Wheels, Centers and Castles

I met with Daniel, Arianna and Alison at Hirakatashi-eki at 11 and we waited for Miho to get out of class before hopping on our train to Osaka.  We switched from the Keihan to the JR line and soon found ourselves in a city!

One of the first things we saw was a ferris wheel.

So we wandered over.  The wheel is fixed inside the top floors of a mall, so we escalatored our way up, paid our 500 yen each and climbed in a car.  Alison and Miho said they were afraid of heights, but it turned out okay because the cars moved really smoothly.  There were stickers on all the windows to label what you're seeing when you're at the top--and you could tell they were older because the skylines were different.

After, we wandered around the floors of the mall, window-shopping mostly.  I found a store that has shorts and skirts and overalls that will fit me, so next time we head out that way, I'll be making a purchase.


Finally out of the mall, we walked outside...

...and I found Edy, a fellow Pacific student who graduated last year.  I had no idea he was in Japan!

From there we walked to the Osaka Pokemon Center--the whole point of  the trip.  It wasn't nearly as impressive as I thought it was going to be, nor did it have the variety of product I thought it would have.  It was very centralized around Black and White merchandise, had almost nothing of the older generations unless you're looking for older characters.  Nonetheless, we spent two or three hours deciding on what to purchase.

Outside, I pulled out my DS and connected to the local internet to get my Liberty Ticket via Mystery Gift in order to trigger the event to capture Victini.  From there, Miho had to go back because she had work, but she pointed us in the direction of the subway and we wandered off.

We immediately failed.  First we were at the wrong ticket counter.  Then we went through the wrong gate.  But then we were on the subway and got off at the correct stop and walked some and found the NHK!

Actually, we found Osaka Castle, but the NHK building was on the way.

The castle grounds were huge!  We crossed the first moat, reading the informational signs and taking pictures.  We crossed the second moat (which was dry) and made our way to the castle... 15 minutes after they sold the last tickets for the day.  It was disappointing, but we had really incredible lighting for taking pictures of the castle itself.

I bought a couple presents and an omiyage for my host family before we headed out.  There was a shrine on the grounds that we wandered through and many, many cats on the way out.  We stopped to pet a few and also bought fruit on a stick for really cheap because the lady wanted to get rid of her product before closing for the night.

We headed back to Hirakatashi-eki and had dinner.  The Book-Off I bought Wild Half from is closed.  Completely gone.  It was a bit surprising.

Sunday, Okaasan and Misa went to a Christian meeting, leaving Otousan and I to fend for ourselves.  I did all my backlogged homework reading, read 80 pages of Ulysses and reread the entire Bay Area Masquerade Rulebook.  Otousan made udon for lunch and when the others came home, we all went out for sushi.

In other news, I received official notice this morning that I am enrolled in Shinto.  Also, people need to be more aware of their surroundings.  Typing this, I've had my laptop cord ripped out of the wall twice and my laptop and the wall simultaneously once.