Traveling to Osaka

We arrived yesterday in Osaka from Tokyo (3hrs train ride) and immediately the differences were notable. The weather for one, is much warmer as we're away from the ocean (think DTLA vs Riverside.) I also noticed that the Osakan people, while still polite in their rudeness, are more direct than Tokyo residents. Was walking to the store late at night and saw a mini fight at a park nearby, something I hadn't seen yet in Japan. There's definitely a more urban street vibe to the town than Tokyo, which is more business-minded I guess? Still waiting for my first true "altercation" in Japan, and I'm getting the vibe it'll happen here.

Food is still amazing; went to a yakiniku steak restaurant  (spent $23/person as a snack) which was good. Also had my first full plate of okonomiyaki, which only got better with each bite! Did some gift shopping, then for dinner had a gyudon  (beef bowl) and for dessert, while everyone else had ice cream, I tried some Osaka style long gyoza with pork, thick pieces of crab, and shrimp. Delicious!

Today gonna check out Osaka's Den Den Electric Town (their Akihabara) and try and finish up this shopping list I've been given.

"JUMP!"-ing over Towers and Crystals with Friends

Today we went to the Tokyo Skytree and found a Jump Store. An incredible assortment of Jump collectibles and memorabilia  (but surprisingly no Toriko...) Picked up some great souvenirs. I was amazed at how popular Haikyuu is at the moment; item-wise it almost had One Piece beat. For lunch we shared ramen and a roast beef don (Rice bowl), very delicious!

Later we went to Hagashi-Shinjuku and saw the Square-Enix building and Artia, the Squenix cafe. Picked up some more stuff, then separated from the group to head to Suidobashi

That night I met up with old friends Yuka and Emily for an Izakaya dinner of Yakitori. It was great catching up with the two of them, and what should have been an expensive as hell dinner  (12900y or so) came out to only 6980.

Bags are packed, headed out to Osaka I'm the morning.

Posh Living, Mobile Suits, and Earthquakes

Wednesday I travelled to Shinjuku and Roppongi and checked out their dept stores with my group. When I told you Ginza was Beverly Hills, Shinjuku/Roppongi (now known as mid-town) are even higher top tier shops. Kanye-dashian living up here. Even Adidas wear was double that of US prices. Also went to Sushizamiya, best sushi chain I've been to.

Thursday we went to Odaiba and saw the Life-size Gundam, that was an awesome experience. Visited the Gundam Front store and picked up some exclusive model variants that are beautiful. Gonna go back to Akiba for the generic models though cause the store is overpriced for no reason on anything not exclusive. Went to a different Sushizamiya and had dinner again. Excellent place!
Later that evening, a 6.9 quake hit on Kyushu Island, causing severe damage and destroying buildings. Thankfully we only felt a slight tremor in Odaiba, but condolences to those who were affected by this tragedy.

Headed to a temple today to pray for the departed this year and for good fortune in the future.

Exploring Celadon City pt2

After Shibuya, I went to Ikebukuro, one of the new popular hotspots, and checked out Sunshine City. More than a dept store, Sunshine is like a Mall of Japan. On top of the shops, it has a Pokemon Center Branch and it is home to J-World Tokyo, a theme park based on series from Weekly Shonen Jump.  While I wI'll definitely visit J world before I leave, I checked out the Pokemon center instead. Found a lot of the newest Pokemon toys/plushes but anything that isn't current gen is not carried so I'll have to head back to Akiba for older stuff. Also downloaded a shiny Ho-oh for my Pokemon game. Gonna check out some of the other pokemon centers to see the differences.

After dinner, I met up with two friends that live in Japan and got a quick tour of Bukuro and had some drinks. Love catching up with old friends and getting a local view of the towns.

Exploring Celadon City part 1

...not really, but I did go to Shibuya today and checked out their famous Department stores. Unlike Akiba, their dept stores all have a food market/court in their B1 floors.  So imagine my surprise when we leave the first floor with Louis Vuitton and Perfume and head to a bustling food market downstairs.

Electric Den-Den Boogaloo

Group spent Day 2 in Ginza amd Akihabara checking out prices and exploring. Went to Ginza first, and its alot like the Japanese Beverly Hills. All the high class stores were present, but there was also UNI-QLO, which has reasonable prices if you're not poor. They also have a Big and Tall section for you big and/or tall folks.

In Akiba, we checked out Yodobashi Department Store, found a lot of interesting stuff. For those of you who don't know what dept stores are like, imagine the Celadon/Goldenrod city dept store (for you Poké fans out there.) Every floor had different sections and a huge variety of items.

Also checked out some other dept stores and an arcade,  which follows the same concept: different types of games on different floors. Be wary of basement levels tho, unless you are looking for Adult stuff.

Also a big thing in Japan is Tax/Duty free offers. Visitors with a passport often get items tax free or even further discounts.

In other news, found an old figure that i kept seeing for 4000y for below retail (900y). Will report tomorrow with a part 2 of Akiba.

Landed safely in Japan at 14:05, didn't leave the airport until 17:50. One friend'said luggage ended up in the Philippines, the other had a different flight and got stuck in customs. After three trains switches, we made it to Edogawa and our apartment. AirBNB is great for travelling, amazing 3bd 3bth for cheap. Will post pics later.

Today's plan: check out Akihabara and the surrounding area.

Hit me up with any suggestions.