Seika took me to a nearby bakery that she and her family enjoy. She bought a bunch of different breads and rolls for us. Some sweet, some savory, all delicious!

Then we went to get massages! Japanese massage is so relaxing. You wear a t-shirt and athletic pants for the massage, so it doesn’t use oils or lotion. I felt very relaxed. It was very good. Then, Seika had a meeting and also had to prepare for work, so I went to downtown Osaka to wander around and go shopping.

Shinsaibashi

I got off at Shinsaibashi station and walked down the Shinsaibashi-Suji Shopping Street towards the next train station, Namba. Seika advised that this was a good way to enjoy the street because then you are ready to hop back on the train easily. The Shinsaibashi shopping street had so many different clothing, shoes, and accessories stores. I tried on a winter coat that caught my eye, and sadly my arms were too long for it. I bought a few hair accessories.

I took a couple of exciting detours through Americamura, the American village that had a lot of secondhand stores and classic t-shirts that one would find at a typical American thrift store. It was funny for me to see very average classic American clothing for sale at high prices here. I wandered into a very filled American trinket shop.

In the back of the store, I found some Japanese items. I bought a froshiki, which is a large square cloth that can be tied various ways to serves multiple purposes like a bag, a gift wrapping cover, etc.

Dotonburi

I also wandered around Dotonburi, another very famous shopping and entertainment street. Here, I sampled a few foods, but not all of the foods because I was alone this time and I wanted to have a couple of these foods with Seika on a different day.

I did try the strawberry mochi, and it was everything that I hoped for and more! It was so sweet and pleasant and of course had such a delicious strawberry. Another time, I will try the sugar coated skewer of fresh strawberries with Seika!

I also had a cheese filled bread shaped like a ¥. I saw others eat it with a magnificent cheese pull, but mine didn’t do that.

And then I had a cute macaron. It was the yakgwa kind, which is a Korean dessert.

It was very sweet, and I was on the hunt for another savory item to try. I think I will have takoyaki and okonomiyaki later, so I didn’t try those today.

I ran into the Gilco Running Man sign. This sign is one of the most notable landmarks of Osaka. Gilco is a Japanese confectionery company that sells Pocky among other treats.

But actually, the mascot of Osaka is Kuidaore Taro, a red and white striped clown playing the drum. It was part of a restaurant that is no longer open, but the mascot continues. I passed the real thing, saw a few people taking pictures of it, and didn’t think anything of it. Then, I passed an entire store souvenirs about it. I didn’t learn what it was until I came home and asked Seika.

I went to Don Quijote, Japan’s biggest discount store. It was massive and had so many interesting items. I bought things like Japanese cat food for my sister’s cats that will likely never get to travel to Japan, souvenir t-shirts, face creams, etc.

This floor is so noisy that it is playing multiple sounds and songs to advertise different products. It is quite overwhelming.

There are a lot of tax free shops available to international tourists. If you travel with a passport and show it at the shop, it seems like the put it in a sealed bag for you to not open until you leave the country. I don’t like to travel with my passport, so I didn’t get the taxes removed. Although, Japan is very safe, so I could carry my passport without worry if I chose to. Regardless I am still enjoying shopping and buying uniquely Japanese items. I did go to one store that said a digital version of the passport was okay, and I was not given a sealed bag, so I’m a bit confused. Tax-free is such a big deal here that I even had a store gift me with a free keychain to make up for the fact that they were not a tax-free shop.

My feet were tired from walking, so I headed home for dinner. I bought a couple of taiyaki outside the train station because they were having the end of the day sale and it looked yummy. I brought them home to share.