Day 5 marks the exact middle
of our trip. Had 5 days gone by already? Apparently so. I guess time really
does fly when you're having fun.
Everything had been fun so far, but today's agenda would kind of splinter that. We had some curious things planned for us. Things that look real fun on paper, but in reality were somewhat of a buzz kill. I Chalk it up to finally adjusting to the high and excitement of being here or starting to get really tired; I got up around 6ish again to get a head start.
It was time to visit the Harukas 300, a building with 57+ floors that reaches over 300 meters above the ground. What's the deal with the Japanese building so many things that are really big and tall? Is it to instill might and intimidation in other countries and cultures, or are they overcompensating for something? This would be the 3rd gigantic thing we saw on this trip, and the second that we visited the top of. Tokyo has the skytree, apparently the tallest building in the world, and Osaka has the Harukas 300 along with the biggest tomb in the world. Don't get me wrong; I enjoyed them all immensely, (except the skytree, which we didn't actually go into and I don't think we're going to visit while on this trip) I'm just noticing a pattern here and kind of want to know how it materialized. I think its culture based. Do they want to prove their might to the rest of the world? Perhaps.
Everything had been fun so far, but today's agenda would kind of splinter that. We had some curious things planned for us. Things that look real fun on paper, but in reality were somewhat of a buzz kill. I Chalk it up to finally adjusting to the high and excitement of being here or starting to get really tired; I got up around 6ish again to get a head start.
It was time to visit the Harukas 300, a building with 57+ floors that reaches over 300 meters above the ground. What's the deal with the Japanese building so many things that are really big and tall? Is it to instill might and intimidation in other countries and cultures, or are they overcompensating for something? This would be the 3rd gigantic thing we saw on this trip, and the second that we visited the top of. Tokyo has the skytree, apparently the tallest building in the world, and Osaka has the Harukas 300 along with the biggest tomb in the world. Don't get me wrong; I enjoyed them all immensely, (except the skytree, which we didn't actually go into and I don't think we're going to visit while on this trip) I'm just noticing a pattern here and kind of want to know how it materialized. I think its culture based. Do they want to prove their might to the rest of the world? Perhaps.
But I'm getting sidetracked here. The Harukas 300. The view
from the top was spectacular. I'm glad I brought my brother's digital camera
with me. It has such a great 12x digital zoom and captured all of these
wonderful vistas in amazing detail.
Entering the elevator to get to the top was like a ride in and of itself. Just like a theme park, you have to wait in line to get in. Once inside, the lights dimmed and LEDs outside the elevator lit up and sparkled as we zoomed by, instilling the illusion of flying into space. I didn't expect this, but it was a fun surprise. Are the lights supposed to enhance the experience of climbing to such heights, or are they just to mask how mundane these amazing marvels can be in modern society? That question deepens my thoughts on why the view from the top didn't hold my interest for as long as it should have. The top of the Harukas gives you an amazing view of not only the city, industrial and port areas of Osaka, but on a clear day you can also see expansive views of Kyoto and the various surrounding mountain ranges. At first, the view was very attractive. I even took some selfies, which I absolutely loathe doing. I'm not very photogenic. I hate having my picture taken and I especially hate taking pictures of myself. I don't want to come off as conceited by taking pictures of myself, (even though I know I really am deep down) but the view from the top of the Harukas 300 was just too great to pass up. I just had to jump into that expansive landscape.
After taking multiple shots from each side of the tower, I grew tired of it. I had a feeling that the today's agenda had just reached its peak, and it was only 9:30. As it turns out, I was pretty close to being correct.
Floors 2-11 were a department store. Upon hearing this, many of us in the group got excited. Hooray! More shopping! Unfortunately, it wasn't what we had in mind. Everything in there was incredibly overpriced, and not much of it was worth buying. We were basically killing time, and the restrictions of being part of this program hit us hard. We wanted to get out into the city and explore, but we were trapped in this overpriced nightmare. Alas, we were at the behest of the powers that be, and those powers gave us a free trip around the world so we didn't have the grounds to complain. We behaved and stayed in the department store until it was time to go. It kind of felt like a drag being there, but it gave me an opportunity to witness Japanese shops preparing for their customers before opening. It was very interesting. They made sure everything was nice and neat, some even going to great lengths to ensure that their merchandise was so presentable that they took feather dusters to it. Now that's how businesses should treat their customers, not like shit how we do in the US. I also noticed this behavior again toward the end of the night, but I'll mention that later.
I've worked in retail before and I hated it. I know how employees of stores act before leaving at night and before opening up in the morning. They couldn't give two shits about their customers. Most don't even care that the products they're trying to sell are unkempt and uneven; i.e. not presentable. I believe its because they're not getting paid enough money and given no benefits, but hey, at least they get an employee discount.
Entering the elevator to get to the top was like a ride in and of itself. Just like a theme park, you have to wait in line to get in. Once inside, the lights dimmed and LEDs outside the elevator lit up and sparkled as we zoomed by, instilling the illusion of flying into space. I didn't expect this, but it was a fun surprise. Are the lights supposed to enhance the experience of climbing to such heights, or are they just to mask how mundane these amazing marvels can be in modern society? That question deepens my thoughts on why the view from the top didn't hold my interest for as long as it should have. The top of the Harukas gives you an amazing view of not only the city, industrial and port areas of Osaka, but on a clear day you can also see expansive views of Kyoto and the various surrounding mountain ranges. At first, the view was very attractive. I even took some selfies, which I absolutely loathe doing. I'm not very photogenic. I hate having my picture taken and I especially hate taking pictures of myself. I don't want to come off as conceited by taking pictures of myself, (even though I know I really am deep down) but the view from the top of the Harukas 300 was just too great to pass up. I just had to jump into that expansive landscape.
After taking multiple shots from each side of the tower, I grew tired of it. I had a feeling that the today's agenda had just reached its peak, and it was only 9:30. As it turns out, I was pretty close to being correct.
Floors 2-11 were a department store. Upon hearing this, many of us in the group got excited. Hooray! More shopping! Unfortunately, it wasn't what we had in mind. Everything in there was incredibly overpriced, and not much of it was worth buying. We were basically killing time, and the restrictions of being part of this program hit us hard. We wanted to get out into the city and explore, but we were trapped in this overpriced nightmare. Alas, we were at the behest of the powers that be, and those powers gave us a free trip around the world so we didn't have the grounds to complain. We behaved and stayed in the department store until it was time to go. It kind of felt like a drag being there, but it gave me an opportunity to witness Japanese shops preparing for their customers before opening. It was very interesting. They made sure everything was nice and neat, some even going to great lengths to ensure that their merchandise was so presentable that they took feather dusters to it. Now that's how businesses should treat their customers, not like shit how we do in the US. I also noticed this behavior again toward the end of the night, but I'll mention that later.
I've worked in retail before and I hated it. I know how employees of stores act before leaving at night and before opening up in the morning. They couldn't give two shits about their customers. Most don't even care that the products they're trying to sell are unkempt and uneven; i.e. not presentable. I believe its because they're not getting paid enough money and given no benefits, but hey, at least they get an employee discount.
The Harukas 300 was 1 part exciting and 3 parts
disappointing. Next up we were to take an aqua bus tour in the river flowing
through Osaka. Just like the Harukas 300, the aqua bus was kind of
disappointing. The ride was so boring in fact that many students took it as an
opportunity to catch up on sleep. The dulcet tones of the boat flowing through
the water was so calming and the seats we were so comfy that most of us
couldn't help falling into a state of deep relaxation. If only the tour had
lasted more than an hour.
After the boat tour we grabbed lunch and headed for Osaka Castle. What?! A castle! Now that would be interesting. I looked it up before leaving, and it sounded pretty cool. It was a long walk from the bus up to the castle. I could see it in the distance. It was a pale green, blue and gold structure shimmering in the sun. It looked beautiful; another great opportunity for pictures! I got a quick history lesson from our Japanese tour guide on the walk up. This year would be the 400th anniversary of a civil war, and the site of the castle was where many great battles took place. Hah, I was right! This would definitely be interesting!
But alas, once again I was going to be disappointed. The outside of the castle was amazing and beautiful, but the inside of the castle...not so much. First of all, the layout of was not conducive to tourists. 2 staircases were reserved for up and down directions on each floor. (there were 7 floors in total) What? Huh? Do they know that you can both walk up and down stairs? I was confused.
The inside of the castle was a small museum of sorts. It contained items and relics from the time of the civil war. Unfortunately, this is where the disappointment kicked in. The coolest items in the castle, like kick ass samurai armor and swords, were not allowed to be photographed. There were also giant pikes and 15th century guns, also not photographable. Are you kidding me? This is why people come to these places. I don't understand why we couldn't take pictures. Like I said, disappointing yes, but at least I'll always have memories.
After the boat tour we grabbed lunch and headed for Osaka Castle. What?! A castle! Now that would be interesting. I looked it up before leaving, and it sounded pretty cool. It was a long walk from the bus up to the castle. I could see it in the distance. It was a pale green, blue and gold structure shimmering in the sun. It looked beautiful; another great opportunity for pictures! I got a quick history lesson from our Japanese tour guide on the walk up. This year would be the 400th anniversary of a civil war, and the site of the castle was where many great battles took place. Hah, I was right! This would definitely be interesting!
But alas, once again I was going to be disappointed. The outside of the castle was amazing and beautiful, but the inside of the castle...not so much. First of all, the layout of was not conducive to tourists. 2 staircases were reserved for up and down directions on each floor. (there were 7 floors in total) What? Huh? Do they know that you can both walk up and down stairs? I was confused.
The inside of the castle was a small museum of sorts. It contained items and relics from the time of the civil war. Unfortunately, this is where the disappointment kicked in. The coolest items in the castle, like kick ass samurai armor and swords, were not allowed to be photographed. There were also giant pikes and 15th century guns, also not photographable. Are you kidding me? This is why people come to these places. I don't understand why we couldn't take pictures. Like I said, disappointing yes, but at least I'll always have memories.
After dinner, we were going to be given the most free time
that we had so far on this trip. And what a coincidence! There was a Pokemon Center right here in Osaka. Just like all Muslims have to visit Mecca at least once in their lifetime, all otaku should
visit the center of their particular interest. For me, video games play a large
part in my life. As I mentioned earlier, I began playing when I was four and
since then my interest in them has only deepened. Pokemon is very close to the
center of that interest, and in that respect visiting a Pokemon Center is like visiting my own little Otaku Mecca.
We scarfed down our dinner as quickly as possible to ensure optimal time out on the town. It was a little after 6 when we finished eating. The Pokemon Center closed at 8. We would have to travel by subway to reach our destination, so when factoring that into the equation if we did everything properly we would have a little under an hour to shop and stand in awe. We split into two groups. The other group was going to a book, anime and game store, and my group was going to the Pokemon Center. Our sensei led the other group, so we got one of the more advanced students as our leader. Riding the subway in was no problem; we did it as one large group with Bledsoe sensei among us. However, we would have to navigate the way back on our own. It didn't seem very difficult. The journey wasn't very long so navigation should be simple.
After riding the subway and arriving in another part of Osaka, we made our way to the Pokemon Center. It was located in a large mall very close to the subway station. The one here in Osaka isn't as big as the two that are in Tokyo, but it was a Pokemon center nonetheless. Emerging from the elevator doors, a gigantic illuminated pokeball greeted us as we entered the store. My heart skipped a beat. Did I have enough money? I wanted to buy things. A lot of things. I mostly wanted to get gifts for my friends. I had already purchased some Japan exclusive gifts for myself thus far, so I wanted to use this opportunity to share the love. I'm not gonna lie though, I wanted some things for myself as well. Would I come all the way here and not satisfy my personal needs? Hell no!
Everything in the store was somewhat expensive. I noticed some figures that I saw in the EdOn store that was in the mall attached to our hotel, and the prices here were a little higher. Not by much, but I could only imagine the markup on the larger, niftier products. I took a lot of pictures. Once again, I found myself actually wanting to pose for some of them. Me wanting to have my picture taken twice in one day? Japan was changing me. It was making me come out of my shell, if only for these ten short days. There was so much cool stuff. Take any kind of product you can think of, slap a Pokemon on it and it was in this store. Toys, jewelry, games, amenities, trading cards, clothing, dinnerware and stuffed animals. Lots and lots of stuffed animals. They were adorable! Just like a Pokemon Trainer, I needed to have them all.
I explored a little bit and discovered a corner of the store in which many people were huddled around each other staring deeply into their 3DS screens. Was there some sort of competition today? I brought my 3DS with me and wanted to make little kids cry.
No, it wasn't a competition, although many people were in fact battling each other. There was a giveaway currently going on. Throughout the month, the Pokemon Center was giving away an exclusive Pokemon every day leading up to the release of the new movie in July. They had six Pokemon up for distribution, and alternated between them each day. Today it was a Gyarados. An exclusive Gyarados! Sweet. It came with its mega stone, a particularly sought after item. I quickly downloaded it and returned to the store to resume my hunt for souvenirs.
I got my friends many things, and got myself many things as well. It wasn't quite how I imagined it would be...all of the images I'd seen on the internet of the Pokemon Center were of the one in Tokyo, the biggest in the world. Although this store was somewhat big as well, it was still located in a mall and confined to a smaller space. A quiet jingle played across the store and a Japanese man over the loudspeaker announced that they would be closing soon. No! It couldn't be! I wasn't finished yet! A subdued version of the Pokemon Center music played, signaling that shoppers had precious little time left to complete their purchases. I quickly gathered up my items, made some last minute decisions and checked out.
We needed to take an elevator to get back down the ground floor. Our group was split up, and I was left standing with only one other member of the Kakehashi Project. The elevator was taking forever, so to kill the time I pulled out my 3DS to show off some of my more rare and valuable Pokemon to him. This was a mistake. I grabbed the attention of a somewhat heavyset Japanese guy, who wanted me to do something with him on my 3DS. He was carrying 3 3DSes himself. Really? 3? At the same time? Look buddy, I've got 3 3DSes as well, but I never carry all of them with me at once.
But this guy made me jelly. Very jelly. He had the only other exclusive 3DS that I had my eye on; a black and gold Charizard edition that was only given away in Japan as part of a lottery. To obtain it you either had to be extremely lucky or extremely wealthy. Considering this guy had 3 3DSes, it didn't really surprise me that he had one. We got on the next available elevator, and the guy followed us. He was trying to tell me something, where to go on my 3DS so he could do...whatever it was he wanted to do. He didn't know any English, and I knew very little Japanese. I thought he wanted to battle, or to see something in my Pokemon game, but I didn't know what and we couldn't communicate. He commandeered my 3DS and frantically searched the main menu for something. Now I think I had an idea of what he was looking for.
Turns out I had the right idea. He was looking to obtain a tag from me in Mii Plaza. Unfortunately, I'd never played Mii Plaza before and I had no idea how to tell him that. The whole situation was kind of awkward. I also didn't know how to tell him that we had to go. "Sumimasen. Ikimas." was all I could muster.
We left the store and headed back for the subway. It would be easy to find our way back, right? Well...not so much. Entering the same place we emerged from when we got off the train, we got a little turned around underground. The exploration was a fun group activity, and I knew that together we had enough experience to get back on our own. Although we were kind of lost, it didn't take long to find our way back. We got our tickets, boarded the train and arrived back directly underneath our hotel where we were supposed to be. We capped off the night by eating at the McDonald's in the subway. As I had suspected, their McDonald's does a better job preparing food than ours do at home. How often do you go to McDonald's and get food that actually looks like it does in the commercials? Almost never. The burger I got here looked nice and plump; exactly how they advertise it. It also tasted more fresh, so I speculated that it was because they used different oil to cook the food.
We scarfed down our dinner as quickly as possible to ensure optimal time out on the town. It was a little after 6 when we finished eating. The Pokemon Center closed at 8. We would have to travel by subway to reach our destination, so when factoring that into the equation if we did everything properly we would have a little under an hour to shop and stand in awe. We split into two groups. The other group was going to a book, anime and game store, and my group was going to the Pokemon Center. Our sensei led the other group, so we got one of the more advanced students as our leader. Riding the subway in was no problem; we did it as one large group with Bledsoe sensei among us. However, we would have to navigate the way back on our own. It didn't seem very difficult. The journey wasn't very long so navigation should be simple.
After riding the subway and arriving in another part of Osaka, we made our way to the Pokemon Center. It was located in a large mall very close to the subway station. The one here in Osaka isn't as big as the two that are in Tokyo, but it was a Pokemon center nonetheless. Emerging from the elevator doors, a gigantic illuminated pokeball greeted us as we entered the store. My heart skipped a beat. Did I have enough money? I wanted to buy things. A lot of things. I mostly wanted to get gifts for my friends. I had already purchased some Japan exclusive gifts for myself thus far, so I wanted to use this opportunity to share the love. I'm not gonna lie though, I wanted some things for myself as well. Would I come all the way here and not satisfy my personal needs? Hell no!
Everything in the store was somewhat expensive. I noticed some figures that I saw in the EdOn store that was in the mall attached to our hotel, and the prices here were a little higher. Not by much, but I could only imagine the markup on the larger, niftier products. I took a lot of pictures. Once again, I found myself actually wanting to pose for some of them. Me wanting to have my picture taken twice in one day? Japan was changing me. It was making me come out of my shell, if only for these ten short days. There was so much cool stuff. Take any kind of product you can think of, slap a Pokemon on it and it was in this store. Toys, jewelry, games, amenities, trading cards, clothing, dinnerware and stuffed animals. Lots and lots of stuffed animals. They were adorable! Just like a Pokemon Trainer, I needed to have them all.
I explored a little bit and discovered a corner of the store in which many people were huddled around each other staring deeply into their 3DS screens. Was there some sort of competition today? I brought my 3DS with me and wanted to make little kids cry.
No, it wasn't a competition, although many people were in fact battling each other. There was a giveaway currently going on. Throughout the month, the Pokemon Center was giving away an exclusive Pokemon every day leading up to the release of the new movie in July. They had six Pokemon up for distribution, and alternated between them each day. Today it was a Gyarados. An exclusive Gyarados! Sweet. It came with its mega stone, a particularly sought after item. I quickly downloaded it and returned to the store to resume my hunt for souvenirs.
I got my friends many things, and got myself many things as well. It wasn't quite how I imagined it would be...all of the images I'd seen on the internet of the Pokemon Center were of the one in Tokyo, the biggest in the world. Although this store was somewhat big as well, it was still located in a mall and confined to a smaller space. A quiet jingle played across the store and a Japanese man over the loudspeaker announced that they would be closing soon. No! It couldn't be! I wasn't finished yet! A subdued version of the Pokemon Center music played, signaling that shoppers had precious little time left to complete their purchases. I quickly gathered up my items, made some last minute decisions and checked out.
We needed to take an elevator to get back down the ground floor. Our group was split up, and I was left standing with only one other member of the Kakehashi Project. The elevator was taking forever, so to kill the time I pulled out my 3DS to show off some of my more rare and valuable Pokemon to him. This was a mistake. I grabbed the attention of a somewhat heavyset Japanese guy, who wanted me to do something with him on my 3DS. He was carrying 3 3DSes himself. Really? 3? At the same time? Look buddy, I've got 3 3DSes as well, but I never carry all of them with me at once.
But this guy made me jelly. Very jelly. He had the only other exclusive 3DS that I had my eye on; a black and gold Charizard edition that was only given away in Japan as part of a lottery. To obtain it you either had to be extremely lucky or extremely wealthy. Considering this guy had 3 3DSes, it didn't really surprise me that he had one. We got on the next available elevator, and the guy followed us. He was trying to tell me something, where to go on my 3DS so he could do...whatever it was he wanted to do. He didn't know any English, and I knew very little Japanese. I thought he wanted to battle, or to see something in my Pokemon game, but I didn't know what and we couldn't communicate. He commandeered my 3DS and frantically searched the main menu for something. Now I think I had an idea of what he was looking for.
Turns out I had the right idea. He was looking to obtain a tag from me in Mii Plaza. Unfortunately, I'd never played Mii Plaza before and I had no idea how to tell him that. The whole situation was kind of awkward. I also didn't know how to tell him that we had to go. "Sumimasen. Ikimas." was all I could muster.
We left the store and headed back for the subway. It would be easy to find our way back, right? Well...not so much. Entering the same place we emerged from when we got off the train, we got a little turned around underground. The exploration was a fun group activity, and I knew that together we had enough experience to get back on our own. Although we were kind of lost, it didn't take long to find our way back. We got our tickets, boarded the train and arrived back directly underneath our hotel where we were supposed to be. We capped off the night by eating at the McDonald's in the subway. As I had suspected, their McDonald's does a better job preparing food than ours do at home. How often do you go to McDonald's and get food that actually looks like it does in the commercials? Almost never. The burger I got here looked nice and plump; exactly how they advertise it. It also tasted more fresh, so I speculated that it was because they used different oil to cook the food.
All in
all it was a somewhat boring day, but the inclusion of our nocturnal adventures
made up for it.
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