Day 8

u might observe by now our blogging styles are drastically different. im more concise and tobias, once he writes he just flows like a river. im actually up at 0652 japan time to write this. ugh.


osaka aquarium kaiyukan day! the entire building is 9 storeys high and they have mega mega tanks tt run across levels. u start off in a underground-world-like tunnel before going up this mega long escalator then u start your tour/descend frm the top.


i particularly liked the sea otters cos they're sooo kewts! there were also seals, sea lions, and all the marine animals u can ever imagine. even though we went in close to the opening time, there were already alot of other ppl. (tourists mainly) and so exhibits were quite crowded sometimes. esp when taiwanese/koreans shove and exclaim at the top of their voices, taking photos with flash which is not allowed cos the flash induces stress in the animals.

the main attraction was the giant tank 9m deep with 5400 tonnes of water. it holds a whale shark and wherever it goes, it has a school of little fishes following behind. they feed on leftovers.


there was also a whole section of hands-on at the end of the tour. i tried to puff up a puffer fish and we took tourist-y photos in the cut-outs and models they have. this photo makes me laugh out loud every single time.




had a hard time trying to find a visa plus atm. if we cant find a compatible atm, tt means we'd have no cash soon. but thank God the tourist information centre ppl directed us to one at himeiji. we got lunch at this quaint little resturant called brazil (odd huh). they serve japanese food, in case u were wondering. our lunch sets costed 750Y and 950Y but they were really satisfying and good. great deals cos osaka food is much much more ex. in fact, we bought like erh 18 takoyakis near the aquarium for 600Y! almost enough for a proper set meal.





more shopping at himeiji 100Y shop before raiding the grocery. lots of cheap food and wide selection. tobias went straight for his meiji green tea ice cream. original price 126 but there was a 40% discount so it became 78Y. 78Y! and it sells for S$1.90. he grabbed 4. and one entire boxful of meiji ice cream on sticks which sells for S$6-7ish. but i guess we were being too ambitious/greedy cos our freezer's capabilities didnt match up and they all became semi-soup-like. discovered a little shop tt sells mini red bean buns which go perfectly with green tea ice cream. feasted damn lot on the train ride back.