10 April 2025
You made it rain in Umeda
Umeda and Yodobashi
It did not rain on my hike earlier but it is certainly raining now, and that is fine with me.
To celebrate the rain I went to Umeda, which is the main city centre, but less touristy than where I am staying at Namba. It is filled with with covered overpasses and underground shopping areas, so I never had to go 'outside'.
Perfect then I guess.
Anyway, this is my last night in Osaka, and I feel as though I was a night short, probably because when I flew in I arrived at midnight and so that night did not really count. It is a great city at night, but there is not a lot of good hiking nearby, so for that reason, Tokyo is better.
Tomorrow I leave Osaka and take a 4 hour bullet train all the way to the very South Western tip of the main part of Japan, at Kagoshima. I have not been there before. There is a volcano there, you are not allowed to climb it.
I exited the subway at Umeda, and it was now indeed raining. To the overpasses!
A view from an overpass. That is Osaka station, but that is NOT the bullet train station, it is mainly a shopping mall, the bullet train station is north of here at Shin-Osaka, I will go there tomorrow.
I like the reflective roads.
Next I headed down under the tracks, and peered into a bunch of stand up drinking and eating establishments, who had no desire for a weird looking round eye to wander in whatsoever, especially since I do not drink, and am carrying a camera.
Time to head into the Yodobashi electronics store. I have been here a few times before, it is overwhelming, tonight I looked at clocks, and one other weird thing you will see below. I only look at things I have zero interest in buying.
For my dinner I thought I would have Okonomiyaki, the Yodobashi has multiple food floors and probably 40 restaurants to choose from. Once I got to the Okonomiyaki I decided I was not hungry enough for the whole experience, so instead I went to a 'Thai' place and ordered something with kim chi. Yes, you read that right. It was quite delicious.
And then I made my way down 8 levels of electronics store, and this took my eye. These are not wheels, the wheel looking things are foam, that you mount a fancy watch on. These things are robot and car looking constructions, for between about $268 and $792, that you mount a watch on, the watch is not included.
Now I will spend 5 minutes to pack my bag for my train ride tomorrow.