The Suzuka 8Hours race might have ended, but not my trip. I was supposed to fly back to Kuala Lumpur at 4pm the following day (Monday) but AirAsia cancelled my flight and instead slotted me for the 11am flight. Frankly, the proposed early flight would be a rush for me as I had to leave Kawage as early as 6am. Anyway, after taking into consideration the inconvenience that I might have to face, I decided to postpone my flight to the following day (Tuesday) instead. I had to stay for another night in Osaka. To kill the long night, I ventured to do a little more shopping at Dotonburi and Shinsaibashi-suji.
I left Megumi san’s residence at 8am the next day and boarded the Kintetsu Line from Chisato station to Tsu. It was a working Tuesday though and I was able to see and feel the rush hour scene permeating the air on reaching Tsu station. It was indeed very crowded at the station. I managed to grab myself a nice piece of sandwich before I boarded the Kintetsu Limited Express that was bound for Osaka Namba. The ride to Osaka Namba would take one hour and thirty-six minutes.
On arrival at Osaka Namba, I dropped my heavy luggage at the station for the second time as I wouldn’t want to carry it around. I then proceeded to Shinsaibashi-suji to do some shopping which I didn’t have the opportunity to do so on my first day in Osaka.
I bought some personal care products which are not available in my country. If not then, when? I also had a long list of request from friends back in KL too. Besides buying personal care products, I bought a classic Kamen Rider t-shirt, which was a famous television show back in the 90’s! It was all about a masked rider who protected Japan from various monsters that came to invade her. Only Japan has that many monsters including the famous Godzilla!
For electronic stuffs, I bumped into BIC Camera mall and I was mesmerized by how the electronics products such as phones and cameras were so cleverly displayed in their shops and to my utmost surprise, I found their latest gadgets were lying all over the floors. And the best part about shopping in BIC Camera was this – there were no irritating salespersons following me around! Gosh I just loved that.
In the same mall, I came across something I had not seen before – a Bridgestone bicycle. I have always thought that Bridgestone only produces tires and golf balls. Never knew they produce bicycles too!
After spending three hours shopping in Shinsaibashi-suji my legs were almost killing me, so I decided to crash for the night but not before my dinner. While on my way for dinner, I came across an unbelievable arcade. Well, boys will be boys. So I decided to step in and take a closer look.
The arcade is really HUGE! Four storeys altogether. This is truly a different kind of arcade unlike those found back in my country. Best of all, it’s smoke-free and it’s also very clean, neat and tidy.
I headed to Osaka Namba station shopping mall called Namba Walk to hunt for cheap dinner. I found a sushi shop that sold packaged dinner for only ¥580. That was bloody cheap and it tasted good too. I am told eating in Japan is expensive but over the past few days, I found that it was not that expensive if one cares to take the time to find smaller, simple restaurants.
After my dinner, I finally made my way to Dotonburi. The street was indeed happening. Across the river, there were some live singing performances by a local young group which I believed was part of their promotional tour.
I came across one particular store which was crowded with shoppers. It’s the Don Quijote Dotonburi Store. It has multiple levels selling products ranging from snacks to adult toys. I bought myself a cosplay shirt. It was the legendary Son-Goku uniform in the famous Dragon Ball animation series. This is a must have for the 80’s babies generation.
Dotonburi was all lights and people, albeit not too crowded that night. Could that be because it was a Tuesday? I actually enjoyed the magnificent lights displays along the streets. It was just beautiful.
It was my last night in Japan and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Dotonburi and Shinsaibashi-suji area are considered small but I just can’t believe I had spent nearly seven long hours walking around. Time to call it a day as I had to wake up early to catch my 11am flight the next day.
The “cubicle” that I stayed for the night belonged to Asuka-san. It is relatively small but nonetheless comfortable. It’s just enough to fit in one double bed and a little bathroom. I rented it from Airbnb. It is located in Sennichimae which is just a mere two-minute walk from Dotonburi.
