in. There are many pachinko and arcade parlours as well as a large number of eating establishments. I wandered into Kuromon Market where there were many stalls of fresh meat and fruit & vegetable stands. There were seafood everywhere, all fresh – on ice, in tanks, and buckets. What impressed me was the cleanliness of the street market and the amazing signs of a realistic lobster, crab, and fish hanging from the ceiling. It was cool to see them. :)
Afterwards, I went to Muji to purchase socks and pants. I was noticing earlier that my sock supply was running dangerously low. The socks I bought at Muji are so comfortable and the pants I bought that day were cotton, black, and cargo style. I had lunch at the underground shopping mall (noodles and potstickers). Then I went back to my hotel room to change clothes (my new socks and pants). After resting a bit, I went venturing out again. This time, I was headed for Dotombori. I walked along the Ebisubashi street for about 15 minutes till I entered Dotombori. Upon entering, a crab and blowfish sign greeted passerby. Just like the Kuromon Market, the signs were amazing. I spent about an hour in this area because it was very lively. There were many sights, such as the Ebisu Tower, the Walkway, and the eye-catching billboards.
After Dotombori I went to America Mura where I spent my time window-shopping and I sat at the Triangle Park where I relaxed and watched the locals strut by in their odd but cool fashion. Afterwards, I went to Umeda which is north of Namba. My destination was to go to HEP Five and the Floating Garden Observatory.
From the subway station, I ended up going to the Hankyu Department Store from which I exited to get to HEP Five.
HEP Five was INSANE.
I felt like I was trapped. There were hundreds of people squished in together like sardines in a can. We shuffled our way into the building and then shuffled our way onto the escalator which takes us to the 2nd floor. There were security mall officers waving people into lines for the escalator and walkways. It was so tight in there that the only time you escape the line is if you spot a store or café you want to go to. You would quickly leave your position in line and walk fast to your destination. When you leave the store, you would very quickly squeeze your way back into line. I felt very claustrophobic in this building. I went to the 7th floor for Starbucks. Also insane… the line to Starbucks wrapped around the corner. It turns out there is no separate line for take-out and eat-in so I had to wait about 2 hours. Every restaurant and café I saw in HEP Five was long waits. Um… no thank you… I would get my Starbucks at Namba.
I hurriedly got outside since it was hard to breathe in there and it was too crazy for me to enjoy any shopping whatsoever. (I believe I could’ve been the oldest person in that building minus the employees…) As well, the Ferris wheel on the top of HEP Five was closed till the fall season. It was getting late so I decided to forego the Floating Garden Observatory. I took the subway back to Namba and ventured into Den-Den Town to look around. I didn’t see anything interesting that I would like to purchase.
It was around 7:30pm when I finally made my way back to the hotel. My sister and her husband met me at my room around 8pm. We walked along Namba Parks which is just located a few minutes from our hotel. We didn’t go to the top of Namba Parks yet (which has the greenery and nice views) but we went to do some shopping.
My brother-in-law and I bought some liquor at Sho-Chu Authority (the store is located in Namba Parks but on the outside walkway area). My brother-in-law really wanted sake. He asked the employee at the front of the store where the sake was located. The male employee told him that this store only sells Sho-Chu. We asked what Sho-Chu was and he told us that it is more similar to spirits than to sake.
Sho-Chu is a distilled beverage native to Japan and is also called white liquor. It is most commonly distilled from barley, sweet potatoes, or rice. Typically, it contains 25% alcohol by volume (weaker than whisky or standard-strength vodka but stronger than wine and sake). For more information about Sho-Chu, there is a Wikipedia web site on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8Dch%C5%AB
I bought tea liquor which is sweet and delicate, only 6% alcohol. My brother-in-law bought liquor but he has no idea how it tastes like. He bought it because the bottle was in the shape of a stiletto shoe. (haha) The employee was really nice and helpful (and kind of cute). He and this other male employee spoke pretty well in English. I didn’t know which tea liquor to purchase so he brought me and my brother-in-law to the side of the store to try some samples from a cart. Based on those samples, I ended up purchasing that tea liquor. The other tea liquor is 24% alcohol and was it ever strong! ;p I would have loved to purchase more varieties but I couldn’t remember how many milliliters Canadian Customs would allow back, so I just bought the one bottle (300mls).
After shopping till 9pm (the stores close at that time), we went out to eat dinner at Namba Walk (the underground mall). The poor waiter! He had a difficult time with my sister because she wanted only the noodle and potstickers, not the rice and soup. She was pointing and covering the other food items. It was actually hilarious. ;p He had a much easier time with my brother-in-law and me since we ordered the regular set meals. When he came around at one time before we got our food, I was looking up so that I could get the pitcher of water (I was hiding my head from sheer embarrassment). He was wiping the table in front of us and when he saw me, our eyes met, and he smiled. I am not sure I smiled back because I’m positive my face turned pink from embarrassment. Great…. I bet he was telling everyone in the kitchen that some idiotic foreigners are giving him a hard time, one hour before closing. :( Ah… he was cute though… (my sister kept teasing saying “he’s a cutie-pie” every time he walked past us… ah, I was so embarrassed!) ;p
After dinner, we went back to Namba Parks. We went up the elevator to the top floor where there were greenery (flowers, shrubbery, and such). It was really nice, quiet, and peaceful. There were workers below cleaning the walkway and fixing cables. My brother-in-law and I took some photos from the elevator. My sister (who was ahead of me at that time), told me that the staircase on the main floor was barricaded by a gate and lock, so we walked back to the top floor to take the elevator to the main floor.
It was a leisurely nice walk after dinner. What a great way to spend the last night in Osaka!
Tomorrow, we fly out at 2pm to Tokyo where we’ll be for four days. I can’t wait! Ueno Zoo, Tokyo Tower, and Akibahara!!
♫ Lollipop ♫
12 years ago