I wanted to go back to the Dotonbori District to see all of the displays without the crowds, but we got sidetracked by some croissants in the Kuromon Market, which turned into an exploration of the entire area. All of the croissants wee delicious, especially the Red Bean and Flesh Cream one. The cheese and mushroom one was very interesting. Lina also tried the puffer fish at a local stall that had to have been pretty fresh due to the tank of puffer fish. The GIANT shrimp crackers were pretty impressive.
The crowds had already started to arrive by the time we finished exploring the Kuromon Market, so we took some quick shots…(Look at the lines waiting for gambling to open)
and beelined to Don Quixote, which Lina describes as Bucc-ees on steroids…without the branding. You can find just about anything in this store from fancy vibrators (for men and women) to Kit Kat Bars. Lina loaded up with a bunch of stuff, and that’s when I found out that Duty-Free means that all of those items are sealed in a plastic bag and you can’t open it until you leave Japan. That is going to make packing a pain in the butt, so I’m not sure how long it will last when we pack.
After Lina’s shopping was finished, we headed over to the weird ferris wheel on the side of the building for some fun views of the district.
Then we took a short river cruise to see the sights from the water. There were a couple from Australia and another from Canada on the boat who actually booed when we said we were from the USA, which turned out to be ironic because they were dicks of the ride. The guide was speaking to the group in at least four languages and one of the Australians shouted at the guide to speak English. The Canadians asked for directions as we were disembarking and couldn’t understand her even though she was giving perfect instructions to where they wanted to go. Then the Canadian started yelling questions to me as we were walking away from the tour.
Then we headed back to the Hozenji Yokocho district for an Osaka specialty, Okonomiyaki, at Hozenji-yokocho Yakizen Okonomiyaki at Yakizen. It took a while to find and we accidentally walked through a famous alley on the way, but just like everything else in Hozenji Yokocho, but it was worth the confusion. We had two different styles and they were great.
There is supposed to be a fantastic DIY store called Tokyo Hands I wanted to check out, which meant we were headed to the Shinsaibashi District. I got sidetracked on the way by this display and we ended up in an arcade….with two rows of a game where you pretend to be a DJ????
Tokyo Hands was disappointing, but Lina did get a photo shoot in the Ghibli store.
Then we visited a block print museum with amazing art I couldn’t believe were prints.
We hung around the area until a former apartment complex turned bar area opened up just outside the Shinsaibashi District.
Each of the old apartments has been converted into a bar or clothing shop with its’ own theme. It was a very strange experience, because the first one we went into was supposed to be surf themed, but there was almost no decorations. We were expecting a craft cocktail experience from an experienced bartender who wanted to make it on his own, like Bar Cocktail Book in Tokyo; but there was no menu and a limited selection of booze. They did have some Japanese gin, so I was able to try a gin and tonic and I asked one of the bartenders for their specialty. It took awhile for her to come up with something, which ended up to be China Blue made with Blue Curacao and Yuzu liqueur.
The second place we went into did not disappoint in the decor department. I LOVED the decor, but no menu and and even more limited liquors for drinks. We met a honeymooning couple from Poland and shared some stickers and stories with the bartenders, who made me look at the bathroom before we left! Amazing!
We managed to catch the ferris wheel near our apartment before it closed, so I think I may have tied my previous total ferris wheel adventures today 🙂
My Garmin says we walked 6.87 miles.
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