SCENES FROM OSAKA

This is mega late. Like really, really late. The final part of my Syd in Japan posts is now here and I'm having a pretty good time reminiscing the last few days of my trip. We took the bullet train/shinkansen to Osaka and compared to Tokyo, Osaka has a more laid back feel to it. Both are large cities but the vibe I got from Osaka was completely different than Tokyo.

We got these amazing pineberries! Basically, white strawberries but they taste exactly like pineapples. Produce in Japan is freaky expensive, I think my sis paid about 80 USD for a box.

Quick thing btw, all the photos present on this blog were taken on my iPhone. I got extremely tired of bringing my gigantic DSLR with me everywhere, so I opted for my cellphone instead. 

The first day was very rainy and the deck of our hotel was really soaked. It was pretty though!

Compared to the hotel we stayed at in Shinjuku, this hotel in Osaka was situated in the business district. Very quiet in comparison to Shinjuku's constant hustle. 

 

I loved these guys' backpacks. 

Dad and I on a billboard!

 Queen Kyary

Cute couple in couple clothing. Say that 5x fast.

I went inside Urban Research Store and fell in love with the designs, bloody expensive though.

I didn't care if it was 20 degrees out, I had to get a Green Tea Soft Cream.

On our last day, M and I made friends with Hayato-san, who sold her those lovely shoes he's holding
はやとさん、お元気ですか？


That's it for my Syd in Japan series! I hope you've enjoyed these late posts and please do forgive me for them being so back logged.

.s

SYD IN GINZA

My third day in Japan was spent in the lovely neighborhood of Ginza. 

Compared to Shinjuku, Ginza is in stark contrast. Shinjuku is everything loud, bright, and over the top. Ginza on the other hand, reminds me a whole lot of London, New York City, and even Paris in terms of architecture and how the streets are. Ginza is a pretty affluent area so I'm not surprised as to how clean it is, lol. 

I choked on my spit when I saw exactly how large this Uniqlo is. 

By the time I got to the 12th floor and did my shopping, I was exhausted. 

I loved seeing these buildings. Even the sidewalk was pretty. 

Mom and I had lunch at this tempura specialty restaurant. :) Hi mom!

Afterwards, we went to Dover Street Market. There's going to be an entirely separate post on that. Stay tuned. 

Cute couple in matching coats!

 

I'm not sure if it were pieces of rice or petals on the side of the building on the right.

Thinking back on this now, I really do regret getting only two pieces of Baumkuchen. I should've gotten the entire roll, lol. 

Also, I noticed how they had these cabbage plants on the sidewalk as well? I'm not entirely sure if it's real cabbage or flowers that look like them? Japanese readers, 説明をす下さい！

The Rei Kawakubo x Louis Vuitton collaboration. 

I saw this fat black cat! Reminded me of Jiji from Kiki's Delivery Service. 

Stopped by this cafe and had some pastries to fuel up. I had Coffee Milk while my sister had Vienna Coffee. 

<3

Ginza at night is even prettier. 

This dog statue would just move in circles once you press that button on the right. I think they were the mascot for SoftBank. 

Goodbye Ginza. 

before we headed back to Shinjuku, we found,

Sukiyabashi Jiro! The only three Michelin starred sushi restaurant in the world. They were closed for holidays, so I just snapped a picture, even if it said no photography LOL. 

You can watch the documentary, Jiro Dreams of Sushi on Netflix.

Back to Shinjuku. 

See the difference? Hehe. The two gigantic robot ladies up there were featured on Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown. As far as I can remember, the bar had a robot fighting theme/variety show atmosphere. 

This ends Syd in Tokyo! Stay tuned, for Syd in Osaka.