Checking out Osaka- Day 2

Friday, February 10, 2023

Osaka, Japan

Woke up to check the weather for the day and it said "snow." What?!?  It did snow in Tokyo (we saw on the news)  but turns out that in Osaka we only had rain and it was light rain. Mom had on three jackets/vests during the day. 

We set off for Osaka Castle. Instead of taking two subway rides, we opted to walk 15 minutes to the second station so that we could explore the town a bit. On the way, we passed a cemetery and temple. 

We took the subway to Osaka Castle.  

We passed the Osaka History Museum and decided to go in. Our fee to go in was 600 yen and we paid 400 more to include the fee for Osaka Castle. 

We thought the architecture with the glass bubble was super cool. 

                                                   Saw some lifelike imperial staff. 

In this museum, you start on the 10th floor and go down each floor. The museum is well laid out and signage directs you where to go. There are also vista spots on the corners of the building that look out to the Osaka Castle and other parts of the area. 

The building is beautifully designed. Mom and I got a kick out of seeing all the kids in the museum with their teachers. They were quiet and respectful and playful like kids are. It was great seeing them interact with each other and the museum displays- though I didn't understand a thing they were saying. 

After the visit, mom and I sat in the lobby and ate our 7-Eleven curry bread and pork bun before we headed off to Osaka Castle. The curry bread was tasty and mom wanted to get more!

Walked across the street to the Osaka Castle. 

There are some floors where photos are not allowed. This floor was one of them, but I forgot and mom pointed it out. Ooops.

When mom, dad, Mei, Rowena, and Pat came here in 2019, they weren't able to go into the castle. According to mom, it was being renovated. 

I asked mom if she'd like to try some pancakes that originated in Japan. Even though we have a Gram at Stonestown, I've never eaten there. We took the subway to "A Happy Place" where they have they creamy pancakes. 

Mom and I saw people order one order for themselves. We shared a strawberry white chocolate pancake. Super soft, creamy, yummy snack!

I saw the cooks in the kitchen use a thermometer reader to see how how the pan was. There's definitely a science to cooking these pancakes!

We walked into a store that had rows and rows of these toy vending machines! 30 seconds in, mom said,  let's get out of here, we're wasting time. I told her I wanted to check it out. I saw kids as young as five, teenagers, and adults using these machines. Please really love them and it's how lucky you are to get what you want if you have something specific in mind! We walked away and mom said that people waste their money on this. I told her that this is a form of hobby. Some people like to get these for fun! We all have our own forms of joy and entertainment. 

Pretty elevatory in a department store. 

We've been noticing the Louis Vuitton stores in HK and Japan all have Yayoi Kasuma in them. The collab is big. We thought this display was pretty cool. 

Such a pretty view. 

We got in line for some takoyaki and decided to go into the restaurant to eat rather than walk around with food. I don't like walking and eating. I can't focus on my food. We ordered takoyaki and some sweet potato fries. 

Okay, so these takoyaki octopus balls might not be the best thing for mom to eat. She couldn't eat any of the squid. It was too tough for her teeth!

Friday night along a busy shopping strip Dotonburi. Lots of food, shops, and lights. Hearing lots of Japanese, some Cantonese and some Mandarin. 

Mom wanted to get Twixie this outfit. So goofy. 

Another location of that takoyaki spot. 

Us in front of the famous Glico sign. 

Takashimaya- I love how this department store is all lit up. Gorgeous. Stopped in here to look for a dress for Molly, Auntie Debbie's granddaughter. 

Some of the dresses were $100 USD each. I said to mom, maybe they have a Japanese version of Target here? Haha. We found two dresses more reasonably priced that we think Molly will love. 

On our walk back to the hotel, you can see these toy vending machines everywhere. These teens got so excited with what they got! It was neat to see them so happy!

There's a basket by the machines so that people can toss their plastic case balls in to recycle/reuse. Whew! That's good to know. 

So we walked 24,000 steps today. I didn't realize we walked that much. When we got back to the hotel, mom was super tired. She got up in the middle of the night and took a Covid test because she was feeling tired and that got her worried. Her results were negative. Will need to pace ourselves so that we don't walk quite as much and get worn out.