Day 24 - Osaka Unlimited 1 (contd)

The Osaka castle was probably the newest of its kind - the old castle was burnt down during WWII, and the present one was completely rebuilt, with (relatively) wide aisles and staircases and fully air-conditioned interior. There were plenty of exhibits along the way as we made our descent from the 6th floor, mostly artifacts from the different clans and warlords that ruled Osaka in the past. There were also video clips and audio commentaries that revolved around the life of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a legendary person that made his way from commoner to Kampaku (the highest position in the Japanese imperial court) and unified Japan. I knew his story pretty well, having covered it in Japanese Studies and also in the game Taiko Rishiden which was based on his struggle from rags to riches; but it was different to actually SEE his portrait, his handwriting, his armor and swords, and of course his famous collection of tea utensils.

After leaving the castle, we dropped by the Nishinomaru Garden, which was famous for its 600 cherry trees that made it a hot spot for sakura viewing. Alas, we arrived at the wrong season, so the park was all green. There were a lot of schoolchildren though, lower primary predominantly, and they were apparently on a school excursion. Seeing them having so much fun together, chasing each other, skipping, singing, picnicking, etc., made us envious of the abundant choices Japanese schoolchildren enjoy for excursions. A sharp contrast with our own system - I recalled having visited the Botanic Garden and Zoo/Night Safari 3 times each, Bird Park and Science Centre twice each, and of course Sentosa. Oh well.

Then it was a short "train" ride to...the entrance of the castle compound. Yes. It was the Osaka Castle Park Tram, nicknamed "Road Train". Essentially a tram that LOOKS like a train, SOUNDS like a train, but moves on wheels. We would not have taken it if it weren't for our Unlimited Pass. So we joined a bunch of En-Joys (who paid 200 Yen each) for a train ride during which many pedestrians bypassed us. But when the schoolchildren saw us, they had the WOW expression on their faces. Their teacher led them in waving to us, and they waved frantically and were genuinely thrilled. Jap kids are sooooo cute :P

After disembarking from the train, we walked over to the Osaka Museum of History. It featured the history of Osaka city, which had quite a bit of overlap with what we saw earlier at the Osaka Castle. One interesting part was an entire level recreated in the Meiji period Osaka setting - houses, shops, people, everything. One gets to walk along the streets and experience how life was like a century ago. Aside from that, there were plenty of interactive games for children, which attracted hordes of school kids. We were tempted to try too but couldn't make sense of the games. Plus, it might be a tad embarrassing to be competing with kids for those games :P

Our stomachs were growling by the time we left the museum, and since the next part of our itinerary lies in a different part of the city, we decided to head back to Shinsaibashi for the famed Sweets Paradise buffet. We were lost after exiting the station, and couldn't find the building that housed the restaurant. I approached an uniformed lady at the entrance of Takashimaya who appeared to be greeting guests arriving in cars, she had no clue where the building was initially, but upon mentioning that we wanted to go to Sweets Paradise, she immediately went "AHH~!" and promptly showed us the direction. I sheepishly asked if it was oishii, and was reassured that it was indeed "Oishii desu!"

We reached the restaurant and it was already quite packed. For 1480 Yen per person, you get a huge spread of cakes, puddings, pastries, icecreams, chocolate fondue, pastas, snacks, drinks and occasionally some meat as well. The selection of desserts was mind-blowing, though not as crazy and appetizing as those at departmental store basements but hey, it's freeflow here! We ate our fill here, having drooled over desserts at Seiyu and Taka basements for the past few days but bought pathetically little in view of budgetary constraints. The restaurant was filled with young OLs and schoolgirls, and I was the only male there for quite some time. Grace was surprised that they all looked so skinny despite the buffets (they appeared to be regular patrons), until she spotted one lady downing Starch blockers and Chitosan pills (fat-absorbing supplement) before attacking her plate. No wonder the drugstores sell these blockers like crazy.

After the buffet we went to the subway station, and tested ourselves enroute by intentionally bypassing the desserts counters. Success!! For the first time since our arrival in Japan, we were quite immune to those sickeningly appetizing desserts. Not completely immune as we would still love to eat them, but at least we weren't drooling like nobody's business anymore :)

Next stop was Nagai Botanical Garden, which housed the Osaka Museum of Natural History too. But since the last admission was 30 minutes before the closing time at 5pm, we were rushing all the way upon exiting the Nagai station at close to 4pm. We made it in time, though the garden was already quite deserted at that time. It was huge, with plenty of flowers that we couldn't quite name, and has a couple of ponds and very long walking paths. It would have been great to take a stroll here leisurely and spend a couple of hours here, but since we were rushing for time, we didn't have the luxury of touring the entire garden. We covered only the portions closest to the entrance, took a few shots and left promptly for the Natural History Museum.

There was a lovely little garden right outside the museum, which was quite a sharp contrast with the enormous Whale skeleton hanging from the roof of the museum entrance. There was a heart-shaped flower ring in the centre of the garden, and once again there was a bell, very much alike the garden we went to last summer in Hokkaido. By the time we entered the museum it was completely empty except for the staff, and they were quite surprised to see that there were still visitors who would pay 300 yen to come in 20 minutes before the museum closes (of course they didn't know that we were on the amazing Osaka Unlimited Pass! XD). The museum featured not only dinosaurs but also plants and animals from all parts of the world, and there were quite a few interactive videos/games that were not only educational but highly entertaining too. Our discovery centre pales quite sharply in contrast.

We left the garden shortly after 5 (it didn't close at exactly 5pm, as there were still one or two old folks loitering near the entrance then). Enroute back to the Nagai station we saw an old man feeding pigeons - HUGE pigeons, and FLOCKS of them. He would throw some crumbs out and the entire flock would flutter and scurry towards the crumbs, and then throw some more in another direction and set off another wave of fluttering. At some instances he was almost completely covered by pigeons. Shudders. I can't understand why people do this. The pigeons are WAY TOO FAT in Japan, and they are a public nuisance. They should totally outlaw pigeon feeding man.

We were back to Shinsaibashi for the Tonbori river cruise. We had 30 minutes before the next departure, so we wandered into a shop beside the boarding point, which sold all kinds of cosplay costumes and wigs too. I saw the latest La Pin'dor wigs there, the ones that I used to sell back in 2003, and it brought back flooding memories of my pathetic JC days spent scrubbing plates and distributing flyers to repay my debt. Oh wells. After much contemplation I bought a wig at 6980Y (ouch), just so that I'd save some trouble styling my hair every morning, which I totally suck at.

The cruise was nubbad, and the guide was really enthusiastic and joked extensively. Despite the language barrier we could understand quite a bit of his commentary, with all his elaborate gestures. We passed off as Japs as I was responding to his jokes and exclaiming occasionally with what little Japanese I knew, until he asked me a difficult question and I sheepishly admitted that it was too difficult for me to comprehend. He was very surprised, and added in more English subsequently. Overall it was an enjoyable cruise, though I doubt we'd ever pay 700 yen per person for this. Money better spent on food :P:P

Our last stop for the day was Umeda, the first stop of our first trip to Japan two years back. And we went up to the Floating Garden Observatory again. It is an amazing place and a MUST VISIT for all that go to Osaka, seriously. The transparent escalator that led us from 30+ floor up to the sky garden was gorgeous. I think they revamped the second floor from the top, and now it has several isolated and elevated platforms for couples to sit and enjoy the night view through huge wall-to-ceiling windows. The fact that the platform seats are covered from the rear and separated from the other platforms ensured exclusivity and privacy, and coupled with the dim lighting and the breathtaking night views, they constitute a truly romantic experience. There were many couples cuddling at respective platforms, and we were lucky enough to grab one as there were only 5 or 6 of them there. Pictures could not do the scenery justice. After resting and soaking in the amazing views for 20+ minutes, we left for the rooftop garden.

It was freezing and windy up there, just like how it was 2 years ago. And there was a couple undergoing a special ritual - having their names engraved onto some silver or golden lock, and then having exclusive access to a special platform on the rooftop with special lighting and some interesting decorations to perform a ritual that supposedly seals their fate together. At a price, of course. Think it was over 10,000 Yen or something. Romantic, yes, but none of us would willingly fork out THAT much for a ritual and a lock. Food food food :D

On the way down Grace went crazy, and we caught those funny moments on video. Time to head back to our cozy My Dear II.