Finally, the second part to my Lolita saga. (The first part is here.) There’s actually a part three and a part four, so prepare yourself for a million photos of me in a fluffy dress.

So as I mentioned in the first entry, I won a photo contest sponsored by the Japan Tourism Agency and the prize was a Lolita makeover which included hanging out all day with Misako Aoki and a lot of shopping in Harajuku. Misako Aoki is Japan’s “Kawaii Ambassador,” (a real title!) a famous Lolita model, and probably the cutest person alive.

At first, I was like “Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat, you want me to wear a Lolita dress and wander around Harajuku?! With a Japanese model? Are you insane?” but hey, you only live once. WHY NOT? It turned out to be really fun and I had an amazing time. It will probably go down as one of the weirdest experiences of my life, but that’s not exactly a bad thing.

The day started off with photographers setting up. MULTIPLE PHOTOGRAPHERS. I was mildly horrified (I don’t particularly like getting my photo taken) but again, how often does something crazy like this happen? So I decided to (mostly) just go with it.

Dress selection. Frilly dresses galore.

So many accessories! It’s hard being a Lolita.

Misako Aoki! I can’t even tell you how adorable she is in person. They asked me what colour dress I wanted, and I wanted to say black. But I wear black ALL THE TIME so I held my tongue and just let them pick out whatever dress they wanted. It was between pink and yellow. Misako suggested pink — apparently it goes with my skin. Annnnnnnnnnd I have a secret love of pink because I have the taste of a five-year-old but I try to hide it with black clothes and Marc Jacobs. (It usually works.)

Pink it is!

Trying on the dress and shoes. I was surprised that the dress fit, because I am not as tiny as a real Japanese girl and everything in Japan seems to come in only one size. So that was lucky. The shoes were a size “medium.” (I normally wear a US size 6 shoe.)

I’m 99.99% sure this the only time anyone famous will help me buckle my shoes.

I look super impressed here.

Angry eyebrows. WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME? WHY DOES THIS DRESS HAVE SO MANY RIBBONS?

Well. Time to suck it up and embrace my inner five-year-old.

TA-DAHHHHHHHHH!

I could totally be a Lolita, guys.

Especially since being a Lolita comes with cute stuffed animals. This is the Baby, the Stars Shine Bright (a Lolita clothing brand) mascot. Misako had one attached to her bag, so I got one for my (cherry-shaped!) bag. Her “skirt” doubles as a hair scrunchie.

The pattern on my dress. Also Baby, The Stars Shine Bright. ANIMALS AND STRAWBERRIES AND BOWS, WHAT.

Cute shoes! They were strangely comfortable. Some poor assistant had to carry my boots all day, just in case my feet hurt later and I needed to take these off. (I never did!) I wanted to buy a pair but then I came back to my senses.

Getting in a cab and heading to a salon in Harajuku for my LOLITA MAKEOVER. One of my favourite moments of the day happened in the cab. That little stuffed mascot rabbit thing I mentioned has a pocket on the back. A very small pocket that couldn’t even fit a credit card. Mike asked Misako what goes in the pocket and she replied “candy” in this voice like it was the most obvious thing in the world. (What else would a Lolita possibly need to carry around?)

What were we talking about? Candy.

Posing outside the salon. Sort of.

Waiting for my hair/makeup person. We had a private room so I could be saved from the snark of real Lolitas (I assume). LOLITA POWER MAKE UP! The people in the background include the photographers, Keiko, and someone from the Japan Tourism Agency.

That’s it for part two. In part three, someone puts fake eyelashes on me, I parade around Harajuku, eat crepes, and go shopping!

So if you know me in real life, you’ve probably seen photos of me recently dressed up as a Japanese Lolita. Here’s where I begin to explain all of that.

It’s taken me awhile to start posting about this because I have so many photos and I just kept pushing it back in favour of shorter, more timely entries. BUT. It’s going up now! いきましょう！

A million years ago, I submitted a bunch of photos to some photo contest because the prize was a trip to Japan. You know, like you do when you come across a contest on the internet. I don’t even remember where I heard about it, but it was sponsored by the Japan Tourism Agency and they were looking for photos in a variety of categories. As with all the random contests I enter on the internet, I entered and promptly forgot about it. This was so long ago, I didn’t even know I’d be living in Japan when the contest ended. And who actually thinks that they’re ever going to win anything? (Hint: not me.)

Fast forward to early this year and I get an email that I’m a winner in this contest that I forgot about. What?! Free airfare to Japan! Free hotel! At first I’m suspicious (I never win anything) and then I just find it kind of hilarious — I won a TRIP TO JAPAN while I’m LIVING IN JAPAN. What are the chances of that? Apparently over 38,000 photos were submitted to the contest so it’s extra surreal.

My photo that won is the photo above. I took it a couple years ago in Tokyo, during an early-morning trek to Tsukiji Market for breakfast. I thought it was awesome that if you need help, a guy will magically COME OUT OF THE WALL to help you. (If you’ve ever seen the tv show Departures, it happens to them.)

I am by no means a photographer (except in the sense that I’m a person who takes photos) — the photo itself isn’t anything special, but what’s happening in it makes me love Japan.

And I will now accept you guys referring to me as “an award-winning photographer.”

Anyway, my suspicions disappeared when I received shinkansen tickets in the mail from Osaka to Tokyo. I would have enjoyed free airfare from Canada, but the shinkansen between Osaka and Tokyo isn’t exactly cheap so I was happy.

When I arrived in Tokyo, I was met on the platform by my unbelievably gracious translator/guide Keiko*. Each of the winners (there were seven of us) was assigned a translator/guide for the weekend. Keiko took us to the hotel, checked us in, and gave me a package with a keitai (cell phone), a ¥10000 Suica card, and ¥30000 in restaurant vouchers.

* I love being met by people holding up a sign with my name on it. If you’re ever meeting me at the airport, please bring a sign with my name on it.

We stayed at the Keio Plaza Hotel, which is basically next door to Shinjuku Station.

The view from our room!

The next day was the awards ceremony. We piled on to a bus and headed to Saitama, just outside of Tokyo.

My lucky number!

I stole this program thing from Keiko.  I was the only winner from North America. The other winners were from various countries in Asia and one was from South Africa. I guess it makes sense considering that the majority of tourists to Japan are from Asia.

The awards ceremony was at this totally weird yet AMAZING place called The Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel. It was deep underground (we entered through the door above) but just such a impressive place. Yes, it’s in Saitama, but if you ever get a chance to visit it, you should. You can see more photos on the website (it’s only in Japanese though).

Mike takes over the photographer duties from here.

A practice run of the awards ceremony. We all have our coats on because it was cold down there!

Brrrrrr!

 The awards ceremony was part of a larger event promoting tourism in Japan.

Which included (of course) MASCOTS! This is one of my favourite Japanese mascots, Unari-kun. He’s the mascot for Narita! He looks like an airplane but he’s really an eel. (Watch the video below.) I tried to meet him after the ceremony but failed.

When they played this video, Keiko whispered, “Carly Rae Jepsen is Canadian, right?”

More mascots!

And then the actual awards ceremony.

Me talking about my photo. Everyone else had such meaningful photos but hey, here’s mine of a subway worker.

And here’s where they announced my prize to everyone.

Group photo (including mascots).

Just the winners (and some of our translators).

A blurry photo of me being interviewed by Japanese tv. Someone told me that they saw this air on tv but I hope I never see it!

Probably the only award statue I’ll ever receive in my life.

The lighting in this place made taking good photos pretty much impossible but it was REALLY COOL in real life.

Back on the bus and back to Tokyo.

The Japan Tourism Agency generously wanted to take everyone out for dinner so we went to an izakaya where you catch your own fish. It was harder than it sounds (doesn’t it seem like it would be easy to catch fish out of a tank? I mean, they’re just swimming around the tank in front of you!) and only one person in our group actually caught something. But a couple weeks later, I saw this same place on tv and Mana Ashida (everyone’s favourite child star) managed to catch a fish and she’s eight.

Bait.

Success (not mine)!

Here’s what the fish looks like after you catch it. Mmmmmm.

And delicious sashimi.

It was nice hanging out with fun people who were all foreigners but who had all spent significant amounts of time in Japan so nothing required explanation. Plus I learned about a lot of places in Japan that I still need to visit!

Group photo. I’m in the back left corner. Thank you, Japan Tourism Agency!

Whew. So that covers the whole prize thing and awards ceremony. Stay tuned for the next entry, where I hang out with a famous Japanese model, wander around Harajuku, go shopping at Kiddyland, and yes, dress up like a Lolita.

I know almost nothing about baseball (or any sports for that matter) but one of the things I wanted to do in Japan is go to a Japanese baseball game. Baseball is HUGE in Japan. People are serious about their team. Very serious. And I don’t think anyone loves their team more than Osaka loves the Hanshin Tigers.

From Wikipedia:
Tigers fans are known as perhaps the most fanatical and dedicated fans in all of Japanese professional baseball. They often outnumber the home team fans at Tigers “away” games. Tigers fans also have a reputation for rough behavior and a willingness to brawl with other fans or with each other, although long fights are rare. A famous Tigers fan tradition is the release, by the fans, of hundreds of air-filled balloons immediately following the seventh inning stretch and the singing of the Tigers’ fight song. This tradition is carried-out at all home and away games, except at games against the Yomiuri Giants in the Tokyo Dome due to the Giants’ notoriously authoritarian and heavy-handed rules for controlling behavior by visiting fans. The Tigers-Giants rivalry is considered the national Japanese rivalry, on par with the New York Yankees vs. the Boston Red Sox in Major League Baseball.

Even Anthony Bourdain goes to see the Tigers in the Osaka episode of No Reservations. Here he goes to a crazy Tigers bar, and here he goes to an actual game.

So the obvious choice was to go to a Tigers vs Giants game at the famous Koshien Stadium! We bought tickets from the kiosk at Family Mart, but it’s all in Japanese so your mileage may vary. I think you can also buy them online. If you’re going to a game, I’d also make a stop at the Tigers shop to pick up bats and balloons. You’ll have a much better time if you do!

Like everything in Japan, the Tigers have cute mascots.

As we headed to our seats, we got some food and beer. Japanese stadiums have regular American-style stadium food (hot dogs, french fries), but also stuff like yakitori and sushi. I noticed a lot of people had brought their own bentos and I was kind of jealous.

That section across the stadium where everyone is wearing orange is the very small collection of Giants fans.

Flag-waving before the game started. The stadium ended pretty much 100% packed. People are hardcore about their team.

Even Rilakkuma is a Tigers fan!

Bats = more fun than clapping. Why mine are leopard print instead of tiger, who knows. It’s insane (to me), but every player on the team has his own song and somehow EVERYONE KNOWS ALL THE WORDS TO IT. For example, here’s the song for Tsuyoshi Nishioka, and the one for Kosuke Fukudome. Everyone will chant the song and bang their sticks the entire time a player is up to bat. Once the guys beside us realized that I wasn’t actually Japanese, they tried to teach us some of the cheers. Some of them are pretty complicated, but enthusiasm matters more than accuracy in Japan. OOOOOOO NI-SHI-O-KA! OOOOOOO TSU-YO-SHI!

Wearing my Tigers ears!

A packed Koshien Stadium.

Balloons: very important.

Another Tigers tradition is the 7th inning balloon release. Everyone blows up Tigers ballons and lets them go all at once.

Waiting…

Still waiting…

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee! It’s pretty cool to see.

And then all that’s left is a million balloons for someone to clean up. And they do this at EVERY GAME.

Poor balloon clean up people.

Here’s a video of the Tigers song, which is apparently popular enough in the Kansai area that people sing it at karaoke.

Yeah, so the score was 0 the entire time and the game finally ended after TWELVE INNINGS in a tie. At least the Tigers didn’t lose…

I still don’t really understand baseball, but I totally want to go to another game before I leave. The fans are just so into it, it becomes fun even though I usually find sports extremely boring. I’ve been to baseball games in Canada and they’re nothing like this. Plus, how can I not like something that involves wearing fuzzy ears and eating Japanese food?

If you ever find yourself in Japan during baseball season, definitely check out a game — even if you don’t like baseball or fuzzy ears. (And remember to buy balloons if it’s a Tigers game.)

GO TIGERS!

Yeah, I know I said I’d stop posting about cherry blossoms and they’ve long stopped blooming here. But! I did go see them one last time in Osaka, at the Osaka Mint Bureau. The Mint has a ton of late-blooming varieties so it’s open for viewing a week or so after the regular sakura trees have lost their petals. Most of the trees are yaezakura (double cherry blossoms), which are much fluffier than the ones you usually see. The Mint has specific opening hours, and you can’t hanami under these trees, but it’s still nice to see the cherry blossoms one last time.

I hear that the cherry blossoms are blooming in High Park at home right now — so if you’re in Toronto, you can still hanami it up.

Fluffy!

Two varieties of cherry blossom on one tree? How that is possible, I do not know.

After we wandered through the cherry blossoms, we were hungry. The park surrounding the Mint is lined with food stalls at night. For me, some takoyaki (of course)! Mike had a variety of sausages on sticks but that’s boring so no photos.

This was some sort of Chinese thing. I don’t know what it’s called in English, but in Japanese it’s シャーツビン. It was kind of like a very large steamed bun that was flattened on a grill. It was DELICIOUS. It was greasy and salty and chewy in a good way.

You can tell that food will be tasty if there’s a long line.

Tamago senbei (egg rice cracker)? What is that? Well, for only 200 yen, let’s find out…

Why, it’s a giant senbei with an egg, rice crispies, and a liberal amount of Japanese mayo!

This just looks so cozy. Oh, Japan.

I did not eat these チーズボール (cheese balls) but I wish I did.

This will REALLY be the very last post about cherry blossoms. Unless I go to Hokkaido, where they’re still blooming. But that’s pretty unlikely…

…or is it?

Kobe is probably one of my favourite cities so far in Japan. It’s a city that’s been destroyed several times (American firebombing during and after WWII and the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995) but it’s beautiful and modern. There’s a lot of Western-looking buildings, due to the fact that it’s a port city and one of the few that were open to trade with the West after 1868.

I also just have a thing for cities with ocean views.

It’s about 30 minutes to get to Kobe from Osaka (Osaka Station to Sannomiya Station). But you get to ride a nice commuter train — it only costs $4 and you get cushy seats and more legroom than your average economy seat on an airplane.

Downtown Kobe is pretty. It kind of reminds me of San Francisco.

The main stretch of the shopping street near Sannomiya Station.

Since we were in Kobe, of course we had to have some Kobe beef. If you think you’ve had Kobe beef, you probably haven’t, unless you’ve been to Japan. Kobe beef HAS to come from cows from Hyogo prefecture, and Japan doesn’t export it to Canada. (That restaurant that serves “Kobe beef burgers” is lying to you. ANY restaurant in Canada with Kobe beef on the menu is lying to you.)

Cute bear mascot.

Random shrine.

Another shopping street.

Chinatown in Kobe is a pretty big tourist attraction. It’s near Motomachi Station and is easy to find. As I wandered around and admired all the stalls selling delicious-looking food, I regretted my Kobe beef lunch. I had no room to eat panda nikuman.

Panda vending machines in Chinatown.

Doesn’t this look like San Francisco?

Heading over to the port area.

The port of Kobe.

The Great Hanshin Earthquake destroyed a lot of Kobe, including this wharf. The city has preserved the wharf as it looked after the earthquake as a powerful reminder. It’s part of a larger exhibit called the Earthquake Memorial Park. It was a bit weird, because a 6.3 earthquake recently hit Kobe, which is the strongest earthquake to hit the Kobe area since the 1995 quake.

Living somewhere untouched by earthquakes, it’s pretty surreal to see the damage they can cause.

Near the port is Kobe Tower. We decided to ride to the top, because why not?

POCKY MIKE!

Views from the tower.

The glass floor. (Every tower needs one, right?)

This is Mike making fun of me because I think glass floors are scary.

Cute Kobe Tower mascot!

Yet another Gotochi Kitty for me.

I think it’s the law that every Japanese city must have a tower and a ferris wheel.

Another shot of the tower.

Random Totoro!

Lifeguard statue. (I thought he was real from far away!)

There’s an Anpanman museum in Kobe, but it wasn’t yet open when we were there. (It opened at the end of April.) Wah!

But at least I got to see Anpanman.

Me posing on this comically large bench.

No fake dining here.

I just thought this old building looked cool.

Japan’s ability to rebuild after great tragedies always amazes me. Kobe is just one of many examples. I wish I’d spent more time there, but it’s good to have an excuse to go back somewhere. (And next time, I can visit the Anpanman museum!)

I guess this entry could be titled How to Have a Fun Birthday in Osaka or How to Celebrate Your Birthday Like a Japanese 12-Year-Old. A couple weeks ago, it was my birthday (yeah, yeah, I’m behind on these blog entries, but I’ve been travelling!) so this what happens when I make Mike do whatever I want for an entire day. It involves a lot of seafood and Hello Kitty.

My birthday started at around 5am, when there was a pretty big earthquake just outside of Osaka. I woke up confused because everything was shaking and my iPhone earthquake alarm kept flashing EARTHQUAKE IS COMING! So that was fun. We went back to sleep but woke up for…

… a lobster lunch! Chunagon is basically the lobster version of Kani Doraku, and serves all-lobster meals.

Lobsters everywhere!

Lobster plates and lobster chopstick holders.

The menu. The lunch sets aren’t too expensive, but the dinners go up to ¥22000 ($220 CAD) per person!

Fried lobster tail on cute lobster paper.

Lobster croquettes.

Some kind of lobster nimono (stewed dish).

Chazuke to finish. There was some other stuff and dessert but for the sake of this entry not having 8000 photos, I left them out.

After lunch, it was off to Universal Studios Japan (USJ). Unlike Tokyo Disneyland, USJ is very close to downtown Osaka.

I am including this photo because the “Twilight Pass” is not mentioned on the USJ website, but it exists! If you go after 3pm (which we did), it’s only ¥4900 instead of ¥6600. I am a fan of these tickets because theme parks are stupidly expensive.

No tattoos allowed!

For some reason, everything was still Easter-themed, even though Easter was long over.

Looks just like all the other Universal Studios of the world.

But the Schwab’s Pharmacy is pink!

And there’s Hello Kitty.

The Hello Kitty corner of the park is incredibly pink.

The cutest garbage cans ever?

Yes, we rode on this cupcake ride.

Wah, so cute!

There’s this fake Hello Kitty “fashion” exhibit which is kind of weird but hey, Hello Kitty everywhere!

Mike models this bow dress.

I wish I could actually buy this.

And these.

There’s this part where you “meet” Hello Kitty and take bunch of photos, but we were too cheap to buy them. Sorry, Hello Kitty!

But I did buy a Hello Kitty nikuman (meat bun)!

Poor Kitty-chan.

On your birthday, you get to eat all the desserts you want.

Of course it’s heart-shaped!

When it gets dark, USJ puts on a parade of lights.

It was actually pretty cool.

For dinner, it was off to the takoyaki museum (part of USJ CityWalk) because I love takoyaki. The museum is just like the one in Tokyo, but I think it’s mostly local Osaka takoyaki shops. Which is good, because Osaka has the best takoyaki!

Order your takoyaki from a machine.

Kukuru is probably my favourite takoyaki place. Their takoyaki is slightly bigger than normal, but it’s so soft and creamy inside.

After dinner, I went to Matsukiyo (Matsumoto Kiyoshi is a very large Japanese drugstore chain) to buy myself a bunch of makeup. (Another entry about Japanese drugstore goodies is forthcoming.) Then, karaoke. Ten points if you know this song. 沖縄!

Another dessert for me! Karaoke waffle and a strawberry Rilakkuma I won in a UFO catcher.

So that was my birthday/how I would spend every day in Japan if I could. What’s better than lobster, Hello Kitty, takoyaki, makeup, desserts, and karaoke?

I couldn’t leave Osaka without eating at the iconic Kani Doraku. Even if you don’t know the name, you’ve probably seen the giant mechanical crab sign before. It’s probably the most well-known restaurant in Osaka. It’s actually a chain — you can find smaller versions of the crab all over Japan. But the one in Osaka is the original. (Even Anthony Bourdain stopped by for some crab legs on the Osaka episode of No Reservations!) The restaurant specializes in all-crab kaiseki meals which, even though this place is kinda touristy, I AM TOTALLY INTO. I love love love crab. I love it even more than I love lobster (which is also a lot).

The dinner set meals range from around ¥4800 to ¥8000 (approx. $50-$80 CAD). We both got the ¥7000 set.

We started with crab sake. It had actual crab (toasted crab shells) in it! Sounds gross, but I love in crab in everything.

CRAB HEAVEN. Every dish included crab in some way.

My favourite was the raw crab. So sweet!

The crab fest continued with crab claws.

Tempura crab and his vegetable friends.

Grilled crab.

Crab sushi!

And the final dish, crab soup.

Unfortunately (for me), the dessert did not contain any crab.

I thanked the crabs in the tank downstairs before I left. Thanks crabs, for giving up your siblings for my tasty dinner!

So yes, Kani Doraku is a chain and it’s touristy, but you still get a delicious crab meal and I’d totally do it again. If you don’t feel like shelling (ha ha) out that much yen for some crab (or you don’t love crab like I do), they also have more reasonably-priced lunch set meals. CRAB CRAB CRAB.

I promise this will be my last cherry blossom post! (Maybe I’m a little obsessed.) The cherry blossoms are over now in Osaka — there’s still some of the dark pink flowers left here and there, but the light coloured ones in these photos are all gone. Before they were gone for good, we headed out for one last hanami.

Sakura petals in the water. There’s a Japanese word for falling sakura petals — hanafubuki (花吹雪). It’s kind of a cool word, because it literally means flower (花) + snow storm (吹雪). It really is like the trees are snowing and it’s so pretty. I actually think the trees are the most beautiful when they’re “snowing.” I can’t even capture it in photos. You need to come to Japan and see it!

This was at Sakuranomiya (probably the best spot in Osaka for hanami).

We went on a Friday afternoon, so the park wasn’t too busy yet. You could tell it would be later because the nearby Lawson (convenience store) was PACKED with prepared food and cases of beer. I’ve never seen a store so well-stocked.

Our hanami picnic!

Sakura petals and sakura beer and sakura chu-hi! Japan really gets into the cherry blossom season. There’s sakura everything.

Sake and Kumamon and card games.

Okay, it’s that time again — time for a bunch of cherry blossom photos.

Goodbye, sakura!

Tennoji Zoo is right beside Shinsekai in Osaka and takes up most of the surrounding Tennoji Park. I had no real desire to go to this zoo (I’m not particularly fond of Japanese zoos) but it was right there and it was a sunny day, so why not? It only costs ¥500 to get in, and I think it’s free for kids. We went on a weekday and it was busy but not too crowded. It seems popular with Japanese families.

It opened in 1915 and is one of Japan’s oldest zoos. (Ueno Zoo in Tokyo is the oldest zoo and it opened in 1882!)

One of my favourites is the zo (elephant).

Weird artwork by the entrance.

Anpanman!

A spectacled bear. They have a weird mask-like face.

Looking at the fish.

Cute tiger sleeping.

I wonder if the sheep enjoy the cherry blossoms?

When we went, the cherry blossoms were still in bloom. So pretty!

A lot of the sakura trees had hand-painted signs made by kids. (The sign says “sakura.”)

This camel is also enjoying some cherry blossom petals.

I’ve seen complaints from Westerners about this zoo online — that the animals display stress behaviour (pacing, overgrooming), and while that’s true, I’ve seen that in zoos everywhere, including in Canada and the US. Some of the animals at Tennoji Zoo have massive enclosures (the koalas, the tigers) and some have tiny ones (the wolves), which some people seem to find upsetting. But again, I don’t think that’s specific to this zoo — it’s more of a general Japanese zoo thing. I’m not going to complain because I don’t think enforcing my standards of animal welfare on another country is fair, but the Japanese treatment of animals isn’t the same as in Western countries. Just something to be aware of, I guess.

I had a pleasant time wandering around the zoo, but your mileage may vary.

Ah, Shinsekai. An old Osaka neighbourhood that Osakans seem to think is dangerous. But in a country that’s incredibly safe, that’s not really saying much. (Most of Detroit makes even the worst parts of Japan look like Disneyland.) Shinsekai (新世界) literally means “new world” which I suppose is kind of funny now because the area is pretty run down. Here’s what Wikipedia says:

The neighbourhood was created in 1912 with New York as a model for its southern half and Paris for its northern half. As a result of minimal redevelopment after World War II, the area has become one of Japan’s poorest. Despite its negative image and commonly held reputation as Osaka’s most dangerous area, Shinsekai boasts a colourful history and unique identity.

Whether the stigma surrounding Shinsekai is deserved is open to debate. Many Osakans claim to be afraid to set foot in the area. The travel guide Lonely Planet Japan, warns visitors to “keep their wits about them” as Shinsekai may be the “closest thing in Japan to a dangerous neighbourhood”. 

This makes Shinsekai sound like a terrible place, but it’s actually not! During the day, it’s crowded with families, schoolchildren, and tourists. It’s an interesting place to visit because it’s like entering a time warp. Lots of really old buildings, decrepit storefronts, small restaurants, and bars filled with old men who look like they’ve been there since 1912. The neighbourhood is also famous for kushikatsu, which is basically delicious fried things on sticks.

See, does this look dangerous to you?

Narrow alleyways filled with restaurants and not so dangerous people.

I guess maybe this guy looks a little suspicious.

Most American Wal-marts are way scarier than this.

This tower, called Tsutenkaku, is an Osaka landmark. As far as towers go, it doesn’t seem very tall, but when it was built in 1912, it was apparently the second tallest structure in Asia. (It’s only 103 metres, and for comparison, the CN Tower is 553 metres.) We were planning to go up the tower but there was a lineup so we didn’t bother. Instead, we went to eat some kushikatsu!

Daruma (right across from Tsutenkaku, but there are several locations) is the most well-known kushikatsu place. It also had a lineup, but I’m much more willing to wait for fried food than I am for some mediocre tower views.

Peering inside.

Daruma is mostly counter seating, with a couple tables in the back. (But like most places in Japan, the counter is the prime spot.)

Hooray for fried things! One of my favourites is chikuwa cheese (ちくわチーズ), which is chikuwa (a kind of fish cake shaped like a tube), filled with cheese. Sounds gross, tastes delicious, especially when fried. My other favourites are shrimp and mochi.

Mike demonstrates dipping technique. There are signs everywhere (in Japanese and English and probably other languages too) reminding you of the cardinal kushikatsu rule: NO DOUBLE DIPPING IN THE SAUCE. The sauce is communal, and I don’t know what happens if you double dip, but it’s probably bad. If you need more sauce, you can use the provided cabbage to scoop up some more. There’s even a kushikatsu mascot (of course) named Kushitan. His sash says not to double dip in the sauce.

The “Paris” end of Shinsekai. It was mostly empty when we walked through.

Another view of Tsutenkaku.

Mike got kind of obsessed with these old-timey pinball-type machines. You put in 100 yen, and you get a bunch of white balls. Your goal is to get them in the numbered holes and win more balls. You can trade the balls in for prizes, but I’m not sure how you get yourself to stop playing. I also have yet to figure out if there’s any actual skill involved in this game. Shinsekai is also home to myriad pachinko parlours and a couple video game arcades that probably haven’t changed since the 1980s.

Another Shinsekai thing are these weird statues of Billiken. They’re everywhere! Billiken is actually an American invention — you can read the story on Wikipedia if you’re interested. You’re supposed to rub his feet for good luck but I think he’s creepy so I stay away.

So that’s the new world of Shinsekai. I might do another post about Shinsekai at night. (You know, if I don’t get murdered because it’s so dangerous.) If you’re ever in Osaka, it’s definitely worth walking through. Take the Midosuji line to Dobutsuen-mae station and start walking. The area leads right into Tennoji Zoo (a cute zoo that I’ll talk about in another post) and Tennoji Park.