Osaka Aquarium (Kaiyukan)

As most of you know by now, Ryan and I went to Osaka, Kyoto, and Nara for winter vacation. This will be the first of several posts detailing our trip. 

Before I make with the pictures, I feel I would be remiss if I didn't mention the unbelievable kindness of the Osakans we met. Everyone we encountered was so friendly and helpful -- in fact, not an hour went by when some random passerby didn't approach us and ask: "Can I help you? Where do you want to go?" I've heard some real horror stories about foreign residents making their first big outing in Japan, but thanks to the generous people of Osaka, things went more smoothly than you could have dreamed.


...Oh, wait. Except for the first night. That was a near-tragedy. But I'll get to that after the pics.

Elegant Gothic Lolita, or goth-loli, is a fashion scene in Japan.  Its devotees essentially dress like gothed-up Victorian baby dolls.  This wasn't the first goth-loli girl we've seen in Japan, but she was one of the cutest.  Check out the violin-shaped purse, color-coordinated with the shoes.  All I can think is, being a goth-loli must be expensive.

I have no idea what Kaiyukan thinks its visitors will be keeping in these lockers.  Freshly-caught, partially-gutted salmon, perhaps?

There ain't a person alive who can say they don't like sea otters.  Wook at that wittle face!

Kaiyukan's seals salute you!  Not out of respect, though.  They just want the food...

A sea lion busts a fly move for some fish.

Ugh!  And you folks tease me for being afraid of wish.  Look at that ugly mother.  Maybe he has a beautiful soul, though.

I couldn't really figure out what cabybaras were doing at an aquarium until I saw a video of them swimming.  Turns out they're champs at it.  And by the smug look on this guy's face, you can tell he knows it.

No aquarium is complete without penguins.  The one on the left just lay there like that the whole time.  He was either sleepy, sick, or hung-over.

A manta ray goes whizzing by!  It kind of looks like he's flying through the air.

A whale shark!  One of Kaiyukan's biggest draws, I think.  Though technically it's the largest shark on Earth, it's a gentle giant that eats only krill and such.  It also has a constant entourage of fishy friends to clean it off.

A whale shark next to a diver man.  Just for scale.  Although even this doesn't seem to capture how huge the thing is.

'Ello, Octo!

Sakana-kun, whom we mentioned in an earlier post.  He'll be visiting Kaiyukan on January 20th!  Too bad we won't be able to make it. :(

Nemo = Found

Ryan somehow managed to snap the perfect shot of this rad sea turtle.

A spider crap eating a squid.  It was even more terrifying in real life than it looks.

The world's most paranoid fish.  "I'm freakin' out, man!"

The advantage of doing this post myself instead of having Ryan doing it is that I can let my jellyfish bias show.  I loooove jellyfish.  They're my favorite part of any aquarium.  So beautiful and eerie.

Ryan finds them creepy, however.

These jellyfish pulsed like otherworldly, unicellular hearts.  Loved it!

Jellyfish are the bestest!

The lights outside Kaiyukan.  Not pictured: the freezing cold rain that was falling at the time.

Spectacular!

 

 

 

So overall, it was a thoroughly mind-blowing trip to Japan's largest aquarium.

Now for the near-tragedy.  After we finished checking out the first, Ryan and I took a series of subway lines to get to our hotel (asking for directions no fewer than three times along the way -- better safe than sorry, after all, especially considering how stupefying Japan's address system is).  We arrived and found, to our horror, that the hotel was gone.  Like, closed up and emptied out.  Nowhere to be seen.  We were somewhat taken aback, to say the least.

Luckily, we bumped into a man who worked at the recording studio upstairs and he helped us call the hotel.  Turns out the hotel had moved.  And like, hadn't bothered to change the address on the website.  And didn't have any record of us making a reservation, even though I had called to confirm a few days previously.  And was women-only.

This was our first taste of Osakan generosity: the recording studio guy took us upstairs to the studio, and he and his friend found and booked another hotel for us that was only two blocks away and really affordable.  They even printed out a map for us and gave us directions on how to get there.  Can you believe that?  And they were still having to run the studio and help the musicians in the lobby as they were assisting us.  I don't think there's even a word for that type of kindness.  I still feel guilty that the only thing we could do in return was say, "arigatou gozaimasu!" a few hundred times and bring them some chocolate banana cakes a day or two later.

Kamen Rider Den-O loves the kids

Hey everyone!  We're back from our Osaka trip!  We had a great time and took a TON of pictures, so expect some lengthy photo-filled posts soon.  But first: we met Kamen Rider!

Let me explain. Yesterday Kamen Rider Den-O was at the mall by my school for a promotional event because there's a new Kamen Rider movie out.  For those of you not in the know, Kamen Rider is a tokasatsu (Japanese superhero action - think Power Rangers) TV series about a guy who wears an insect-themed suit, drives a motorcycle, and fights monsters.  Since it started its run in 1971, there's been roughly 20 different Kamen Riders, each with their own series.  The one at the mall was Den-O, a recent Kamen Rider who not only has a motorcycle but a time-traveling train.  Basically the coolest guy.

He played a game with the kids involving a big puffy dice.  He was bad at it on purpose so the kids could win prizes.

Even a baby beat him!  Seriously, Den-O?!

WHO WANTS SOME?!

At the end, the kids got to pose with Den-O.  The kid in red was INTENSE.

This kid on the other hand is barely trying.  I know he's a four-year-old, but he looks like a Kim Jong Il statue.

I even took a video of the action.  Check out how crazy the kids go for Den-O!



That's all for now. Like I said, there will be Osaka posts soon so keep checking the blog! See you soooon!

LINDA LINDA

We've done karaoke a few times while in Japan.  It's an awesome time - you rent a room by the hour with your friends and sing your little heart out.  There's one song we ALWAYS sing.  It's one that everyone knows, no matter if they're Japanese or American.  You know it and you don't even know it yet.  The song is called "LINDA LINDA" by a Japanese punk band called The Blue Hearts.



See, even if you don't know ANY Japanese, you can sing REEENDA REEEENDAAAAA and jump around like a crazy person.



Fortunately Joanna and I got into the Blue Hearts before we left for Japan. They were featured in a music game I liked and also a really great movie called "Linda Linda Linda." It's a funny coming-of-age movie where a bunch of high school girls start a band. And of course they sing Linda Linda in it, so you gotta watch it!



LIIIINDAAAAA LIIIINDDAAAAAA!!

Asa Zoo

Last weekend we made a trip out to Asa Zoo.  Due to Japan's much less strict animal cruelty laws, the zoo wasn't as humane as, say, zoos in the U.S.  But (most) of the animals looked happy and we had a great time!  Okay, that's all for now, bye.




... Just kidding, here are some pictures:

Baboons!  There were so many of them in the enclosure and they were all beating on each other.  I was so scared for the little baby one but he always managed to get out of trouble in time.

You could play tug-of-war through the glass with a baboon.  Dude was STRONG!

Giraffe kisses are the best kisses.

Elephant action!

A penguin or two!  You could get really close to the glass.

The cutest baby bunny in the world.  And also the sneakiest - he's supposed to be BEHIND those bars!

The Japanese Serow.  Is it an antelope?  A deer?  A goat?  No one knows for sure.

Red pandas are SO difficult to photograph, which is a pain because they're so cute you wanna take a million pictures of them.  They're really camera shy.

The only picture that actually turned out well.  The majestic Yuki!

Joanna and a TORA.

This actually happened.

On the way out we drew a picture in the visitor's log.  I drew a giant salamander, Joanna drew a red panda.

Hondori and Shukkei-en Garden

Two weekends ago, Ryan and I decided to check out Hondori (literally translated as "Main Street"), the primary drag through downtown. This was a weird little courtyard we found, featuring avant garde sculture and a red lorry selling waffles.

This is Ebisu Shrine. When I first came to Japan, they were having some Ebisu Festival to honor the god of commerce, but I never knew there was a shrine associated with all those festivities. The reason? Ebisu shrine is crowded in between a grocery store and a coffee vending machine. Modernity has taken hold on all sides of it, so it's a funny little juxtaposition.

A survival horror game we found at a gaming store downtown. Michigan: The Game apparently features Great Lakes splendor, unspoiled Michigan forests, and zombies.

An army of puffer fish-hatted advertisers for a local restaurant. I still haven't worked out what this restaurant is, but they have been advertising the pants off it. I see these hats everywhere! They also had a giant puffer fish balloon.

On to Shukkei-en Garden, a famous garden in Hiroshima said to be a miniature reproduction of a garden in China. It's centered around a little lake with ten tiny islets. It was overcast that day, but the foliage in early Autumn and the flowers in Spring are supposed to be spectacular. I think it looks pretty lovely in the Winter, too.

This is called the Rainbow Bridge, and it's got a nice look. Treacherous to climb, though, as you might expect!

They wrap the trees like this in the winter...to keep them warm, I guess? Ryan and I couldn't figure it out. This one looks like a giant demon hand giving the surrounding landscape the finger.

More wrapped trees. Looks sort of otherworldly, don't it?

This river was bright orange! I'm not sure why, but it was very striking.

A traditional tea house. It's all closed off and presented as an almost-sacred historical relic, but we could hear some dude watching soap operas inside. What the heck!

Ancient meets modern. I really like the reflection of the skyscraper in the lake.

Ryan loves him some tiny islets.

Aw heck, I love me some tiny islets too!

Beauteous, even in the stark weather.

This is not in Shukkei-en, but in an area near the train station said to be largely untouched by Japan's ever-encroaching modernity. Supposedly it looks just like the Showa era back there. Not that I know what the Showa era looked like...but it was refreshingly simple and low-tech, I'll say that. This was the neighborhood shrine.

More of the Showa area. Open stall markets with handmade signs and ultra-cheap prices. Plus paper lanterns!

No, it's not Snakes on a Plane here. It's Snake Flight. The Japanese must have figured Snakes on a Plane was some American cultural reference that wasn't going to translate. Surprise: it was just an appealingly stupid title!