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Published: December 7th 2014
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With our last bullet train ride behind us we checked into our hotel at Osaka station. This gave us some time to investigate the massive department store in Umedia shopping precinct, which was directly across the street.
An electronics store was the first store we went into. We could not believe the enormous range of iphone covers available. There was row after row and then some. It would have been easy to get lost in here. Later we checked out the homewares level. Here there was a huge range of humidifiers of all types. Some were very artistc, some icluded aroma therapy options and others were just plain and quite frankly boring. Fridges and freezers ranged from minute to monsterous and available in a huge range of colours, the usual safe white and stainless steel through to purple, pink and green.
Sadly we stood and watched a robotic vaccuum cleaner for quite some time to see if it could escape from the corner in which it seemed to be trapped. Eventually it did, but it seemed to take a long time.
That night after our usual wonder past many dining options we elected to try a local specialty
which is like a cross between Nasi Gorang and a pancake, cooked on your own hotplate. We decided to go for two options that included oysters as the meat. The first was very much like a stirfry noodle disk and the oysters were cooked to perfection. The second was more like an omelette or Fritata. Both were delicious and fun to cook and eat.
In the morning we checked out and put our luggage into the hotel's storage as we were only flying out at 11:30 pm. We navigated our way to the Osaka aquarium at the port as we had heard good reports. As we approached we could not help but see a massive ferris wheel, it was huge and we decided to investigate.
The signs said that it was the largest in the world - well we took that with a grain of salt but 112m high is certainly big. They were offering a deal for aquarium plus ferris wheel so on we trotted. Naturally we opted for the all clear gondala. Clear seats, clear floor, a totally uninterrupted view. Soon we were higher that the appartment blocks, then the suspension bridge towers. What a ride
and what a view, this was well worth the fare.
After lunch came a bit of tourist shopping. Greg got a tee shirt custom screen printed while we waited and Joan fell in love with a umbrella.
As we entered the aquarium it became obvious that it featured huge tanks, most 3 or 4 stories tall. The main tank was big enough to even have a whale shark, in addition to masses of sting rays and sharks. Dolphins played in one tank and sea lions in another. There were otters, icy tanks with emporer penguins, tropical fish, jellyfish and so much more. This was a place where you could watch for hours. The path spiralled down the building so you got to see each tank at different levels, each with their own unique aspect. One tank held a massive school of sardines swirling around a rocky spire, it certainly changed our iew of sardines. There was even a petting tank, mind you petting stingrays and sharks was a little unusual! They must have selected docile varieties. Some tanks included a diver doing maintenance, one was dressed in a santa suit - definitely a hit with the kids, both
big and small.
The subway took us back to the hotel. After dinner we collected our luggage and took the trains to the airport. The train ride was slightly unusual as the train split in two at one station, so you had to be on the correct section of the train to get where you wanted to go.
Now we are on our way home, in fact this was is being written in Changi airport, Singapore. All too soon we will be home and this trip to Japan will be over.
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