Sunday, 7th September 2014
After recuperating from the flight and the build up fatigue prior to the flight, it was time to go out and explore the city! My initial plan was to head to Universal Studios Japan today, but went against that idea because it was a weekend and it sure as hell going to be crowded. Hopped on a train to Namba city instead, hoping to find some food at Dohtonbori.
It turned out I’ve already been there once before, with my crew during Christmas time. We didn’t spend a lot of time there, heading to Shinsaibashi for the beautiful Christmas lights. The atmosphere was warm and vibrant, the streets were teeming with people. There were lots to see, and lots to window shop (at least for me). The Forever 21 and H&M stores were MASSIVE, I had to exercise strict self control not to splurge on beautiful but unnecessary clothing.
Made a pitstop at the Pokemon Center at Osaka Station, found it waaaaay bigger than the one that we went to in Tokyo. Still, I couldn’t find the Togepi I’ve been searching high and low for. Sigh.
After lunch, walked down the crowded shopping street of Shinsaibashi with the intention of heading to Amerikamura, the place I’ve only read about but never got to see. It’s a shopping district in Osaka that featured alternative lifestyle and fashion. You can find stores that sell vintage clothing, cool skate sneaks, and the overprice American Apparel store here. People here were more expressive in terms of their fashion. Girls and guys had coloured hair, mismatched clothes and crazy cool accessories. It was like Harajuku of Osaka. Triangle Square sat in the middle of the district, and it was the most convenient meeting point, or a place to catch a breath, eat takoyaki etc.
I spent almost half my time at Ame-mura, exploring strange shops like Alice on Wednesday. It was an Alice In Wonderland-themed shop, selling the cutest accessories and heart shaped lollies and cheshire cat-shaped cookies. Despite the clamp I had on my wallet, I couldn’t resist getting a tote bag that said EAT ME. Too cute.
I started making my way back to Namba when it got dark (and I got hungry), queued like a typical Singaporean at a famous Takoyaki store. Waited almost half an hour for 8-pieces of takoyaki that was so-so, but I made a new friend while queueing. Leo was a solo traveller from Malaysia, and I’m jealous he gets to spend more time in Japan than I could.
Namba at night was no less vibrant. More people were out on the street, shopping, snacking on Takoyaki or okonomiyaki and cradling their Starbucks cup in their hands. The curious me wanted to venture past the famed street into the places less traversed, but my legs were begging for me to head back. I gave in to my legs and hopped on the train back. I’ll do more exploring next time.
