Day 8:
The initial plan was to visit the Osaka History Museum first thing in the morning but it was closed on Tuesdays. So we dropped by Peace Osaka instead, which was just in the vicinity. Then before we knew it, it was time for our baseball match.
It was a Hanshin Tigers v.s. Yokohama Baystars match at the Tiger's home ground, Koshien Stadium. I picked my favourite no. 3 for my baseball jersey (cost SGD$45 ouch) which was player Sekimoto. He didn't appear until the end of the match and I screamed my lungs out for him even though I never knew how he looked like, HAHA. It's like "house" pride during sports day back in Secondary school; you don't know who you're rooting for but you just do it anyway. Grant was my source of entertainment for the evening when he started cheering uncontrollably even thought he didn't know the lyrics to the cheer. But the kind Japanese locals seated around us patiently guided us through the cheers word by word and even offered us some of their Tigers merchandise. The match ended at 10pm with an almost-win for the Tigers. Baystars turned the tables around at the last quarter of the match with five home-runs. Daaaaamn. But I really liked how at the end of it all, all the Tigers fans started blowing up sperm-shaped balloons and letting them go simultaneously as a tradition of celebration. Seeing sperms fly all over sounds wrong on all levels but it was such a breathtaking sight.
You can purchase the baseball match tickets at certain booths. Not sure where else, but there's one at the Osaka station itself. It's best if you know of someone who can speak Japanese to purchase the tickets for you because it can get quite difficult trying to buy it in English. The ticket rates vary according to the popularity of the teams, seat section, etc. but ours was ¥2,608($3.06) for first-row seats. (Alternative: Pre-book your tickets from <http://www.japanball.com/tickets.htm but at a much higher price)
After the match, we grabbed some supper and headed back to the Tamade Supermarket (super cheap!) near our hostel to buy some breakfast for the next morning. Midway, we bumped into a tipsy old lady who resembled the character in 'Drag Me To Hell' (or so Nic says) and she recognised our Hanshin Tigers jersey so she started talking to us. She insisted that we join her for more drinks but we were too afraid to accept the stranger's offer, so we sought help from the Family Mart staff who escorted us out of danger. I couldn't decide if I should have laughed or cry because it was so hilarious how we were so afraid of an old lady who probably couldn't harm us.
Peace Osaka
2-1 Osakajo, Chuo Ward,
Osaka, Osaka Prefecture 540-0002, Japan
¥250($3.06)/pax
Day 9:
No pictures but we visited the Osaka History Museum in the afternoon. It was boring. I don't know, maybe I'm just not a museum person. But I guess I did enjoy playing with the puzzles and faux artefacts at the Resource Centre. Can't believe we stayed there for an hour competing complete-the-puzzle...
On our way back home, we felt cheeky so we took a different path back which passed through the red light district. It's exactly like what the magazines portray: Scantily-clad girls (who are indeed gorgeous) displayed like products at the store front with a Mamasan beside them waiting for patrons to walk in.
As usual, we brought back beer and snacks and chilled at the lounge while playing taiti that night. Halfway through, one of the Taiwanese girls started putting some music on play and somehow or rather, everyone at the lounge ended up karaoke-ing together to every possible genre of music, from mainstream pop, to C-pop and even French-pop. Despite our unglamness in our pyjamas, we still partied and camwhored. There were people from Taiwan, France, Germany, California, etc. but it's like a huge family there, regardless of your origin. That was truly a night to remember. Missing my friends from Peace House! :(
Osaka History Museum
1-32 Otemae 4-Chome, Chuo-ku,
Osaka City, 540-0008
¥600($7.36)/pax
Day 10:
Today was Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan day and it did not disappoint. Y'know how most aquariums are mostly pillars, walls and carpeted floors and occasionally small tanks here and there? The Kaiyukan is made up of tanks all over itself. The ratio is reversed. At every corner, you can be awed by the tiniest yet most intricately-patterned fishes or the majestic giants of the ocean - the whale shark, hammerhead sharks, manta rays, etc. The Kaiyukan features a small proportion of land animals as well. A must-go in Osaka!
Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan
1-1-10 Kaigan-dori, Minato-ku,
Osaka-shi, Osaka, Japan
¥2300($28.20)/pax
Day 11:
It was kinda like a one-day trip to Nara, except we stayed there for two nights at the ML International Hostel, which is an amazingly neat and homely hostel. The host was warm and friendly and he bought us bread for breakfast. The freely-roaming deers of Nara Park were the center of my attention the whole day. Although I got my jeans stained due to the mud and deer faeces while we were desperately trying to snap a selfie with the deers, they were too freaking beautiful to resist. The male ones were really aggressive though (one of them rammed into my chest because I said came close to say hi). Before dusk, we managed to rush to the Todai-ji temple, one of UNESC's World Heritage sites. The Buddha statues were larger than the whale shark at the Kaiyukan.
At night when I tried to transfer my photos from my SD card to the computer, my SD card became corrupted somehow and that left me the risk of losing all my photos. I was pretty bummed the entire night + day so forgive my lack of pictures for the next two days. P.s. Zero Assumption Recovery (http://www.z-a-recovery.com/unformat-tutorial.htm) saved my ass.
ML International Hostel
2-11-1-5 F Shibatsuji-cho
Nara city, Nara 630-8114, Japan
8-bed mixed dorm, ¥2000($24.52)/night
Day 12:
We literally did nothing except read books at Kinokuniya and ride the HEP5 Ferris Wheel of Friendship once because we had to stay near the Osaka Umeda Sky Building to catch our overnight coach to Tokyo. But it was a wasted day because we found out that our coach ride was the night after instead. In Japanese time, be careful of the difference between 00:00 and 24:00. E.g. Internationally, 12 April, 00:00 would mean midnight on 12 April. However, in Japan, 12 April, 24:00 would mean midnight on 13 April. Don't waste your time like we did! We ended up having no choice but to return to an internet cafe to spend another night except this time we sneaked four of us into one room to save on cost, LOL. This time it was Manboo! Cafe. It's a cheaper version of MediaCafe Popeye, but of course that also means less freebies (no free shower amenities). Other than that, all was good.
HEP Five, Ferris Wheel of Friendship
5-15 Kakudacho, Kita Ward,
Osaka, Osaka Prefecture 530-0017, Japan
¥500($6.13)/pax
Manboo! Cafe
Tokyo Generation Sansei Bldg, 3F, Yoyogi 2-10-13,
Shibuya-ku, Shibuya, Japan
(Can't find the Shinjuku outlet's address so here's the Shibuya one)
Day 13:
So we had the full day to spare again so we decided to kill time at the Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum. It was much smaller than expected, but still, an eye-opener to all things instant noodle-related. The only thing you have to pay for there is their customised instant ramen which basically allows you to choose your own ingredients for your instant ramen and decorate your instant ramen cup. We opted out for that though.
In Ikeda lies an alluring little park, the Satsukiyama Park. Think picnic mats, sports fields, playgrounds, etc. It's where you can sit down and just gaze into the open space at for hours. We even chanced upon a mini zoo (or farm in my opinion) nearby. The Satsukiyama Zoo is free entry but don't expect much; it's more of an enclosure for a few dozen farm animals.
The Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum
8-25 Masumicho, Ikeda,
Osaka Prefecture 563-0041, Japan
Free entrance
Satusukiyama Zoo
5-2-5 Satsukigaoka, Ikeda,
Osaka Prefecture 563-0029, Japan
Free entrance
To be continued....
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