Osaka Day 4 – Getting to Know Umeda and Nanba

1/19

We were scheduled to go to Umeda for some shopping and sale hunting! We went to HEP Five, a building with a big red ferris wheel on top. We tried to find UNIQLO, the Japanese version of Giordano, or so they say. UNIQLO was a bit elusive at first, but after seeking help from some of the locals and a cute-looking guy, we were able to arrive at our destination. Unfortunately, we were a bit early at 10AM. Most of the shops were scheduled to open at 11AM.

I stopped to observe the passerbys. Contrary to common belief, a lot of families go out during the weekends. I saw a lot of ultra kawaii (cute) kids with their parents merrily walking and spending some quality time together. The Japanese are not as workaholic as they appear to be. The kids looked adorable donning their winter wear, with their teeny tiny bubble jackets and all. All of them seem to have a healthy blush on them, which only magnified their cuteness and moe factor >__< I would have liked to take a picture with them, but I’m afraid that the parents might call the police on me shouting “PEDO!!! PEDO!!!”

When the stores were finally open, we hopped from one boutique to another. I was the only one who wasn’t able to buy anything. Most of the discounted items were winter wear and we don’t have winter in the Philippines. Furthermore, I’m saving my monies for my anime splurging shopping.

For lunch we went to Pomme-no-ki where they served omelette rice (omurice). I’ve always wanted to try one ever since I started watching Lunch Queen. The Japanese seem to have a lot of these Western-type restaurants. My bill was ¥1800+ for the HEP Five Set which includes omurice, drink, and salad.

We were all tanked up and ready to go. Before leaving HEP Five, we decided to ride the big shiny red ferris wheel. For the price of ¥500, we got to see a beautiful overlooking view of Umeda. It would have been more breathtaking during the night, when the city would be bathed in bright night lights.

Next stop was Yodobashi, a haven for tech junkies. It contains several floors of gadgets, electronics, and accessories. It has said to have replaced Den-Den Town, the original electronic mecha in Osaka.

I was not particularly looking for anything to buy and just ended up with the Gorillapod. It is the next generation tripod with the ability to peg your camera on the most ridiculously odd terrain with its flexible and bendable appendages!

I also tried the toy capsule, or gashapon. I placed ¥200 into the slot, I was expecting to to get a toy from the show Ookiku Furikabutte, but instead I got Steam Boy. I unwittingly placed my money on the wrong slot and the magic of getting my first gashapon was lost forever. That’s punishment for being stupid. Anyway, I got it right the second time and got the secret gashapon which featues Abe Takaya in his school uniform. I wanted Tajima, but hey, at least I got a character from the SAME show.

It was time to leave Umeda. We went to Shinsaibashi, a station away from Nanba, in an attempt to find Amerikamura. I heard there would be cheap clothes for the hip and young there. However, we were unsuccessful in our search and ended up in Dotonbori, another eclectic area of Osaka decorated with restaurants, food stalls, small shops, and pachinko (slot house, not slut house :p). It is a great place to try the local delicacies like takoyaki and okonomiyaki and really get the feel of the local atmosphere.

Just when you thought you couldn’t buy anything with ¥100, we pass by a store filled with them. Perhaps, if we were more into it, we could have unearth some cheap treasures. * Note to self: must make time to hunt for cheap treasures *

After a few more rounds of walking, we got tired and decided to rest up back at the weekly mansion. Then, we went back out again to seek Amerikamura a second time. We were successful this time around. Somehow, we ended at Takashimaya, a department store. Bernice and I decided to buy rice and lunch boxes so we can save up money and let our thrift selves come out into the open. Hey, we brought canned goods all the way from the Philippines. Might as well take advantage of it, right?

Back at the mansion again, we cooked rice. I watched Bernice as she prepared it and tried to take it into memory. I can’t really cook anything, including rice. We were able to eat dinner around 9PM. Densha Otoko (Train Main) was on TV. It was in Japanese, but we enjoyed it still. I have heard that it was based on a true story. Basically, it is about an a nerd of sorts who saves a girl on the train from being harassed by a rowdy guy. Fate pulled some strings and they meet up again. Soon after, they started to go out. The guy seeks help from people online on how to snag the girl. They give him some useful advice and he was able to have a makeover, looks and everything. It was really interesting, no wonder it was so popular.

That capped the night and I was off to bed.