I wasn't able to blog yesterday due to cleaning and moving things around the house. Things are going to get exciting in the next few weeks, but that's for another blog.
Like the day before, we decided to take a later train to Osaka instead of waking up at the crack of dawn to catch a train. It was a relatively short ride of around an hour to Osaka. Once we arrived, we had difficulties finding the right exit that would lead us closer to our hotel. Unfortunately, there were some stairs to climb with our heavy luggage, but we finally found the right path to Shin Osaka Washington Hotel Plaza. It was early, so we just dropped off our luggage before we headed back to the station.
At Shin Osaka station, there was a small tourist office. My girlfriend recommended we get the Osaka Amazing Pass. For about $35 CAD, you can visit over 40 different attractions. Many transit lines are also free with this pass. I don't recall the exact number we would have spent if we didn't get the pass, but I'm sure it would be over $80 CAD. Once we picked up our pass, we headed to the HEP Five Ferris Wheel. It was relatively early in the day, and being a weekday meant that there were no lineups. I believe the entire ride was about 10 minutes or so, but it was enough to see the views from high up in the sky. The best part for me was that each car was fitted with an a/c unit! After the Ferris Wheel, we headed towards an art museum: Koji Kinutani Tenku Art Museum. Honestly, I'm not sure who Kinutani Koji is, but the art was visually impressive. Nearby, we headed to the observatory within the Umeda Sky Building. The sites were nice to see, but it was quite busy.
After spending time here, we headed off for a late lunch. From what I know, Osaka is known for its Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki. My girlfriend took me to an okonomiyaki restaurant near the place she used to live while studying Japanese. Also, thanks to her ability to read and speak, she found a small sign that said if you followed them on Instagram, you're entitled to free sorbet after your meal. A nice way to finish up our meal! After eating, we walked down a shopping arcade towards our next stop. There was a food stall that was serving the trendy 10 yen cheese coin. As much as I wished that it was only 10 yen, 500 yen wasn't too bad of a deal. We finally made it to the next art museum: Kamigata Ukiyoe Museum. From my understanding, it was showcasing woodblocks of kabuki. At the very top of this relatively small museum (the size of a medium-sized house), there was a kimono on display that you were allowed to wear. It's my first time wearing a kimono (I'm assuming that men normally don't wear these). It was very ornate and heavy. After taking turns, we left and proceeded to the next stop: the Tombori River Cruise.
We weren't able to get the next available cruise due to the crowds, but we were able to book tickets for the next tour, which was about 30 minutes later. We had time to kill so we strolled along the canal of Dontobori. There was the trendy Cremia ice cream, so we got a vanilla cone to share. Honestly, it tasted like regular ice cream to me that was placed inside a soft cone. When it was nearly time for the cruise, we waited in line to board.
The cruise was about 20 minutes in length. The tour guide spoke fluent English and gave a detailed explanation of the various sites on the tour. Once the tour was over, we headed towards our last destination for the night.
The Tsutenkaku tower was relatively short, but filled with tourists. We had a choice of either checking out the observatory or going down their tower slide. I opted for the observatory first. Like the last few attractions we visited, it was full of tourists. After taking some pictures, we headed down to see if we had time to go down the tower slide. Unfortunately, it was closed for the night, so we headed back towards our hotel. Due to our late lunch, we just grabbed some food from a nearby Lawson konbini (attached to the hotel building) before checking in. Fortunately, we had a nice view of the city from our room this time, in comparison to Asakusa.
I have to admit I was quite exhausted from all the attractions we did, but glad that we opted to get the Osaka Amazing Pass! Before eating dinner, I did some laundry since it was due time to get it done. Interestingly enough, I have a tale to tell, but that's for tomorrow's (hopefully I'll have time tomorrow) post.
Taken from the Ferris Wheel! I'm not sure why, and I know we have them here, but it was oddly satisfying to see this roof parkade/parking lot.
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