Sometimes things just don't go to plan. We were really proud of ourselves this day, we had figured out the train system and worked out how to get the the Osaka Aquarium, which was a little difficult. Think lots of changing trains and then trying to navigate in a dead suburb with no street signs or google maps. When we got to the suburb I kid you not, it was an absolute ghost town. It was actually kind of creepy. We had no idea what was going on. We finally made it to the Aquarium to get told that it was closed, just for that day. I guess we learnt a valuable lesson, always check the website before you go on a planned adventure.
When we walked back to the station we found neko (cat) cafe, but it was also closed. We planned to go back there one day but I think we just forgot.
After the morning we had all we wanted was to relax for a little. Back at Shinsaibashi while walking through the mall we came across a little green tea shop. At the back of this little shop was a green tea cafe. This was exactly what we were looking for. And it was smoking which was also convenient.
I ordered the favourite green tea off the menu and Saya ordered traditional matcha. Hers was quite bitter. Mine was just a really smooth traditional green tea.
These are the things about Japan I love. Secret green tea smoking cafes that look like they haven't changed in the last 40 years. The hidden treasures that you will only find if you explore.
After a bit of shopping we were absolutely starving. This was our second attempt at ramen in Osaka, and somehow me messed it up again. We were trying to find traditional Tonkotsu ramen but somehow kept going to the wrong shops. This ramen place seemed to be Chinese themed ramen, it had cabbage in it. It wasn't bad or anything. It just wasn't the ramen we wanted.
After lunch we decided to take on Don Quihote. This is what it looks like. It is huge! I can't even think of anything we have in Australia that is like it. Think overwhelming bargain warehouse where you can basically find anything your heart desires.
Miscellaneous dried seafood
Matcha flavoured anything
Or strawberry flavoured..
Air sealed tentacles
Just a casual few litres of alcohol for the fraction of the cost
570 Yen roughly equals $5.70. Look how cheap the alcohol is!!!
Sex toys amongst the makeup
Walls covered in any type of makeup you could think of
And nail art
Seriously so much nail art it was ridiculous
There was a costume area, we had fun.
Yes this is a poop hat. So as you can see there is basically something for everyone at Don Quihote. One thing I remember as being so ridiculous were the sex toys. Granted we did get matching ones for yes. But there were some really weird toys in there. Including these weird torch things, which I can assume you know what they are used for. One question, 'why so much glad-wrap?'
After that rather assaulting visual experience at Don Quihote we decided to do some shopping. I may have spent way too long in Forever 21 but I'm not even mad. That place was amazing and I completely regret not getting more stuff. It was especially frustrating that half the time the stuff there just came in this one size 'f'. Is everyone there just one size? Does 'f' stand for female? So many great pieces of clothing I had to part with because they didn't have my size.
Like this Jacket. Which seemed to be another trend over there. So keep your eyes peeled because it will be big this winter. Just like turtlenecks.
Bought these jeans and top. Actually found some things that fit me. I still can't get over that. I am pretty average size I think and yet over there I felt so overweight at times. Japan, killing self esteem one white girl at a time.
I seriously love Osaka so much. I really wish we stayed longer. This was my favourite place, day or night. So many signs! It was so visually overwhelming, but also really quite beautiful. At night was even better. The juxtaposition of the concrete and the neon lights made me fall in love all over again every single night. I am actually obsessed with Japan at night. It's so hard to explain...
It's just kind of magical.
Decided to go adventuring down Dotombori. Above is a place that serves turtle I can assume, no thankyou.
Like I said before, sometimes taking a different path can lead to something beautiful. Well basically we were walking just checking out the sights and came across a place that had a teacup with a dog inside on the door. We were intrigued. There was no name, just this photo. So we went in to the mystery door and took the lift up to the 4st floor. We didn't know what was there when we got out, and if we didn't hear barking we probably would have just left.
IT WAS A DOG CAFE!! WE HAD FOUND A DOG CAFE!!! BEST DAY EVER!!!
Literally still cannot handle this. WE FOUND A DOG CAFE!! It was literally a cat cafe but actually fun! You paid for a drink and then got to spend an hour playing with these babies. We were in heaven.
Found doppleganger Sassie. Well not really. This was like Sassie's inbred third cousin. I'm not sure what they do over there with their dog breeding, but there were a lot of messed up Dachshunds. This one for example was tiny, but had these really long legs. Even it's face looked wrong. But it was still so cute and was making me miss Sassie so damn much.
This was the poodle with the massive booty. You'll see..
This pup was a favourite of mine. So much ugly, so little time to enjoy it.
This one had a bow tie and was adorable but didn't like cuddles very much. Although if you were cuddling other dogs he got jealous.
LOOK AT THAT BOOTY!
Usually strongly dislike maltese dogs, but this one was an exception. This one was an absolute gem!
And yes I just described a bunch of dogs but I don't even care. They were more human then most people in the world, and that is really quite sad. To sum up, best hour of my life, I hate that we didn't find another dog cafe in Tokyo because they for some reason only existed in Osaka, and I now want to open a dog cafe with Saya to help RSPCA dogs find homes. Life goals.
Another night, another 7/11 dinner. So much sushi. Take me back to having good quality convenience store sushi. I can still vividly remember this one sushi box they had which I seriously loved. It was like a vegetarian box with two inari in it. I don't know why it was just the best sushi box I have ever had.
For me this day was all about the happy little accidents, serendipity. It seemed that what we had planned may have fallen through, but everything we came across on the way wasn't what we had been looking for, but maybe it was even better. Everything comes down to circumstance. What if the aquarium was open? What if we hadn't come to Shinsaibashi that day? What if we hadn't gone down that street? We wouldn't have found all the wonderful places that we did. That's why my best advice for people who are travelling, is to plan as much as you can so you don't miss out on anything important. But at the same time, sometimes you need to let fate take you where you need to go. It's what you find when you aren't looking that's most important.
erica
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