Crab Battle

Osaka Aquarium, serving all of your Lovecraftian needs. When you prefer your eldrich horrors to pair well with wine and butter, they’ve got you covered.

School of Fish

Another picture from my recent trip to Osaka. I want to call this one Fish-nado. 🐟

The Night View from the Tempozan Ferris Wheel

After taking a ride on the Santa Maria cruise and cheking out the Kaiyakan/Aquarium, I tries the Tempozan Ferris Wheel. 

It’s heralded as the biggest wheel im the world, at 150 meters (their words) and the ride is part tour, part Osaka marketing. Surprisingly, the ticket was only ¥800.
I wanted the best pictures possible, although you’re not technically supposed to take them, so I waited on line for maybe fourty minutes so I could get a transparent car.
Once onboard, I was mesmerized by the view, dispite my mild dislike of heights. I could see Universal Studios Japan, the aquarium, a famous red bridge, and a good portion of the city. The ride lasted fifteen minutes.
If you have a chance to try it, it’s worth doing. It’s really not expensive and each car can fit up to five people.

First Class Cabin, an interesting capsule hotel in Namba, Osaka

As I said in my last post, I decided to take a short trip to Osaka, now that the Winter Holidays are upon us. Part of my decision was based on having been to Osaka in the past and the passing familiarity with it from said visits. The bigger factor was price. The bus tickets (roundtrip) were a meer ¥5031, after applying the points gained from my last trip. That should be a little less that $50 USD, I think.

After I purchased the tickets, I googled hotels and hostels in the area I wanted to visit. Since it’s the holiday season, with many people returning to their hometowns, pices were of course inflated greatly, Lucky for me, I’m pretty flexible.

This time, I was saved from another stint in Joysound (karaoke) when I found First Cabin. Their cheaper options were booked solid, but they had some nice rooms for about ¥5700 a night. 

This fee was for a room with a lockbox (the partician has no lock, though women and men are seregated by floor, with electronic locks), a pair of PJs to borrow, free Wifi, a public bath (again one for women and another for men) with sauna, and many amenities. It might not be a good fit for people who are shy about their bodies. 

Also available were VOD services, food, laundry, and massage services. I did enjoy a light snack before bed (tea and chilled tofu with toppings), as well as the ¥800 breakfast buffet service. Both Japanese and Western foods were available, but I prefer Japanese foods.

For my money I did get a lot, but there were three things that were not quite to my liking, though that’s more to do with me personally, I think. First, the bed was much too stiff, though the provided body pillow helped a lot. 

Second, the room was a bit dry, dispite the supplied humidifier, and I woke up with a nosebleed. Thankfully, I didn’t bleed on any linnens. Though, nosebleeds also happen at home.

Last, this is more of a nitpick than anything else, the baths are way too hot. The presoak shower was absolutely fine, but the big tub was very hot. After entering it, I remembered suddenly that Osaka is known for their love of hot baths. I soaked for about ten minutes before getting dressed and heading back to my room.

All in all, it was very worth the price. The location wad great (around the corner from Namba Walk exit 22), the staff were very nice, and I recommend it to those traveling through Osaka and are a bit open-minded about where they stay.

https://first-cabin.jp/en/

The Derpfish of Osaka Aquarium

My winter vacation has started, so what better way than to take a mini-trip to Osaka? This trip included a cruise, the aquarium, and a ride on the world’s biggest ferris wheel.
At the aquarium, I found this guy. Hes curious about and trying to hide away from the various visitors.

Quite the View

When I last went to USJ, I couldn’t pass up the chance to visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The lines for the rides were insanely long and it was extremely hot, so I only passed through the shops. I tried the rides during my last visit, so I picked up some omiyage for my coworkers and talked to a couple of the staff working there, before I went to the Jurassic Park section for lunch. Still, it was well worth the visit.

Kyoto in April

Photos I’ve been meaning to upload for a long time now from a trip to Kyoto in early April. These shots do not do the city justice at all. These were both taken at Kiyomizu Temple. It was a wonderful time.

More Osaka

Osaka Nights

Let’s go for a walk, shall we?

Riverside

Let’s go for a walk through Osaka.