Robot Claw

Tokyo 1: Arrival

January 15th, 2020

I traveled to Tokyo today on the bullet train. I was feeling a bit sick and was very tired so I took very few photos but here’s one of me enjoying the ride:

I was in the ‘green car’ which was the highest level of luxury. And it was great, with big comfy seats that electronically reclined and even were heated (although I didn’t use that). The train was quite full, although almost everyone else was a businessman in a suit that slept the whole way.

After arrival in Tokyo and checking into my hotel I grabbed a gourmet meal (for only ¥600!) and went about bought a suitcase! I know it’s common but I’d never done it before; my luggage was too full and this way I can buy more stuff 🙂

I’ve got a lot planned these next four day but I feel my body rebelling. Let’s hope I don’t crash hard before the return flight!

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Osaka 4: ‘Operation Three-Wheeler’

January 14th, 2020

I woke tired with the dawn but since my first goal didn’t open until ten I took the chance to slow down a bit and watch a movie. It was sublime albeit the movie not so much. Then I took two trains to the docklands to ride this:

It’s called Tempozan and for many years was the tallest Ferris Wheel in the world. KLS and I were out here back in 2017 but didn’t ride it since she gets scared of heights and I always wanted to return. The ride takes about 15 lazy minutes and provides great views for miles. Here’s me at the top:

My next destination was the Dotonbori canal district but – as if often do – I took the long way and walked after one train rather than catch both back. This led me to discover a lengthy covered shopping street in which I found a used game shop and bought an old Game Boy game! Which once again proves that you should always walk if you can 🙂

After a gourmet lunch…

I arrived at my second destination of the day:

That’s the Ebisu Tower, so named since the guy shown on the front is the god of fortune Ebisu (who is hanging out with the penguin mascot of the Don Quixote discount store).

This unusual Ferris Wheel sits riders in a car facing outwards (it spins 180 while loading) and also takes about 15 minutes to make a circuit. While the views weren’t great the wheel had a surprise for me: it’s a little bit scary! The carriages don’t hang, and mechanically rotate as they go around the curves. The led to judders and creaks that more than once reminded me it’s only been open 6 of its 15 years, being closed for mechanical reasons the rest of the time.

Here’s the view from the top:

I was laughing out loud like a fool most of this ride. I think it’s exhaustion catching up with me!

After a quick stop at the hotel my third goal for the day was only a short walk away:

That’s the Hep-5 Wheel, on the top of a shopping mall right in downtown Osaka. KLS and I rode this at night back in 2017, immediately before a memorable thunder storm, but today I got to ride it during the day. It’s taller than Ebisu but shorter than Tempozan (which speaks a lot for Tempozan’s height since this guy is built on top of the 7th floor!) and – surprise surprise – takes about 15 relaxing minutes to go around.

Here’s me at the top:

I very much enjoyed this one since I’ve been buzzing around the local streets every day and could plot my paths from above. It also afforded fantastic views of the nearby train station. However unlike the other two it had no commentary at all! Still worth a ride.

So three wheels in one day! They were all cheap (¥800, ¥500 and ¥600) and worth the trip. I’m now proud to say I’ve ridden three different wheels in the same day. I wonder how many others can claim that?

Tonight I pack for the train to Tokyo tomorrow, where the trip enters a new phase: otaku madness. Stay tuned…

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Osaka 3: ‘Operation Two Towers’

January 13th, 2020

I was up early this morning and watched the sun rise from my room:

It was very pretty, and I think I’ll do it again tomorrow. After a delicious breakfast at McDonald’s (insert comment here) I marched down to the station and rode the subway to Dobutsuen-Mae station. A brief walk north and my first goal of the day was in sight:

That’s Tsutenkaku tower, which is an old tourist attraction here in Osaka. Of course I went up (¥800) and the views were pretty good. But it’s less than half the height of my hotel room, and I was more interested in the weird stuff in the tower than the views from it. For instance they are obsessed with ‘Billiken’, the god ‘of things as they should be’ and statues of him are everywhere! Secondly they have a massive Glico/Pocky history museum at the base, where a nice girl took this photo of me:

(She was probably bored; I was the only patron of the tower at the time.)

Thirdly I never expected to find this many gashapon machines in such a location:

It was a tourist trap to be sure, but a not unwelcome one, and I’m glad I went to see it.

Continuing further north brought me to ‘Den Den Town’, the otaku Mecca of Osaka. Here is a dense concentration of game/toy/anime/card shops unrivaled by anywhere outside of Akihabara. I spent hours there today, mostly in game shops like this:

I made some purchases, which I’ll blog some time in the next few weeks.

I also spent ages in the figure shops, especially the retro ones. I was primarily looking for (Ultraman) Zoffy merchandise, but ended up just gazing at the super expensive 1960s toys in the glass cases:

That’s about $1300 for a plastic toy that would fit in your hand, and it was far from the most expensive item.

Anyway I spent maybe 5 hours in Den Den before heading for my final destination of the day, the Umeda Sky Tower:

This curious double skyscraper was completed in 1993 and is about fifteen minutes west of Osaka station. Naturally I visited the observatory at the top, which even had an outdoor section. The views were amazing:

This was higher than my hotel and for a skyscraper observatory (as opposed to dedicated tower) it was very good. A tad pricey perhaps (¥1500), but I’m happy I visited if only for the two suspended escalators between the towers 🙂

After a gourmet meal (¥600) I visited a nearby department store and randomly happened upon a Gundam exhibit and pop up shop. It was very popular, and I most enjoyed looking at the professionally built and painted kits such as this one:

It looks simplistic but there’s some impressive talent at work there.

It was a long and busy day, and I didn’t even cover everything here (such as the game centers, the UFO catcher wins, the pet shops, the post office or the idol signing event I witnessed.) Another day in wonderland it was, and a very good one. As usual I have full plans for tomorrow as well. Look forward to it…

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Osaka 2: USJ

January 12th, 2020

Today I went to Universal Studios Japan! Apparently I had picked a good day to go since all of Osaka – perhaps even all of Japan – seemed to be there today as well 🙂

I had a very early start this morning (due to slight jetlag) but even though I got to the park 45 minutes before the gates opened the throng of humanity stretched as far as the eye could see. Once I was inside I made a beeline for the Harry Potter section and quickly joined the longest line for a ride I’d ever joined:

Yes the ride is in the castle, and the line is not supposed to stretch out this far. But this morning it did, and the employees scrambled to open up extra line space to accommodate us all. In actuality it wasn’t that long a wait (maybe 20 minutes) and when I rode the ride itself it was just as good as I remembered from Florida last year.

I then methodically went around going on the other available rides (skipping the log flume and the ones that would make me sick) – that’s my wearing the 3D glasses for Spider-Man above – which didn’t take long since there’s not that many and three were closed today! Eventually I joined the line for this:

It’s called The Flying Dinosaur and is apparently an amazing roller coaster. Unfortunately the very strong warnings of motion sickness scared me away and when I mustered courage and returned later I was confronted by this:

By this point the park was inundated with people and almost all the lines were excessive. So in quick succession, I watched the three special effects shows 🙂

Since they are all based on old films – Waterworld, Backdraft and Terminator 2 – each is showing it’s age. And yet I very much enjoyed all three. The vision of the future in Terminator is laughable now but the show mixes video and live action skillfully and the 3D is very good. Backdraft was two very long ‘making of’ movies (narrated entirely in Japanese) followed by an astonishing demonstration of (real) flame effects in movies.

But the real star was Waterworld. It was beyond good: it was amazing.

The arena as you can see was enormous, and the show was basically live action Mad Max with boats. The explosions and effects were ridiculously over the top and I loved it. Probably the highlight of my day!

I would have liked to ride the big coaster and stay for the light show, but early afternoon I was ruined and left the park to return to the hotel for a break. While those that know me are thinking “He rested?!?” I can assure you that a bit later I went back out and did some shopping!

That’s an original Ultraman suit used in a TV series, on display at an official store. I had my Ultraman shirt on and the employee saluted me 🙂

Now – it’s just after 7 – I’m so tired I can barely type, so an early night it will be. I’ll need lots of rest for tomorrow, since I’ve planned an equally full itinerary…

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Osaka 1: Arrival

January 11th, 2020

The flight was uneventful. I watched three movies, read half a Conan novel and listened to a lot of Depeche Mode before we landed about a half hour before schedule. The airport was busy and security/customs took about an hour. After the usual routine (money exchange, buying a SIM) it was time for the ‘Hello Kitty’ Haruka express to Osaka city: