May 28, 2009

Yay! We finally arrived in Osaka! And everybody's wearing masks. Demm swine flu. We arrived around 7 pm (Osaka time) but we got to our condo-hotel around 11 because our cab driver had absolutely no idea where it was -_-. The poor oji-san stopped to ask so many times i felt bad for him. Especially since he couldn't speak a word of English, we weren't getting anywhere (unintentional pun). But we arrived safe and sound...and tired and hungry.

We're staying in a cute little condo unit that's japanese in style and in proportion. I should have known the moment we entered through the six-foot doors. But it's got awesome little sliding doors and the smallest bathtub I have ever seen. Or maybe I'm just that huge I call it a dollhouse.

May 29,2008

Today we went to Osaka Castle which was so so so so so so beautiful. The entrance we took was lined with big, well-formed bonsai trees which was just prelude to the beautiful greenery inside. Okay, I admit I'm a history geek. So just the exterior of the palace - the castle walls, the huge gate and the moat - got me awestruck. Inside, the walls were lined with the largest stone slabs I have ever seen and we followed the walkway to the center by the castle. The castle stood, tall and distinct over the entire area and you just had to pause to admire the arhitecture. We went inside to view the galleries and exhibits and I found out I'm not a history geek after all. It was a history overload. I retained 90% the visuals and about 10% the information. And the information I did retain mostly came from the holographic display. Texts make my head hurt. If they even get there, past my attention span. But still, looking at the artifacts, paintings and displays was totally fascinating by itself. Though what took me most was the view from the 8th floor, the whole castle was definitely worth going to.

On the side...today we had our money changed. We went to some bank called MUFG and lo and behold. HARUMA MIURA'S face is the first one that meets me (on the poster.duh. if it was him in the flesh I would have fainted and never made it to Osaka castle). He's endorsing the blessed bank and the wonderful lady at the counter gave me a calender and file folder with HARUMA MIURA's perfect portrait. One day in and I already fangirled. But...LOOOOOOOOOVE. I thought he was too hot to be the face of a bank but he looks smart with a suit and a tie a non-blonde/streaked hair. LOVE HIM - 3rd after Tegoshi Yuya and Yamada Ryosuke.

May 30,2009

We rode the subways for the first time today. We went to DenDen Town, Namba and Shinsaibashi, major shopping areas. MAJOR.DenDen Town is an amazing electronics heaven. There were old, old digicams selling for like 300 yen (around php150). LOL. We didn't stay that long unfortunately so I only got to enter one anime shop. And geez. Male otakus are lucky. There are mostly figurines of cute, sexy, ecchi anime girls which was pretty cool to look at but...PRETTY BOIS. No pretty boi merchandise. Very, very few. But there was a lot of yaoi manga in the bookstores. My heart broke looking at all the hot covers and not being able to buy them . After, we walked down the long, long, long, long, long strip of shops from Namba to Shinsaibashi. The Japanese don't dress plain because nothing sells plain XD. They have such awesome apparel and the coolest sense of style that the people themselves are a tourist site. I need to come back here when I've earned my fortune. It's just so expensive! Even the food. But the food's totally worth it. Best stuff ever. I'd enumerate but I'd start craving haha. And on that note...the Yoshinoya back home should eat dust. Or import Japanese cooks. Preferably the latter ^_^v.

May 31,2009

My first mass in Japanese woot! I understood about 5 phrases. I spent more time looking around the cathedral than listening because the stained glass on the walls were pretty and I was easy to distract. In front, in place of the usual cross, they had a picture of Mary in a beautifully intricate kimono. Seems like a personalized interpretation since what I'm used to is so faithful to the original image, but I liked it. I'm also fascinated by the origins of Catholicism in Japan. I think it originated during the samurai period. This not me being a history nerd. Just a Rorouni Kenshin fan.

After mass we went to Osaka Aquarium, which was a pretty small but pleasant place. With aquariums you've seen one and you think you've seen it all really (unless you went to one that was utter crap) but they're enjoyable nevertheless. I loved it's interiors. You really feel like you're strolling on the ocean floor. We also went to the market place nearby. Most of what I bought was from the 100yen store coz' I'm a cheapskate with a hundred dollar (about 10,000 yen) allowance for 7 days -_-. But I still loved browsing. Fuels my drive to earn big money fast

June 1,2009

Shopping day! We went to Universal City Walk (since we're fine having already seen the Studio in English). It was cute there and I particularly liked the Takoyaki Museum. It had a perked-up traditional look with about 5 Takoyaki restaurants lined up one after the other. So after you pass one you would hear the hearty "Irasshaimase" of the shop next door. Takoyaki has been a favorite dish of ours ever since we first visited Japan so we had to stop by and order. We split an order (about 10 Takoiyaki balls) among the four of us. The Japanese usually have one to themselves. I imagine the shop owner was a bit disappointed XD.

Since the Walk was just a small area, we continued the afternoon in a shopping district called Tenjimbashi. It was an awesome 2.6 km long street lined up with shops. I browsed to my heart's content and it still showed no sign of ending so I figure I walked about half the distance and back. I highly recommend this area if you want to shop in Osaka. There are a lot of good deals and a very satisfying variety of merchandise. I bought a ton of stuff here. I found the things I was mainly looking for and some requests from friends. Though unfortunately there's hardly any JE merchandise here unlike in Tokyo so that makes about half my requests unfulfilled. Sorry friends . I didn't mind so much though since I enjoyed shopping for the more traditional stuff. I hope the sentiment holds when I get back home XD. My heart's done enough bleeding at the massive yaoi selection I could only stare and drool hopelessly at (I mean I WOULD buy despite the fact that's in Japanese but eFF budget restraints :'<.

June 2, 2009

We went all the way to Kyoto today (God bless the train that got us there in 30min.30 MIN) and took a tour to some awesome sights. We first went to Nijo Castle which gave us some info on samurai (particularly shogun) palace affairs. I love how ancient buildings are constructed. The sliding doors there had beautiful (our tour guide often uses gorgeous (pronounced goh-jaz)instead of beautiful and I loved the accent so forgive me if I use it a bit. I listened too much XD) paintings on them and intricate carvings above them. The artistry took my breath away. I find an appeal in traditional artwork that is much more satisfying than the usual anime ones I follow. They really draw you in and simulate the effect of whatever their theme is, especially if it's scenery). Later on when we went to the Handicraft Center I saw an artist painting in that same, traditional style and I was totally enthralled. It was a breath of fresh air from the much modernized and personalized style of anime and manga that I enjoy best. I guess art that you are mesmerized by and art that you easily enjoy envoke different senses of appreciation. There are some manga artists that annoy me because they give half-assed stuff that cultivate a world of ideal and fantasy without substance (these are usually shoujo, with cookie-cutter good-looking couples with unrealistic and self-satisfying love stories. Though some pull it off well, it's not as satisfying when you look back on it). But the atmosphere of Kyoto was so historical I'm craving for manga of historical genre now. After Nijo Castle and it's awesome samurai/ninja vibe, we went to the Golden Pavillon and I fell in love with Japanese artistry in landscaping. They way clusters of trees blend in their different shades of green perfectly surrounded the area of the Pavillon. The trees were diverse and I think it's the different textures of the leaves that create the picture-perfect effect. The bonsai were set in spaces and accented with fauna so each were shown off well. And they are very worth showing off. The shapes and silhouettes are goh-jaz Even the rocks are positioned accurately and creatively. Kyoto scenery is seriously impeccable. It doesn't have the typical array of colorful flowers that depict gorgeous scenery but the simplicity in greens have a much more peaceful and authentic vibe. Mind you I raved about paintings and gardening but Kyoto is all about its temples. I'm just not a temple fan but they were all cool. Last stop was the Imperial Palace. Hrrm. It was big. It was majestic. But it was too hot to appreciate thoroughly. Liked it though. Everything was just goh-jaz.

June 3, 2009

We took it easy today and went back to Shinsaibashi to cover the other half of the shopping street. We ended up food-shopping XD. We entered Dotomburi, a street full of restaurants and they all had artsy billboards and insanely accurate plastic models of their food displayed in front. It was just 5pm but we surrendered to hunger just by looking. Gawsh. Food in Japan is so good and pretty generous. I could get used to it haha XD.

June 4, 2009

Last day in Osaka Check-out time was pretty early and we had a 7pm flight so we dropped our luggage off at the airport and took a shuttle to Rinku Premium Outlets. The Japanese love their brands but the price tags make my head spin. I'm an anti-brand cheapskate, yes fine. But I really wnated to spend my last few yen on airport shopping. Tip: some omiyage (souvenirs/pasalubong),especially the pretty food box sets, are cheaper in the airport. And there's a good chance that a bunch of souvenirs you decided not to pick up along the way will come back to haunt you on the airport store shelves.

On a final note, I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE JAPAN (in case you didn't know yet).