Day 2 Walking around Osaka
Some distinctive features one can almost immediately observe about Osaka – its orderly gridlike road network, the number of cyclists on the road and the love for shopping streets which can be identified by the ‘bashi suji’ in their names.
Our first stop for the morning is the Kuromon market. I didn’t realised it was so close to our residence so we decided to check it out before heading further out. The market looks like a mini version of Tsukiji selling various kinds of seafood and local delights.
One of the key highlights of the market is trying the fresh oyster raw which seemed like a popular local delight. Oysters here looks different from the small round ones that we are used to at home. We tried the sea urchin however but I am not a fan.
After the market, we braved the subway towards Umeda. I have to admit that after Tokyo, learning to navigate Osaka subway is another challenge altogether again because there are so many train companies serving the same station so it takes time finding the right platform to go to.
My main purpose for coming here is to check out the Pokemon Center which can be found at level 13 of Daimaru, just a short walk away from Umeda station. Once again it seemed like I missed the key launch dates for Pokemon merchandise which always falls on 12 December. There weren’t as many Pokemon merchandise to pick from compared to Tokyo so I got myself mainly the Eeveelutions beanies.
There is also a Yodobashi near Umeda station for IT, electronics, games and toys aficionados. Unfortunately the selection was also likewise disappointing. I only managed to find Virgo Shaka at ¥12960 which entitles me to tax refund.
From Umeda, we took the subway one stop to Minamimorimachi where you can cut into Tenjimbashisuji shopping street which is supposed to be Japan’s longest. However the streets were surprisingly quiet probably as it was a working day or perhaps this was a touristy hangout. Nonetheless it is a nice place to take a quiet relaxing walk while shopping for the odd item.
The shopping street starts/ends at Omachi station depending on which direction you are heading. From there we went back to our apartment at Nippombashi and in laws prepared dinner for all of us.
After dinner, we left the kids at home and went down to Namba to scout the Toy R Us but once again sorely disappointed with the selection. I sure hope that this is just a Osaka thing. It cannot be a case that the toy market in Japan has changed so much in one year.
Nonetheless Namba and the adjoining Dotonburi is surprisingly busy even at 10pm at night. Dotonburi resembles our night market back home with 24hour dining options and makes for an exciting night walk in the cold.
