I checked out of my ryoukan this morning feeling a little sad to be leaving Kyoto. I have really enjoyed the city. My next and final destination for my trip was Osaka.
My bags were not any easier to pack as I had acquired a few things while in Kyoto. I am definitely at my limit now unless I buy more luggage. My backpack alone must weigh 50 pounds. I walked past Starbucks and had a coffee and a scone. It’s pretty much the same as a Starbucks anywhere except being on a main street in Kyoto the people watching is more interesting.
At the JR Kyoto Station I bought a ticket from the machine that should cover my trip to Osaka and the local subway connection as well. I’ll see how good my understanding of the system is when I get there and try to exit. Osaka is only about 30 minutes away by train but there are a lot of different options all of which cost different amounts. Going by Shinkansen costs about 4 times as much as a regular train and only gets you there about 12 minutes faster. I chose a JR rapid service which only makes 2 stops on the way and for some reason cost less than the local train.
I found the right track and waited for the right train. It’s pretty easy to get on the wrong train unless you watch the times and signs carefully. Trains on the track that I was at were only a few minutes apart but were all different.
The train when it arrived was pretty crowded and I ended up standing most of the way. I’m not finding the scenery that goes by as interesting as I first did so I read a bit on the way. I have not seen anyone else on the trains using an e-reader. Osaka Station was pretty crowded and not as modern as the Kyoto station. I found my way to the JR Loop Train and got on. By my calculations I should have 8 stops before I got off.
It’s sometimes difficult to figure out which way the train is going on a line so I watched the first couple of stops carefully. They were what I expected so I relaxed a bit. I missed the next few stop names as I was standing and unable to see out the windows as the window ends at my chest level. Bending over to peer out the window in a crowded train with a backpack on while towing a piece of luggage is not easy. I listened for the voice announcements but could not make out the stop names because of the noise. A lot of people got off and I looked out the window to find that I was at a station that was not on the loop line. I had somehow ended up at Universal Studio. I got off and looked a map. I was only 1 station off the loop line apparently because I had taken the wrong train.
All of the various lines are colour coded and I had gotten onto a train that matched the line that I wanted. I guess that It’s not that easy. I backtracked a station to get back on the loop and to find the right train. One came. I got on and it went to where I wanted to go. It may take a while to get good at this. When I exited the machine ate my ticket and let me out without complaints.
I tried to use the GPS to find my hotel but it was possessed by Heisenberg again and the little blue dot that represented me wandered about the screen sometimes moving several blocks while I was standing still. I resorted to a more primitive technique of actually trying to read the map and found my hotel. I am not in the best part of the city and the room is definitely a step down but at less than $20 a night it’s OK.
It was now afternoon so I decided to do something close by and walked back to the Dobutsuen-mae subway station to take the train to Ebisuchou which is only 1 station away. While in the station I was looking at a map trying to figure out which platform to use. Someone wandering by stopped and asked me where I was trying to get to. He helpfully pointed out the correct platform and also said it was an easy 10 minute walk. I’ve found people here to be very friendly and more easy going. I’ve been greeted by random people in the street and there are a lot more smiles on faces. So far I really like Osaka.
Ebisuchou is sort of Osaka’s version of Akihabara but a little more down to earth. It was fun to wander through. There were lots of interesting electronics places and way more bicycles in use than I have seen elsewhere. Like Akiba there were multi-story arcades and shops for manga, anime and other geekery. The maids were also out on every corner trying to lure you in to their cafes. There were also a lot of stores selling used stuff. One shop which was fairly large sold nothing but small machine screws in bags. There was every kind of fastener that you could imagine. I wonder how they survive? I wandered through a bookstore and on one floor that was all manga I noticed that I was the only male there. I glanced around and all of the manga that I could see dealt with love between 2 men in a rather graphic way. It seemed quite a popular genre.
I stopped for lunch at a nice little mom and pop restaurant and had some yummy udon. The kanji on the menu was more than I could deal with so mom and I walked outside and I pointed at the plastic models.
Yummy Udon Lunch
After a while I had had enough I decided to walk back to the hotel. I saw the Tsuutenkaku tower in the distance and headed that way.
Close to the tower I happened on the Doguyasuji Shopping Arcade. This was a long shopping arcade that seemed to specialize in restaurant supplies. Want a gas fired takoyaki maker that can make 100 balls at once? This is the place to buy it. Each shop seemed to specialize in something, dishes, lighting, knives etc. One shop sold only very realistic looking dishes of food made from plastic. One shop sold industrial size utensils for very large kitchens. There was a young girl walking by with her mother who thought that it was hilarious to see a whisk that was taller than she was. There were some really nice looking knives that tempted me but there is no way that I could take one carry-on and I’m not sure what is happening with my hold luggage that I sent ahead to the airport so I resisted.
Further walking brought me to another arcade that led up to the Tsuutenkaku tower. It did not look that prosperous but had posters up every 10 feet or so for Kinnikuman/Muscle Man. There was even a shop for him. Not sure what that is about. Walking out of the arcade and under the tower brought me to the heart of the Shinsekai neibourhood.
Muscle Man
Shinsekai is a colourful area with many restaurants, shops and some large pachinko parlours. The signage is large and bright and there were a lot of people walking around. There are a lot of kushi-katsu places, takoyaki stands and a fugu restaurant with a huge blimp-sized blowfish hanging outside it. I had just eaten so I decided to come back after dark and take some pictures and sample some of the food.
Back at the hotel I unpacked, setup my room, had a nap and did some writing. For whatever reason the Internet connection here is the fastest that I have had so far in Japan.
At about 7:30 I walked back to Shinsekai. It was lit up brightly and there were more people there than during the day. Pocky has some large promotion going on right now and a lot of people were carrying huge 1 meter long inflatable Pocky sticks around. They looked perfect for beating your sibling over the head which and I did see some of that happening. There are statues and pictures everywhere of Billiken everywhere in this area. He kind of looks like Bhudda with a bad attitude and the statue bases are inscribed with “The God of Things as They Ought To Be”. Except for the one stature dressed up as a salaryman it didn’t seem very Japanese. I kind of wonder what it’s all about.
I decided to have fugu for supper and went to the blowfish restaurant and ordered the Fugu Seto and a black Asahi beer. When it came it was a bit more than I was expecting but everything was really good and all of the dishes contained fugu. In all there was fugu sushi, sashimi, miso soup, salad, tempura, and grill. Fugu has a mild subtle taste and I quite liked it.
Fugu Dinner
Afterwards I looked around a bit more and then walked back to the hotel.
It is amazing you tasted a blowfish. You know the Japanese food very well.