Sleeping in a Capsule

A five hour bus took us next to the bright lights and big city of Osaka. This is a great place to see modern Japanese life all around you. Fantastic restaurants, huge walls of neon, dogs wearing jeans, and girls wearing shorter than short skirts... we were both captivated by the place.

We stayed in Amerika-Mura, an area full of trendy shops and bars with the Japanese youth dressed in all sorts of weird gear. Wannabe American gangsters were mixing it with the goths and the freaks. Added to this the Gothic Lolitas (girls wearing pink frilly dresses like they`re going to a 5 year olds tea party) and of course those girls with the short skirts and you have a feast of people watching before your very eyes. It`s a great area to see the craziness of this country, especially at the weekend.

Fantastic restaurants, huge walls of neon, dogs wearing jeans, and girls wearing shorter than short skirts... we were both captivated by the place

Our choice of accommodation this time was a little different as we opted for the Capsule Hotel Asahi Plaza. A capsule hotel is a unique experience whereby you stay in a tiny plastic capsule, one of many stacked all around you. This is your room. You get a TV, radio and alarm clock inside and a locker is provided to store your belongings. Communal baths, showers and a sauna are readily available too until mid morning when you have to be out of the place for a few hours of cleaning. We both really enjoyed staying here. Shannyn had the added benefit of staying on a female only floor, four nights without me that she seemed a little too pleased about.

As well as the many department stores nearby, of which Sogo is increasingly becoming Shannyn`s favourite, there were also huge shopping arcades to wander through. The one that caught our eye was the Doguya-Suji arcade specialising in all things food related, we were quite some time here. Chef`s knives and pots & pans kept me entertained while Shannyn was hooked on the laquer tableware, all of which could be purchased at much better prices than the department stores. The plastic plates of food that are used so often in the window of Japanese restaurants are also sold here. At 30-40 pounds a plate though we saved our money for the real thing.

At either end of this arcade were two fantastic places to eat. The Tonkatsu Ganko (deep fried breaded pork) restaurant at one end and the Takoyaki (octopus pancake balls) stalls at the other. Both well worth a visit. We also enjoyed two great sushi restaurants in Osaka, both operating the deadly conveyer belt that continually tempts you with plate after plate of delicious sushi. We feared that the cost of living in Japan would rule us out of eating our favourite dish here but were surprised to find some excellent and affordable sushi. Genroku Sushi in the Sennichi-Mae arcade and an all-you-can-eat in the Shinsaibashi-Suji mall were well priced. We ate more than enough each time for about 7 pounds (14 Aus Dollars). The major sight in this area is around the Ebisu-Bashi bridge at night time. Huge neon signs are everywhere and the nearby Dotombori arcade is littered with yet more restaurants, many with massive model creatures towering over them to attract people in. A giant mechanised crab and a row of over-sized blowfish were among the garish highlights here.

In the north of the city we visited the Umeda Sky Building, a lift followed by glass elevator taking us to the 40th floor for a great lookout over the city (best done at night I think). We also headed south to the Shin-Sekai area, the first seedy side of Japan we have seen so far. We wandered past a few friendly old drunks and other shady looking characters before deciding we had seen enough of Japan-gone-wrong and moved away from this run down area.

With baseball being such a massive sport in Japan we thought we`d go to a game. In other countries buying the tickets would have proved extremely difficult, not so here as they have automatic ticket machines (for all sorts of events) installed in the `Lawson` and `Family Mart` convenience stores. You will need to know Japanese however or do as I did and battle my way through it with the help of the ever obliging staff at these stores.

So we had our tickets to go see Osaka`s premier side, Hanshin Tigers, play Hiroshima Carp that night. A 15 minute train ride out of the city and we were there, sitting in a packed stadium of fanatical fans. It was an atmospheric colourful occasion culminating in a mass balloon release at the top of the 7th innings - a tradition they do here. Thousands of balloons were released all around the ground, it was quite a sight. The game too was good to watch although Shannyn was more interested in the colourful clothing of the fans.

Another of Japan`s bigger cities, Kobe, is not too far away and we chose to visit this as a day trip. It`s known as one of the more modern, cosmopolitan places in Japan and was nice for a wander around. It seemed very business orientated though with expensive European style cafes in the centre. We heaed up to `Kitano` on the hillside, a classy neighbourhood with huge European houses open to the public (each at a price). A pleasant stroll around, a couple of nice little museum visits and a look at their popular Chinatown and our day was up. It`s a nice city but probably more for living in than sightseeing.

Back in Osaka we had one last evening of yet more brilliant food and people watching and we were done. A great place to visit.  Gary