tewatwain

[tewatwain]

Just like that, our final day came around.

We raided the breakfast buffet one last time, checked out, and had reception hold our bags for a couple of hours so we could do a little bit of last-minute shopping.

This shopping included, of course, one last wander around Yodobashi Camera and its surrounding shops, and a quick jaunt to Muji for fresh socks and underwear (as well as a bunch of cheap/simple travel organizers for meds and documents).

Throughout the whole trip I was in a constant state of awe at the scale of the cities, as evidenced by the fact that I was still just taking "woah look how big everything is" shots on the last day.

We bid Osaka farewell, hopped to Shin-Osaka and hunted down suitably exciting ekiben.

And Hokkaido Melonpan to go with our coffee. Not that we went to Hokkaido or anything, I just couldn't resist that seductive shade of green.

As usual, I have absolutely no idea what half of this stuff was (and was way too excited to eat it to spend any time translating and working out each item) but it was all very tasty.

I do agree with the sentiment that ekiben are probably not the ideal forms of all their components - it's never going to compare with freshly-made local food - but boxes are ideal for giving things a try.

The way back to Tokyo was, as before, gorgeous.

Mt Fuji was, also as before, cloaked in cloud and entirely obscured. I assure you, it's in there! There's a good kaiju story in there somewhere with the way it lurks in the clouds.

I snuck in a cheeky last hour wandering around shops in Akihabara before we zipped back to Nippori and caught the Skyliner back to Narita.

[tewatwain]

With Himeji conquered, we headed into our reserved wrap-up day where we had committed to buying all the fun items we'd scouted over the course of the trip.

We headed out to check out some stores, but the combination of rain and humidity meant it was difficult to enjoy exploring all that much. Everyone - us included - have umbrellas with them, but that doesn't save you from wet toes...

Osaka still managed to entertain, even though the rain

whoa heck is that a real 電車でGO!! arcade machine?

I continued my journey through the city's countless used game/merchandise stores, including the majesty of named Mandarake Grand Chaos.

I think I found this little fella in Animate. Couldn't resist.

The holiday fatigue was starting to kick in by this point, so in a low moment we staggered into Doutor for a bit of respite (and a merciful blast of air conditioning).

The cake was a crepe stack thing with sweet cream between each layer. Super soft, super rich, just what we needed to finish our wrap-up with a trip to Donki to stock up on sweet treats for family members.

It was pushing 17:00 and we were feeling pretty burned out so we retreated to the room with basic provisions.

I spent my entire time in Japan equipped with either a bottle of Pocari Sweat, an empty bottle, or a former bottle of Pocari Sweat now filled with water.

Famichiki's great. Crunchy outside, moist chicken inside. Way better than convenience store hot chicken has any right to be. It even holds up without a sauce (although it probably slaps with one).

Energized by Famichiki, I headed out for my own wrap-up walk around the central station, making use of the hotel's complimentary shuttle bus.

The Slowpokes were having a moment.

Kit for when you're a gamer first, beige mom second.

On the way back, I took a walk around what I can only describe as "Nihon Waitrose" and came out with supper.

I really wish we had this level of sushi variety at home, I love the array of taste and textures you can get within a single box.

I also picked up lotus root salad with pollack mayo, and Montblanc cake for dessert. Nothing survived.

[tewatwain]

Having completed a circuit of the gardens, we debated finding a place to eat but the heat was once again beginning to erode our mood so we made our way back to the station.

I guess one additional benefit of taking the Shinkansen is that you can gobble an ekiben and not have anyone stare you down for eating on the train.

Er, except we couldn't be bothered to browse and choose anything fancy so we grabbed onigiri from 7-11.

Note for prospective kidnappers: I'll shut the fuck up if you give me cheap coffee and melonpan.

Despite having already walked a million miles, I decided I was still hungry for adventure so I took a solo trip from our hotel, back towards Osaka Station and into Daimaru again.

I found silly items.

And ultimately decided on a T-shirt, Amiibo and face cloth from the Nintendo store.

I wandered a little more, and ended up moving towards Yodobashi Camera.

The place was huge, and bustling with people even in the late evening. I covered plenty of ground, walked a hole in my foot, and even stumbled upon a completed Lego version of the very castle I'd walked around earlier.

[tewatwain]

Please enjoy a moment of tranquility while I prepare to continue recording my adventures.

[tewatwain]

Himeji Castle's gardens are just outside of the keep, a little way down the street.

After days of wandering shoulder-to-shoulder around tourist attractions and public transport across Tokyo and Osaka, breaking out to an immaculately landscaped garden for a gentle stroll in the afternoon haze was healing

The gardens are split into several different sections, each with a different theme or purpose, such as seedlings, bamboo, or pine trees.

The place must be amazing with spring blossoms, and during the peak of autumn. We caught just the very beginning of the autumn leaves.

Including, I think, some persimmons, possibly?

Credit to the staff all quietly manicuring every edge, angle and plant.

I don't understand how they make them look so good.

[tewatwain]

Most importantly, on the way out of the castle, it finally started to rain! It'd usually dampen a day out, but after days of stifling Osaka heat it was entirely welcome.

It also made for a real nice view of the city with the rainclouds rolling in.

...and an absolute beast of a rainbow due to the height of the hill on which the keep sits.

We headed down via the gift shop where I happily splashed out for an iconic Himeji Castle Manhole Cover Collection Fridge Magnet (which I don't seem to have a picture of but it's on the fridge so you'll have to trust me here)

Obligatory extra angles on the castle as we walked away

We headed towards the gardens. Despite being hot and sticky and probably not in the right mindset, we were determined to get the most out of the extra 50 yen we paid.

But wait, beneath the tree!

A friend, seduced by pspsps and an eager hand

So gentle, so dignified, so fluffy

boop

[tewatwain]

We proceeded toward the main tower and picked up tickets for the main castle and gardens. There's a castle-only ticket but the difference is, uh... 50JPY.

I don't know why I took a picture of the well but I'm pleased I did.

Behold, the amazing blowing machine and the sign warning that its head will come off if you touch it. Also of note, you have to take your shoes off and carry them in a bag (provided) so as to not damage the wooden flooring.

Coming from a country of huge stone monolith castles, it was really cool to see the mostly-wooden keep, and so beautifully maintained.

It's got that same vibe as the Great Pyramid of Giza where you turn around and there's just a regular-ass city there.

It's a very pretty city, though.

In quite a few spots (like the corners of the main tower) there are these little hidey holes for warriors to wait in for a surprise attack during an assault.

Similarly, the pathway up to the tower's main entrance doubles back on itself in a really awkward way, apparently as a measure to disorient attackers and break their momentum.

They've got some really intricate dioramas, too!

[tewatwain]

Thus came Himeji day! We wanted to hit up the castle in particular, with everything else being a bonus from that point onward.

I can't even remember what half of this stuff was but it was a reprieve from the normally non-sweet Japanese breakfast foods.

(I also had a plate of curry rice and buffet stuff but I wasn't getting any pictures as soon as I had momentum)

We came dangerously close to giving up on the trip, realising that we'd only bought standard fare tickets and had to queue in a busy mid-morning Shin-Osaka to get express/Shinkansen tickets. I'd guess this is a pretty common mistake from how quickly they resolved it.

No biggie though, we made our train eventually and zoomed off westwards.

It's hard to express the speed of the Shinkansen in a still photo, but the tearing on the foreground is a good start.

The mikoshi in the train station was a good primer for the cultural excitement to come in the city.

Himeji itself is as gorgeous as you'd expect from a city gathered around a national heritage site. The joy of the adventure was slightly dampened by the fact that it was still around 30 degrees, but at this point we were just kind of shambling forward regardless of everything.

The castle sits directly facing the station down Otemae Street. I didn't get a picture of it, but it's really cool how the street frames the iconic castle at the end!

The approach takes you straight up to Sakuramonbashi, literally "cherry blossom gate bridge".

...and from there, you enter via Otemon, the main gate.

The grounds are absolutely immaculate.

I got to enjoy the privilege of being able to read the cute sign:

さくらが疲れています

少し休めてあげましょう

"The sakura are tired. Let's give them a little rest."

There was also some kind of school event going on out front of the castle grounds, and it kills me inside to think how cool it is to just go to the castle grounds to do sports.

We looped around into Princess Sen's Peony Garden, which was a pleasant walk but is clearly geared more towards being enjoyed in blossom season rather than early Autumn.

It was mercifully nice and peaceful, with relatively few people and mostly just workers tending to the grounds around us.

The garden curves around to join up with the path to the ticket gates and the main keep.

[tewatwain]

The next step in my adventure was already kinda covered in my live blog, where I wandered around Bic Camera for a while and bought a Bluetooth keyboard to sadly look at while I was too tired from walking all day to write anything.

As with a lot of the city, Dotonbori was great after dark, beautifully lit and bustling.

A lot of my pictures in Osaka revolve around the theme of me shambling through the city, starry eyed and mouth agape.

By the time we were ready for dinner it was pushing 9pm and we couldn't be bothered to get creative, so we headed to the golden arches for the bai fluffy-melty tsukimi set.

It sounds kinda fancy.

The picture doesn't really do it justice but it was like... melty cheese sauce, egg, double burg, and only available after 5pm because, uh, moon.

The sweet potato and caramel sankaku pie was great too, on par with the chocolate one if you don't feel like chocolate.

[tewatwain]

Wrapping up the Great Osaka Aquarium Adventure, we passed our final exhibits, enjoying the likes of

Cresty peng

Nemo and eel

Ultra snail

Uncharacteristically hostile soba noodles

The aquarium itself is situated pretty much right in the middle of the crook of the Osaka bay and has some great views of the area (although it was so hot and sweaty outside we didn't linger too long lest we melt)

We returned to the mall and, after some deliberation, decided it was time for conveyor sushi.

I'll be honest, I don't remember what everything was, but I very much enjoyed it. The spicy salmon roe was fun, although I wouldn't risk eating too much of it with my broken-ass digestive system.

Fed, watered, and rested (slightly) we headed back to the station, but not before marveling at the Giant Lego Giraffe on the way out

[tewatwain]

Next up, jellyfish.

I love these guys but I don't think there's a lot to say about them cos they have barely even exist except for the occasional case where one is full of toxins that cause you to die in the most terrifying way imaginable.

THEY'RE SO COOL

I think this is coral. Might as well enjoy seeing it while it still exists on this gay flat ruined earth

Then we got to the Seal Room

The floating fella was struggling to stay awake.

Truly, premium-tier facial expressions. I love them.

[tewatwain]

Behold, the ocean!

I guess I'll drop a CW for thalassophobia and - not literally but at least functionally - arachnophobia later on. You have been warned.

Basically the whole aquarium is built around the Pacific tank, which is absolutely gigantic.

We - and I'd guess most people - were enthralled by the whale sharks. I think that was a remora following underneath, too, and a hammerhead shark at the beginning of the shot.

Here's the hammerhead vibe checking one of the workers doing maintenance on the tank.

Schools of fluorescent fish swimming with a Great Pacific Emergency Exit Sign

We took a moment to sit down in a quiet corner and enjoy the tranquility, and...

I don't know what the transparency is like on the walls but the tank's resident Mola Mola decided to come perform for us.

Then it unleashed a massive shit and we shared a moment of truly borderless humour with the Japanese lady sitting next to us.

Japanese spider crabs are fucking awesome even though I totally understand why people would be absolutely squicked out by them.

Do my eyes deceive me, or is that the moon hitting my eye?

Sick jawline!

Ah, a lobster appeared unexpectedly! Also, there's an octopus in the second pic.

[tewatwain]

Before we get to the Pacific exhibit, let's enjoy further Kaiyukan adventures, featuring:

Reverse dalmatian pancake

Piranya

Yet more miscellaneous fish that I found intriguing

I can't remember what kind of fish they are, but they ARE interesting.

I shared a moment with a penguin. It were bare peng aye

[tewatwain]

Okay, now I'll jump back to where we left off with the Japan trip, October 17th, Osaka Aquarium KAIYUKAN.

We queued outside for way too long to get tickets, then when we got them we had to wait a few to actually get in. After donuts, Pocari Sweat and a bathroom break, we were ready to rock.

I snapped approximately a hundred million photos because everything in the place was kinda stunning.

It started with a tunnel, surrounded by... uh, miscellaneous fish.

Every good aquarium has a fish tunnel, it's the law.

Then came the habitat exhibits, which included such attractions as...

Floating bird exhibit!

I can't be bothered

Woah

Assorted fish

And Pirarucu, or Arapaima, for those of us who learned about them from Animal Crossing instead of Amazon Trail II, the gentleman's educational CD-ROM adventure experience.

The one thing I knew about these things was that they're big, and even WITH that expectation, they still managed to trigger that little lick of megalophobia.

I fuckin love big fish. Sure would be cool if they had more gigantic goddamn animals in this place!

Hint hint.

[tewatwain]

We took a brief excursion to Blackpool this weekend to assemble The Gamer Crew for the first time in a while and to partake in a meeting with a small, newly-minted criminal.

But first we raided Killington services (as per routine on a southbound trip) to fill up on those amazing chili cheeseburgers we were recommended by The Weed Man, because it was Friday and I had forgotten to eat lunch

Thus the meeting commenced with Vincent, codename Tekken 3.

Branch manager Taika was present to mediate (and also to bite me because apparently that's just what he does when you pet him too much)

I still can't get over Vinnie being completely enthralled by Cat Brainrot videos

We put him through his paces though, much to Taika's chagrin.

He seemed to appreciate the opportunity to escape to the observation deck.

I feel like Blackpool tower and the town in general would really shine at night, but we're a bunch of socially-exhausted gamer nerds so we all prefer to be chilling at home by the time it gets dark.

Besides, we had more important things to do during the day, like obliterate vast amounts of pizza and loaded fries at Dirty Blondes

Both were great in their own rights, but I absolutely will be going back to blow up the rest of their pizza menu. Can't stop thinking about it, god DAMN.

The tiny criminal was not amused to learn we had dined without him, but he was easily brought around by way of an offering of a tube of fishy paste.

We dropped by one last time on Sunday morning for a sampler of our hosts' stash of maple syrup and pancakes (goes without saying but it was delicious, and I really resonated with the maple-infused coffee they had too)

then we drove home via Silent Hill

[tewatwain]

Alright, who played MGS3 and wondered what the hell Calorie Mate was?

C'mon, be honest. The radio calls didn't help any, but they sure made them sound intriguing...

Well, as intriguing as a blatant ad for a niche product only available halfway across the world could be.

Turns out they're pretty prolific in Japan! Usually alongside the morning shot drinks and "health booster" foods.

Vending machines, too! The sure love their vending machines. 240円 is approximately £1.25 / $1.60 US at the moment, so they're not really a bad deal for a pretty filling snack in a pinch.

(this, of course, ignores any nuance around the current value of JPY)

The packs I encountered contained two foil pouches, and each pouch contained two biscuits.

I went with the chocolate variant. They're gently sweetened biscuits with a texture not unlike shortbread that has been left out for a couple of days. Eating it causes all the moisture in your mouth to be completely and immediately absorbed.

It's not bad, but not something I'd really choose to eat unless I truly needed a quick solution for a bout of hunger.

All things considered, I can't complain about spending a couple of hundred yen to answer a question I've had for nearly 20 years!

...or was this just an advertiser playing and winning the long game?

Fuck it, they can have this one. What a thrill.

[tewatwain]

We booked the breakfast buffet for the Osaka hotel, which ended up being a huge boon cos we spent most mealtimes in Tokyo stuck in decision paralysis.

I got better at plating as the week went on, but at this point I was just kinda trying everything, y'know. I later saw a guy dumping a huge ladle of curry on top of his rice so you better believe I ate that for the rest of the week.

So for October 17th, we decided to hit up Osaka KAIYUKAN, which is apparently the biggest aquarium in the world.

The buildings in the harbor area are wild

あ、ジンベエザメ！！

The decoration in the area is very clear: we have Whale Sharks, and we are very proud of them.

Also, a Lego penguin. Legoland Osaka is right next to the aquarium. I'd have loved to visit, but we were already trying to furiously cram everything into our remaining days.

We queued for like 45 minutes in the searing heat to get tickets because they weren't allowing online purchases with non-Japanese credit cards.

...and even then, we needed to wait another 30 mins for our allotted ticket time, so we went into the shopping center next door for Mister Donut.