Lost In Japan

When we woke this morning we were not all that sure what we would be doing with ourselves, except that Ricky had to find an adaptor for the video camera before he had a cardiac arrest. We took off down the road until we found a Starbucks to have a safe breakfast, deciding Osaka Castle would be a good place to go afterwards.

Osaka Castle was amazing with some serious labour going into it’s construction back in 1583. The Osaka Castle that stands today is a replica of the original after it was leveled in the 1800’s from the “Summer War”. We made a friend at the castle who desperately wanted to share all the details, in fact, he wouldn’t leave Ricky and I alone. He nagged us from level one to level five and then all the way back down again until we escaped while he was briefly distracted.

Ricky then made clear exactly how important this adaptor was so we trotted to the main part of Osaka in seek of techno shops. We found ourselves in the most mental shop ever, Yodobashi. This place is 5 stories high and is packed with everything you could think of electronic, and at least 50 brands of it. Apparently the one in Tokyo is 9 stories high so I imagine Ricky will find himself lost there when we go.

Tara is tired and went to bed, so I’m taking over.

Lunch proved to be a bit tricky, after wandering through the underground mall of looking at all there was on offer, we thought the safest place to eat was probably a place with lots of people inside. Lucky it had a point and choose menu. My meal came out cold, but I think that was how it was supposed to be. It looked warm in the picture. Tara made a mess, but enjoyed her ‘hot’ meal none the less.

After lunch it was back to Yodobashi for a power adapter and a UV filter for the camera. Absolutely stuffed from walking around all day, it was back to the hotel for us. We decided to catch a train back as the walk there was a mission. We only have a JR rail pass, therefore we couldn’t get the subway train (which we found out when we tried to get to Umeda) which would have been an lot quicker and easier. On the way we stopped in at a grocery store to get supplies. Tara was fascinated with quirky packaged items and decided to try her luck. She ended up with apple yogurt and a strawberry milkshake. I was going to try a carton of cider (and I’m talking about one the shape and size of a milk carton). Tara cracked the shits that it was 800 yen, no cider for me. Maybe tomorrow night. While walking back to the hotel, we found out the local fire department was only a few streets away. We’ve found out 2 subsequent times now. The sirens are funny and they let people know their urgency with a mega phone, calling out to people to clear a path and to watch out.

Back at the hotel we checked emails and I played with my new toy. We watched some pretty funny game show on TV for a bit while we relaxed.

We left it a bit too late to go to the bay for dinner, so we tried the recommended restaurant across the road. The place seemed nice and tidy, with a handful of locals dining. We sat down an glanced over the point and order menus and decided on our meals. We waited for someone to come take out order, but noticed that people were using the vending machine at the entrance a lot. I put 2 and 2 together and found out that it was how we were supposed to order. After inserting you coins and making you selection, you receive a ticket which you place on your table in order for the waitstass to collect. My meal was hot and rather tasty. I’m not sure what it was but it looked like it was a fillet if something, crumbed and served in a sauce with potatoes and an egg. A small bowl of rice, a chunk of tofu and some soup accompanied my meal. Tara’s meal looked like a stirfry, also served with the same sides.

Back at the hotel, I sit here watching some crappy Japanese TV and writing the rest of this post.

Highlights of Day 2 according to Tara

1. Funny Japanese fire trucks x 4, complete with funny Japanese men on very loud, loud speakers politely moving traffic along.

2. Japanese business men in suits on bicycles everywhere with laptop in basket and one handed mobile phone balancing.

3. Finally finding a place to have a meal in the Osaka underground shopping centre after technology shopping overload.

4. Realising no-one was serving us at the restaurant we had come to for dinner because we hadn’t ordered it from the vending machine at the front door.

Highlights of Day 2 according to Ricky

1. The Osaka Castle and its view from the top.

2. Seeing a bike the looked like a Harley (apart from the engine size) but sounded like my goped.

3. Seeing a 750ml bottle of Canadian Club for 1,000 yen (at todays exchange rate that’s about 10 bucks!)

4. Yodobashi, there’s nothing like it in Australia. They have EVERYTHING. Every Canon lens in stock and on display for you to play with (as well as Nikon, Sigma etc) They had the Lens I needed for my DV camera. They had every mp3 player on the market. More headphones you could poke a stick at. I could go on and on and on and on and on, but I’m going to bed.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 7th, 2008 at 11:07 pm and is filed under Japan.