Tempozan and Nightlife

  Osaka, Japan
Tuesday, December 4, 2007

This morning we slept in a little bit (ie, till 8am), then went on down to the Tempozan Harbour. To get there, we had to brave the Subway system, which was cheap and very simple to use! When we were standing around looking at maps, a stranger stopped and asked if we needed help in English. She was very friendly, but didn't want her photo taken, lol!
At Umeda we were able to get a special ticket allowing entry to the Osaka Aquarium Kaizukan and an all-day subway pass for 2400 yen (about $25), which was a really good deal. When we got to the harbour, we decided to go on the Tempozan Giant Wheel, which went to a massive 112.5m tall! It took abuot 15 minutes to go all around, and cost about $7 each. Not bad, definitely good entertainment; and it's supposedly the largest ferris wheel in the world.
Then we moved on to the Osaka Aquarium Kaizukan.

Every book and website claims this is the best aquarium ever, so I was very excited - but it was no better than Melbourne Aquarium!! It had a larger tank in the middle, with over 5,400 tons of water and a (undersized) whale shark in it; but their layout and variety seemed a bit less interesting. It was still very fun, though, for those of us who enjoyed watching otters play and penguins being fed! The Tempozan Harbour Village was pretty cool, with a large arcade and a food court which was much closer to the sort I am used to. We tried some Okonomiyaki (another Osaka specialty) which was really good, and we found a hello kitty store :D
It was only lunchtime by then, and we were bored of the harbour already. I was starting to feel really sleepy for some reason too! So we took our all-day subway passes back to the hotel for a nap.

About 6pm we headed out again, feeling well rested, to move on to the Minami district (using our subway passes again of course). The bright flashing lights and gimmicky signs that were around were fascinating! There were so many, too. We walked around Dotomburi, and although the hunger pains were striking fiercely, all the food places were stupidly overpriced or smelt bad. Total tourist trap area! There were some interesting people around though, wearing interesting clothing, and doing interesting things... Well I thought it was all interesting :)
We ate at Naryu-Mamba (I think?) which was an upstairs place not quite in Dotomburi. They didn't speak English and we didn't speak Japanese, but pointing at menus was sufficient! The food was pretty good, and the prices were nice and cheap. Of course, there were only Japanese people there, so it must've been okay! :P

The subway home was packed solid on the front carriages, but we were on the fifth or sixth carriage so we were okay! The boys are enjoying the cheap cheap booze bought from the convenience store right next to the hotel and I am trying to finish my dessert (mochi cream, yum!) but I'm far too full... Well anyway, that's it for today. Tomorrow, it's a cultural day; Kyoto here we come! :D