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 14 - 12th of September

10:38am　急行電車
天気：雨天
We're on the sub-exp bound for 京橋 (Kyobashi). It's raining!!! So we decided (spur of the moment) to go to the 大阪 海遊館 (Osaka Kaiyukan - Aquarium), and keep the Hirakata Park trip for another day when it's sunny. Wow, the bus today, to get to Hirakata station, was absolutely packed. The traffic was chaotic, lots of ambulance and police cars; never in my wildest dreams would I want to drive around here! So yeah, here on the train with me are Diego and Jessica. It's going to be an awesome day. The aquarium's supposed to be one of the best in the world. I'm taking the video camera, so should get some great footage if I can get it to work, xD...

11:07am　京橋駅
We're waiting for the JR Loop train bound for 森ノ宮 (Mori no Miya). Then from there we're going to take the 中央 (chuou - central) subway to aquarium...

11:12am　電車
On the train...

11:24am　森ノ宮
Now we're waiting for the train in the subway. We met with a girl, Brittney, whose also going to the aquarium, so we're helping her get there. Overall it's been pretty easy to get here, the signs, for the most part, have had English on them. So now we're bound for 大阪港 (Osaka port).

11:30am　地下鉄電車
On the train. We still have 8 stops until we get there. Money-wise, I think it's been pretty cheap. About $10 to get all the way.

11:48am　大阪港
Off the train walking towards the aquarium. There are signs everywhere, which is really helpful.

1:41pm　海遊館
Sitting here in the aquarium's "Cafe de Clever". Just finished my Mexican sand (I love Japanese-English). Lol, it's a weird looking pocket bread thing with a sausage and mince in it. Spicy too. So far the aquarium has been amazing! It's massive; 7 floors. Otters, penguins, dolphins, seals... They even have two whale sharks!!! It's incredible. Brittney went off on her own; i guess she likes doing things on her own? We've still got 4 floors left. Where we are sitting in the cafe, we can see out over the port. The skies are as grey as the sea.

2:42pm　天保山
We're at the top of the 天保山観覧車 (Tenpozan　kanransha - Ferris Wheel), which is apparently the largest in the world? It's pouring, but the view is still pretty spectacular. Ride time is approximately 15 minutes, so you can imagine, it's huge.

3:47pm　大阪港
We're in the waiting room in the subway. The next train is coming at 3:53. My feet are aching a little. After riding the Ferris wheel, we walked around the shops. There were some really cool shops, including a Studio Ghibli shop, and ninja shop. Getting on the train...
There was a really cool stall where you could get your face (photo) grafted into crystal, and another that did anime caricature. There were also lots of clothes shops. One in particular had some really cool shirts and jeans, but a little too expensive at this point in time. I hope Brittney gets back okay. I might see her around Kansai Gaidai. It's been a great day, though silly me forgot to check if there was a tape in the video camera!!! Fortunately, I could get some footage on the memory card, and I ended up taking some more video on my regular camera.

4:58pm　特急
We're on the limited express back to Hirakata; it goes direct to Hirakata without any stops. This is a really cool train; it has two storey seating carriages. After getting off at Mori no Miya, we walked around the edge of 大阪城公園 (Osakajou Koen - Osaka Castle Park). There was a band playing in the park, but you had to have a ticket to get in to see it; we could still hear it though. We could see Osaka castle from where we were and decided that that would be our next adventure. Wow, Brittney caught up with us again. I'm pretty tired now but looking forward to the takoyaki party tonight.

9:35pm　セミナーハウス
Well my legs are aching now, but it's a good ache I guess. After we got back to Hirakata station we said goodbye to Jessica; going back to her host family by train. The lines for the buses in the station were huge. We met Seimu and he said it was because of the opening of a new electronics store. We eventually got on a bus, and the traffic was again hectic. We found out why there were so many ambulance and police cars around this morning. There had been a robbery at the 99円 store. Indeed, we had seen police cars out the front of it this morning.

Getting back, the takoyaki was already cooking. It was really yummy; I had about 7. Then someone decided to make them with oreo's, calling them cookie-yaki. It was actually pretty nice. We danced a little, and got told off by Otosan for jumping around. Well not told off; he just came in and asked that we don't do it. He's really cool. I'd better get some sleep. I really hope it doesn't rain again, because I want to go to the Eisaa Festival, *fingers crossed*. Oh, and we found out that Tenpozan was formerly the biggest Ferris wheel; it's now the 14th largest. They need to update their signage...