Day 134 - 11th of January

10:36am　普通
天気：曇り
I forgot to bring my journal, so I’m writing this in my iPod. I’m on the local train to Hirakata, where I’ll be switching over for a rapid express to Kyobashi. From there, I’ll take the subway to Shinsaibashi. I know it’s a bit of a late start, but I had a terrible night’s sleep, so we’ll see how I go… I’m not sure if it’s some sort of holiday today, but when I went over to the bank, it charged me overtime. Anyway, I think today will be a lot of fun; hopefully find some interesting things.

11:18am　地下鉄
I’m just getting on the subway at Kyobashi. I love the sound of the warning signals in the subway; so pretty. I’ve decided to go to 長堀橋 (Nagahoribashi), which is one stop from Shinsaibashi, and walk down to 恵美須町 (Ebisucho), through Den den town.

6:15pm　地下鉄
I’m on the subway back to Kyobashi now; still standing. I haven’t sat down since lunch at about 2; found a really great, cheap ramen shop in Den den town. Well no, I lie, I did sit down (on the floor) in the Yamaha music shop in Shinsaibashi, before purchasing two Studio Ghibli piano solo books; that was about 30 minutes ago. Today has been… long; so much walking around! I basically made a big “U”, going from Nagahoribashi, down through to Den den town to Ebisucho, before going across to Namba, and then up to Shinsaibashi; actually it was more like a backwards “Y”, since I went all the way down to Ebisucho, but anyway. I spent most of my time in Den den town, which was amazing; total overload of stuff! My bag is now filled to the brim with goodies…

6:46pm　特急
Now I’m on the limited express back to Hirakata, and I’m still not sitting down; so sad… so as I was saying, my bag is filled with goods; I can’t recall everything I bought to be honest. I found lots of Final Fantasy paraphernalia and some Hetalia stuff too. I was really tempted to buy a model (either from Final Fantasy or Kingdom Hearts) actually, but decided against it this time. My biggest purchase was a DS lite; yes, I finally got one. It’s crimson and black. I did a lot of shopping around for it, and got one for a decent price; unfortunately the one time I found them for really cheap (like half the retail price), they were sold out. I was determined to buy one today though, so I just went ahead and did it. As for games, I bought Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings (really cheap), and Pokémon: Heart Gold (best price I could find); very happy.

Yes, Den den town was amazing, but it was also a lot of the same. It basically went like this: Electronics, CDs, manga, adult shop, video games, second hand goods, furniture, DVDs, manga, CDs, models, records, adult shop, electronics, adult shop, second hand goods, CDs, electronics, video games, manga… with a sprinkling of restaurants and duty-free shops, two Makkas, and at least six convenience stores. Yeah, there were a lot of adult shops (mostly selling DVDs and comics) in plain sight, all the way along the right side of the street, which I walked down first; many of the multi-storey shops had adult sections in their top floors as well. I was pretty indifferent to it; a whole lot of all-too-busty females and yaoi…

7:04pm　枚方市駅
In the station now, waiting for the train to Makino…


7:06pm　準急
Yay, I’m sitting down; in the train… I walked all the way down the right side of Den den town, and reached Ebisucho, where I wondered down a street under the Hanshin Expressway, past stalls, to find myself amidst a festival; how lucky. I’ll have to look up what it was all about; there were so many people and stalls. After walking around the shrine that was hosting the festival, I found a taiyaki stand, bought two custard filled, and walked a bit further south to the 通天閣 (tsutenkaku)…

The tsutenkaku (lit. tower reaching heaven), was a really great sight to see. I really wish I could have seen it at night though; maybe next time. I was disappointed you couldn’t actually climb it (as far as I could tell), but I thought it was cool how a road past underneath it. So to date, I have seen 4 towers in Japan; 5 if you count the Umeda Sky Building. I walked back from the tower, and back up the other side of Den den town. The limits of the “town” are clearly defined by the decorative pipe-like structures of different colours that bordered the walkways. There wasn’t as much on this side, so I went back to the other side for a while, looking for a good price for the DS. There were some video game shops, a few with heaps of retro games and consoles; I’m sure dad would’ve loved it. And in all of them, I was beckoned by Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, and Final Fantasy XIII, bellowing from the speakers, and playing on the flat screen TVs. I really want a PSP now; might be my next big purchase!

I finally left Den den town at around 5; it was almost night. I got to see it with the lights, which wasn’t all that fantastic. I walked back up and across to namba, just taking in the sights and the night life. The 南海難波駅 (Nankai Namba station) was very beautiful; European influenced architecture. And across the way, there was what looked to be a Kabuki theatre. It was closed off for construction though, so I wasn’t entirely sure. I soon found myself in familiar territory, and went to find the hotel the Devoys had stayed at, in Dotonbori. Happy with a shot of the 4 statues out the front, I continued on and soon found myself in Shinsaibashi. I was actually really surprised how close everything was in terms of walking; I guess the subway stops aren’t that far apart when I think about it. I didn’t have that much money left, and I didn’t really see anything of interest anyway, until I found the Yamaha shop. It was a 4 storey shop and wow, there were so many instruments. It also had a great selection of sheet music, so I took me a while to choose the books I wanted; high grade, and jazz arrangements. My feet now sore, and bag felling very heavy, I decided it was time to head home… the walk back from Makino wasn’t that bad, it wasn’t that cold. I noticed a banner on the way back, with information about the Ebisu festival celebrations in Makino; so that was it.

The 十日戎 (tooka ebisu), is a festival that celebrates Ebisu, one of the 七福神 (shishifukujin – seven lucky gods), and a patron of business and commerce. For this reason, he is particularly popular in Osaka, being the merchant capital. It’s a three day festival, from the 9th to the 11th, with the 10th being the main day (tooka means 10th of the month). The shrine I went to is called the 今宮戎 (Imamiyaebisu), which is apparently the place to go during the festival. I consider myself really lucky to be there, especially considering that fact that I had no prior knowledge of it; I basically stumbled upon it. I mean, I could have gone any day, but I managed to pick a day when a huge festival was on; so cool. And it was huge! The amount of people pouring in, making offerings to Ebisu was incredible; there was a continuous clinging sound from all the money being thrown into the shrine.

The priests were giving out bamboo fronds, and people would then proceed to buy charms to hang from them; I first noticed them when I saw a man walking around with one in Den den town. I found out that these are called 吉兆笹 (kichousasa – “lucky bamboo grass”), and are decorated with models of 鯛 (sea bream), 小判 (koban – former Japanese oval gold coin), and 米俵 (komedawara – bags of rice), which represent flourishing success in business. I’ll definitely have to come back and get one, when I get into the market. Today though, I was just happy to look on. I noticed that there were lots of people coming into the shrine with their old bamboo fronds, presumably from last year; they had browned. There was actually a bin in the shrine, called 古笹納所 (furusasanasho – “old fronds offerings”), and inside there was indeed the old fronds, charms and all; I hope that the charms are recycled. Apart for food, there were an abundance of stalls that were also selling ornaments featuring Ebisu himself, with his benevolent smiling face. I wish I’d brought my video camera, but at least I got some decent photos.

Getting back to the seminar house, I found my room still Ryan-less, chucked my bag down, and went up to have dinner. Katie was back from Singapore, and I talked with her and Ash until they went back to their room. I decided to just make another pizza, since I hadn’t gotten any meat out of the fridge. With the crust defrosted, I went about making it, and talked with Jacinthe. She was making a cake, and I helped her with it. The recipe was really simple, but the end result was amazing; I love Jacinthe’s cooking! After that, I went back down and unpacked my bag. Soon, everything was strewn across my futon; bags, plastic, books, and other miscellanea. When I opened the DS box, I realised there was already an adapter included, and, of course, I had bought one separately for it; so stupid of me. So now I have two, which I won’t be able to use in Australia anyway; might come in handy later on in life I guess. Apart from that, I’m really happy with my other purposes, and would really like going back again. I had a lot of fun just browsing; there was just so much stuff. Most of it, I wasn’t interested in buying, but it was still cool to look at; especially all the models. I’m kinda glad I’m not really into manga or anime; otherwise I’m sure I would have spent a heck of a lot more money there.

Day 126 - 3rd of January

6:57am　First Kitchen – 梅田
天気：曇り
I’m in First Kitchen with Tamblyn; just had some breakfast. Wow, last night was really great… I finally found the hotel in 道頓堀 (Dotonbori), after walking the streets for a while upon exiting Namba station. It was about 3, and they were all waiting out the front. It was so cool to see Peyton and Laine again; they’ve grown so much. And of course, seeing Tamblyn, Peter and Naomi was great. The kids instantly attached themselves to me, and I spent the majority of the day holding their hands, helping them up stairs (carrying Laine at times), and looking out for them; it was a lot of fun. Our first stop was Osaka castle; we went up to Umeda, and then across to Osakajokoen via the loop line. It was already pretty late when we got there, and by the time we got to the castle, it was only 20 minutes until closing time. Peter decided he’d go in anyway; the rest of us sat outside waiting.

He emerged well after 5. The sun had already set, and the castle was all lit up. It was very beautiful, and since I’d never seen it close up at night before, I was really appreciative of coming. Tamblyn found one for his favourite drinks in a nearby vending machine, and decided he’d buy some for himself and his friends; meaning 8. It’s called Fanta furufuru; jelly and soft drink in a can. Since I had a bag, I was stuck carrying them around for the rest of the night. After the castle, we went to Shinsaibashi, and Peter and Tamblyn took Peyton to go and buy shoes, while Naomi, Laine and I went to design them! We went to the Nike shop, where you can create your own personalised shoes, and had fun choosing colours, styles and materials for what would be Tamblyn’s new shoes. Laine fell asleep on the stairs (so cute), and we had to drag him up when it came to finalizing the purchase. Since they wouldn’t ship the shoes overseas, Naomi needed a Japanese address, and that’s where I came in. It was all sorted out fine; I’ll be expecting shoes in a month.

Coming out of the shop, Laine was tired and said his feet were hurting a lot. Naomi and I took turns carrying him for a while, trying to track down Peter. Laine started to really complain, and we figured out that his shoes were causing the problem; they were new, and cutting into the top of his feet. We tried at first, to loosen them, but that did no good, so we took them off entirely and then went on a quest for slippers; getting many stares from the natives. After going to two shoe stores, a Disney merchandise store, and a convenience store, we finally found some in a pharmacy. They were too big, but Laine complied and did his best; such a battler. Still unsure of where Peter was, we continued down the street until we reached Dotonbori, before Laine insisted he go to the toilet, so I took him to Makkas. By luck, when we came out, Peter was there with Naomi.

Peter, Tamblyn and Peyton went on to the restaurant, and we made a quick stop at a specialty store to see if we could find the green tea air fresher that was used in their hotel. There were so many imported goods; they even had timtams!!! Unsuccessful (but still laden with goodies) we made our way to the restaurant; an okonomiyaki place. After a short wait, we were seated. The food was spectacular; best okonomiyaki I’ve ever had. Very satisfied, we went back to the hotel, and it was 11 before long. Tamblyn was supposed to return to his host family, but we sorted it out so he could come out to karaoke with me. We were in Umeda, and after a bit of searching we found a reasonably cheap place (the one with the huge dragon head coming out of it), considering it is New Years. We went from just after 12 till 6; another all-nighter. It was a lot of fun, but I’m so tired now; gonna get home soon and sleep…

9:55pm　セミナーハウス
Feeling tired still, even though I slept most of the day… I left Tambyln (I let hime know I was going), to sleep in First Kitchen at about 7:30, and made my way back home. I was tired the whole way back, and in the walk back from Makino, I was in a daze. Finally at home, I had a shower, and then crashed; Ryan wasn’t there. I woke at 1, and decided it would be a good idea to have some lunch. Almost immediately after, I went back to sleep again. Waking at 6, I went up and made dinner (chicken parmigiana with garlic bread), and watched TV for a while. These two Japanese guys were travelling the world and participating in unusual sports. They were in Estonia doing a sport involving flinging yourself around a swing standing, before going to Indonesia for the water oxen festival, where bulls are raced, chariot-like, across shallow water; both sports looked really challenging. Ryan’s still not back, so I guess I’m going to have a pretty early night; maybe go to Kuzaha hall tomorrow for the last day of sales.

Day 125 - 2nd of January

1:46pm　普通
天気：曇り
I have no idea what I’m doing! I’m just getting on the train at Makino, to get to 難波 (Namba), to hopefully meet with Tamblyn and his family; who are staying in a hotel there. I was just talking to him on Skype when he invited me, totally out of the blue and I thought, sure, why not. I figure if worse comes to worst, and I don’t meet him, I’m still going to have some fun in Osaka; New Year sales!!! I managed to get out of bed by 8 this morning; I was very happy about that. Too bad I hadn’t gotten enough sleep last night, so when I ended up talking with my family, I was a bit grumpy and got frustrated…

1:53pm　枚方市駅
Just waiting for the limited express at Hirakata. So yeah, Mum was like, go take a walk. So I took her advice and found out how notoriously easy it is to get lost in Japanese suburbia; so many dead ends and loops. It was a bit of fun exploring though; I got back feeling a bit better. I had leftovers with rice for lunch, while watching a Korean drama on TV for a while, and then went back down and chatted for a bit longer, before setting off on this crazy adventure; I’m hoping it all turns out okay.

2:19pm　長堀鶴見緑地線
Now I’m in the subway at Kyobashi, going to Shinsaibashi and then onto Namba, where I’ll be meeting Tamblyn…

Day 112 - 20th of December

10:11am　特急
天気：曇り
Carly and I are on the limited express from Hirakata to Kyobashi. We had a pretty late start, but we’re off now. Walked to Makino this morning, and it was freezing. Hopefully don’t get back too late tonight. Anyway, first stop: Osaka Castle!

10:33am　京橋
Lol, we just ran onto the train in Kyobashi, thinking we were set, then the guy came down saying it wasn’t in service. So now we’re waiting for the next one, to go one station down to 大阪城公園 (Osakajokoen – Osaka Castle Park).

1:38am　長堀鶴見緑地線
We’re on the subway now, heading toward Shinsaibashi. It was really great seeing the castle again. Although we didn’t go in, we spent a lot of time exploring the grounds and taking in the view of the city. Coming out of the station, the place was packed. There was some sort of convention going on in the hall nearby. We steered well clear of the food booths, already hungry. We went to the 豊國神社 (Houkoku Jinja – “Bountiful Country Shrine”) on the castle grounds, and witnessed the beginnings of a Shinto wedding. We got some great views of the city atop the parapet, and strolled around the jogging track, through the park and past some unicyclists toward Morinomiya were we went down into the subway. I’m so hungry, and we’re going to Sweets Paradise for lunch; all you can eat dessert buffet!!! It’s going to be epic.

3:23pm　スィーツパラダイス‐心斎橋
I’m so full already!!! We’re in Sweets Paradise, with 30 minutes left and I can’t eat another bite; I feel sick! This was supposed to be such a good idea but, oh my gosh. After two plates of cakes, a plate of spaghetti, and ice cream, I feel terrible. Well, it was really cheap 1480円, and I definitely think I ate my monies worth. Finding the place was a little difficult, but with the help of two nice ladies, we were on our way; it was on the 6th floor of a department building (having the whole floor to itself). We had to make a reservation and then come back in half an hour, which wasn’t so bad, except for the fact we were starving, and seeing all the wonderful food was making it worse. So we went to Loft across the way, and found Diego another Christmas present; a tiger amulet. Getting back, we got our ticket out of the machine (which we kept as a souvenir), and were seated. Overawed, we got stuck into it; the set up is great. Next stop, Pokémon centre, if we can move…

6:50pm　大阪環状線
We’re on the Osaka loop line… well now we’re in Noda. We got on the wrong train, and were going around the loop in the wrong direction. Not that it would have mattered; just would have taken longer that’s all. Gosh, the chime for the train is so annoying here. But anyway, we want to get back soon because we’re going to meet Diego in Hirakata and have dinner at Saizeriya. The Pokémon centre was great, once we found it after a little help for Diego on the phone. It was a bit smaller than I expected, but still really cool; I got heaps of great stuff for Ben. This month is Eevee month, and they have all the evolutions (and Eevee) for sale in plushie form. And you know what Carly did, she went and bought the whole lot of them; all eight. It’s in Umeda, and I wanted to go to Yodobashi Camera as well (this humongous electronics store) but we didn’t have time. But, we did go on the HEP 5 Ferris wheel, on top of a building nearby; it was really cool to see Osaka lit up at night from high up. We could even see the castle…

7:00pm　大阪環状線
Okay, now we’re going in the right direction. I’m writing with the lead from Carly’s mechanical pencil, and it’s just not working, so I’m going to stop now…

Just began cleaning, and clearing things out; so much paper going to waste. I did pick up a few textbooks though, which is really cool. Diego’s going tomorrow; his inspection is at 9 then he’s out of here. We’re going to see him and Jessica off at Hirakata, and then go to the Toji flea market. After getting back to Hirakata, we went to Saizeriya and had our last dinner out with Diego; it was quiet so we got in straight away. After that, we got the bus back, out of the freezing cold. Diego got off at the library, and Carly and I went the next stop down to seminar house 4, to try to pick up my bike. After talking with the Okaasan, I got the keys, and went out to the parking area and found it. Walked back to seminar house 2, parked it, and went in to let Otousan know about it. I tried to explain to situation, but I had to get Yuji to come down and help; silly me had not read the procedures for bikes. I was supposed to get the crime prevention slip from Mark, and go down to the bike shop with him, and get the name changed over. Now the bike will just be taken away and recycled. I’m a bit disappointed but, I survived one semester without a bike so I can survive another.

Day 42 - 11th of October

10:09am　特急電車

天気：寒い

We just witnessed a parade of 神輿 (mikoshi - portable shrines) in the main street of Hirakata. In the Kansai region they are called 壇尻 (danjiri) and we think they might have been preparing for a particular festival tomorrow, in which the participants lift the danjiri and bash into other danjiri in combat; maybe I'll be able to see it. Anyway, we're now on the limited express to Kyobashi. I'm with Jessica and Diego. We are going to the Studio Ghibli exhibition at the Suntory Museum next to the Osaka Aquarium. After that, we're going to アメ村 (ame-mura - America Village), and then the Umeda Sky Building; It's going to be great.

3:37pm　御堂筋線
We're almost at Umeda now; we decided to go to the Sky Building first. After seeing the Studio Ghibli exhibition, we ate lunch and then got back on the trains. We changed over to the 御堂筋線　(Midosuji line) at Honmachi and are now just one stop away from 梅田 (Umeda).

7:05pm　御堂筋線

We're now on the train to 心斎橋 (Shinsaibashi). Now we're going to America Village and getting some dinner. Umeda Sky Building was amazing. We got there during sunset and were treated to a spectacular scene at the top. We stayed around until dark, and saw the city light up. We met with Ash and Katie, and Amber and Joey when we got there, and then split up again when we left...

7:40pm　サイゼリヤ

We found this really great Italian resturant chain called Saizeriya near America Village. We're eating now...

8:16pm　サイゼリヤ

Finished eating. Tirimasu for dessert!!! Sooooo good, and it was all so cheap too.

9:06pm　長堀鶴見緑地線

We're now on the train from Shinsaibashi to Kyobashi ~ the nagahoritsurumiryokuchi line (lol, had to put it in cause it's sooo long). After dinner, we walked around America Village a bit. It wasn't as grand as I had expected, but there were a lot of clothes shops. Unfortunately they were closing; this was disappointing. It is a Sunday I guess. Today was a very long day, but it was a lot of fun... The Ghibli exhibition was so cool. We got to walk through a number of rooms with the original layouts from all the movies, shorts, and cartoons Ghibli has produced, in frames covering the walls. At the end there was a gift shop, and I couldn't go past buying the book; a compilation of thousands of the layouts. I also bought some postcards.

We saw Ash and Katie; they'd came out about 10 minutes after us. We weren't expecting them to be here (they were supposed to be with Amber at Joypolis), and exchanged numbers so we could meet up later. The lines were really long (it took almost an hour to get in, and we waited in the gift shop line for about 15 minutes), but it was well worth it; a once in a life time experience. We had lunch in the nearby plaza; it was almost 2:30 by this time. I had かつ丼 (katsudon - a bowl of rice topped with a deep-fried pork cutlet and egg - so yummy), and Jess and Diego had KFC; lolz very Japanese. Anyway, on the stage above the main food court, there was a dance competition (presumably) going on...

9:29pm　急行電車
Now we're going back to Hirakata on the Keihan line... As I was saying, a dance competition was going on between groups of kids! They were all really talented and the costumes were so cool. I got a bit on film. After eating, we walked back to the station, and saw Ash and Katie again, walking in the opposite direction (they were going to eat, and then would catch up with us later at Umeda). From the aquarium on the Chuo subway line, we went down five stations to 本町 (Honmachi) and then transferred to the Midosuji line and went up two stations to Umeda. Once there, we had a little trouble figuring out how to get to the Sky Building; the station is a huge shopping complex, and it was easy to get turned around. We ended up exiting on the wrong side of the station, and walking through a shopping street for a while. We asked for directions and were turned around back to the station.

Finally, after more directions, we exited on the correct side and walked out onto the street, before entering an underground walkway under a train yard. With the building clearly in sight we made our way over, and sat near the gardens for a while. It's such a cool looking building; two towers connected at the top, like an upside down "U" with a big hole in the centre. We met with the girls and Joey, and made our way up; there was a lot of crossing over involved... You start at the right tower, go up to the 4th floor (I think), cross over to the left tower and go up to the 31st floor by elevator (which is made of glass so you can view outside), then finally take an escalator that spans to the right tower to the 36th floor (so cool). From there, you pay 700円 entry fee, go up some more escalators and stairs (or elevator if you like) and finally you're at the top. The viewing platform is circular and skirts the circular hole in the centre. At night, black lights are turned on, and the floor glows with multicoloured pebbles. There is also a place on top for lovers to have a padlock engraved with their names locked on a wire fence; very cool. In fact, it was a bit chilly :P.

10:46pm　バス

Diego and I are now on the bus back home; we said goodbye to Jess at the station. We might be going to the Danjiri festival tomorrow, but if not, today was awesome, and I can always study tomorrow...