It has been a long, crazy day. I’m currently in my hotel, with my foot in a hot bath. Blisters suck.
After I last posted here, I went to Don Quijote in Dotombori and wasted at least an hour on their offerings. Ended up buying a Skype headset for ¥678 (for a Skype appointment that got cancelled..)
My feet have been particularly insufferable lately, and have been becoming harder and harder to walk in. So I found myself choosing to sit around rather than explore. Plus, the fact that I was seriously craving a shower didn’t help either.
NO, I told myself firmly, I need to make the most of today! So I headed over to the Namba Visitors Information Centre, and asked for a 2-day pass. I’ll explain what that is in a sec…
“Sir, it’s almost 2:00pm. Plus, you would need to use the pass today and tomorrow, as it’s for 2 continuous days. A lot of attractions are closed on a Monday, you know.”
“I don’t care, just give me the pass.”
“Suit yourself then, sir.” She was smiling, but she looked a bit miffed.
¥2700 later, I grabbed the pass and guide book and opened it all up. Since there would be a lot of places closing tomorrow, I put them in my priority list. So, the result of my last minute planning is the following.
1. Osaka Science Museum (¥400)
2. Osaka Maritime Museum (¥600)
3. Santa Maria Cruise on Osaka Bay (¥1600)
4. Tempozan Ferris Wheel (¥700)
5. Dotombori Cruise (ended up being too tired to squeeze this in)
Total Admission Fees: ¥3300
All those admission fees are included in the ¥2700 pass, so I’ve already beyond broken even! Hell yeah!!!
Travelers note: Basically, the Osaka Unlimited 2-Day Pass gives you unlimited access to subway train lines and buses throughout Osaka – practically every line except JR (which doesn’t really matter much when exploring Osaka, I doubt you’d be on a JR train). It also allows access to some really great tourist spots, that cost a lot of money otherwise.
Namba -> Higobashi (¥200 included in pass)
When I got to Higobashi station, there was a Family Mart outside the station so I bought a bottle of water (¥95) and one beef croquette (¥60). Quick cigarette, quick brushing of my teeth in the Family Mart bathroom, then I continued my brisk (and increasingly painful walk) towards Osaka Science Museum.
The Osaka Science Museum reminds me a lot of a place we have back at home, in our nation’s capital, Canberra – Questacon. Practically the same thing, except I would only recommend this to tourists with young children – there’s not a whole lot of English anywhere, but the hands on nature of the place is fun for kids.
Speaking of which, I’m pretty sure I was the oldest person there without a child.. Anyway, It took me 45 minutes to look through everything, and it wasn’t bad.
Higobashi -> Honmachi -> Cosmo Square (¥270 included in pass)
I had been to Osaka Bay a bunch of times, and seen the dome-shaped Maritime Museum, but never been bothered or interested enough to venture down that far. But if the price is right…
I actually found the Maritime Museum fascinating. They made every effort to make the whole thing an experience, and the restored 30m tall Naniwa Maru ship was awesome. They also recommend spots within the museum that they recommend you take photos of yourself at.. I wish I went with someone that could take photos of me. The place was fairly deserted.
That reminds me, the dome is standing alone in the ocean, and you have to walk through an UNDERWATER TUNNEL to get there. May I just say, the pot holes on the ceiling of the underwater tunnel, through which you can see seaweed and fish and whatever else… that was pretty cool!
After that I walked to the Trade Center-mae station on the Nanko Port Town line, then realised that Santa Maria was closer to Osaka-ko on the Chuo line. Wrong line, wrong direction. Usually I would have walked to where it is, but my feet were hurting so much and the limp had become quite obvious…
Trade Center-mae -> Cosmo Square -> Osaka-ko (¥200 included in pass)
Picked up another snack of L-Chiki HOT from Lawson convenience store. This time, it’s seasoned, spicy fried chicken pieces. I wanted one, but they’re discounted to ¥100 each, so I got two.
Then I found this 500ml Pepsi in the vending machine outside, for ¥100. Oh Australia, why can’t you be like this?
Dragged myself over to Tempozan, figuring that the boarding area for Santa Maria must be there somewhere, but I could not find it for the life of me. The guide book was zero help, an honestly, the initial google search also didn’t help. However, quick reading made me realise it was West of Tempozan Harbor Village, and the last ship leaves at 5:00pm.
But I’ve been walking East a while now, and it’s 4:52pm.
Oh crap.
I sprinted back in the opposite direction, with my Country Road bag cradled in both arms. When I finally found the ship, they were untying it from the anchors..
“Wait, let me on!”
“Can you show us your coupon?”
“Ermm, yes, uhmm, it was here somewhere, I swear…”
I found it eventually but it took time, the tour operators were very kind to me. Especially considering I wasn’t exactly a paying customer, and there was a full ship of people waiting…
This cruise was pretty awesome also. It would depend if you like that kind of scenery though. Any major body of water makes me excited, but I’m probably just strange. I was happy to get a chance to see the container ships and cranes up close like that – also the multiple bridges that Osaka is well known for…
After the cruise, I swung by the food court and picked up a Mixed Okonomiyaki, Osaka-Style for ¥480. It certainly wasnt Dotombori or Amemura, but it hit the spot!
Then I went on the Tempozan Ferris Wheel, which was also worth it (even though I didn’t pay for it). Gave me a chance to see the bay against the sunset background, whilst resting my feet. They actually took my photo upon entry to the Ferris Wheel boarding area, and tried to sell it to me, and I would have said yes if I wasn’t devoid of a shower.. and all alone in the photo!
The exit of the ferris wheel brought me to the entrance of a ¥100 Shop – and I couldn’t help myself. I picked up some shoe inserts (¥105), an iPhone USB/charging cable (¥105), 12 pack of prawn senbei (crackers) (¥105), Mango Calpis 500ml (¥105) and an iPhone screen cover that makes it hard for people not looking at the screen front on to read what you’re saying – essential for many because one is always surrounded by people here in Japan!
After all of that, the exhaustion set in, so I headed straight back to the hotel – Osaka Teikoku Hotel, and checked in. Let’s just say, you definitely get what you pay for. It’s not awful, but it’s very ordinary. Approximately ¥4600 a night.
I showered immediately, and now it’s 10:03pm. I think I’m going to sleep soon… but I’m also kinda hungry. I wonder what’s in this area!