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Yesterday was easily the best day that I have had since I came to Japan. I needed to see people from home so freaking badly. It started on Friday night. I got a random!email from Melissa on her new cell phone. I replied. I was informed that Melissa was magically deposited in Osaka by the shinkansen (Japanese bullet train). She and Ken were going to Osaka Aquarium, did I want to come? Hell fucking yeah, I wanted to come. So I woke up at Yodoyabashi is large and crowded and scares me a little. >.>; Bought a subway ticket and went to the Midosuji subway platform. Wandered up and down a bit and saw a familiar face appear from behind a stairwell. I think the Japanese people around us were really freaked out when Melissa came flying at me and gave me a hug, but too bad: we're foreign; it's what we do. Got on the Midosuji subway for one stop to Honmachi. Switched to the Chuo line. Six stops to Osakako. Madness. The aquarium was our first priority. It's divided into 14 sections. You start at the bottom, take a picture with a giant model of a Whale Shark, then take an escalator to the 8th floor, and work your way down in a spiral. LIZ LIKES OTTERS. OMFG they were so cute. Huge rays, bubble-headed fish, attention-whore sharks, and gay-pride fish (lulz), FTW. At the very bottom, they had the reason for Melissa's interest: giant crabs. Of the non-STD variety. There were two old ladies next to us while we were watching the crabs wander around, and I kept hearing them say the words for "long" and "hair" which I realized meant they were talking about me. I sort of glanced their way, and one of them goes, in English, "Long hair!" Then we had this conversation in Japanese: That's what happens when you talk to Japanese people in Japanese, though. XD; You say "arigatou" and they're like, "WOW!" *facepalm* I can't decide which is more embarrassing, being praised for knowing really basic words, or not knowing how to say something. @__@ Anyway, we made our way around to the other side of the tank, and two of the crabs were attacking each other. There were three guys in front of it, and they were laughing hysterically and going (in Japanese), "Look! They're doing it, they're doing it!" As in sex, not fighting. At which point I turned to Melissa and was like, "Guys are apparently the same in every culture." Ken informed us that crabs do not have sex in that manner (Ken is very well-informed when it comes to marine life). After that was the last exhibit, with a bunch of different kinds of jellyfish. Then Ken and Melissa shopped at the gift shop (I, as usual, am a miser and bought nothing). After that we went back to the entrance and there were two crazy dudes dressed in mascot-like pirate costumes. One was clearly a very fake version of Jack Sparrow, and the other looked vaguely like Smee from Peter Pan. Some little kid started hollering and throwing his shoes at them. It was hilarious. They were also playing the PotC2 soundtrack, which I found amusing. Down the sidewalk a ways, there was some mime-like person doing tricks for people. It was really windy, though, so every time he did a trick involving throwing things, he had a difficult time. He still did pretty well, though. It was around lunch time at that point, so we went looking for a place to eat. We saw some place with pizza and baked potatoes advertised on the outside and were like, "Hell yeah, let's do it." After a bit of wandering, we found it, and... I GOT A FUCKING SIRLOIN STEAK, BITCHES. Yes. I fucking did. It came with a salad with ranch dressing, really good bread, and a baked potato, and the whole thing was $22. And it was the best steak EVER. Because I haven't had one in TWO MONTHS. SO WORTH IT. I'd have paid more for that in a restaurant in the States anyway. The whole time I was eating it I was going (at myself): "Gain weight back, gain weight back" because I think Japanese food is making me lose weight that I cannot afford to lose. I am saddened by the thought that the only thing that would keep me from wanting to live here, really, is the food. It just doesn't make me feel good the way our nasty American food does. But anyway, after lunch, we decided to go on the crazy $7 ferris wheel. Which was totally worth it, because not only was the view awesome and the ride relaxing, but it turns out that I now get to brag to people that I've been on one of the tallest in the world. SO THERE. >P People drew advertisements on their roofs so people could see them from the top of the ferris wheel. That made me laugh. I also saw Kansai International Airport, and was like, "Holy crap, that's where I started this crazy trip." Then we went to the 100 yen shop so Ken and Melissa could shop for some necessities. Found myself some Q-tips and disposable razors. They are called "Beasty" razors, which I found terribly amusing. After that, we were trying to figure out where to go, so I suggested maybe trying to find Ola Bar Tacos, which I read about in some former Gaidai student's LJ. It was in Shinsaibashi, which was in the direction we had to go to get back to our respective dwellings, and Ken was pretty psyched at the prospect of getting Mexican food, so off we went. Found the place a lot easier than I thought we would, with the help of my memory of the place's website, Melissa's "Lonely Planet" guide's map, and Ken's awesome sense of direction. We had about an hour and a half to kill before it opened, so we went to a cafe. I tried something called mint chai, but 12 spoons of sugar later, it still tasted like dirt. The place's saving grace was that I, A, got to compose a brief message to Lindsey on Ken's stationary, which I hijacked, and B, I made plans to go with Ken on Thursday to FINALLY buy a freaking cell phone. After that, we went and loitered outside Ola, and the waitress kept asking us if we were okay. We were, for the most part. The nasty tea made Melissa's stomach hurt. ; . ; They let us in a little early, but I must say the place was a bit of a disappointment. The food was DELICIOUS, but it was ruined by the crappy service, the smokey room (I'm still sick from it), and the miniature portions. :/ I'm glad I finally got to go, but I probably won't go again. After that, it was getting pretty late. We wanted to do karaoke, but I had to be back in Hirakata by 10:45 if I wanted to catch the last bus back, and so we got on the subway, planned to meet today (Sunday) for America Mura, and parted ways. Sleeping was not good, because the AC in here is weird and keeps shutting off. The dead silence kept waking me up. Woke up officially again in time for the 9:36 bus again. Took the 10:03 train again to Yodoyabashi. Met Ken and Melissa and headed to Shinsaibashi. America Mura was, sadly, totally boring. Even the gothic lolita shop was a let-down. We were all exhausted from Saturday, and the combination of that, America Mura's sucktitude, and my injuring myself falling off a friggin' sidewalk like an idiot made the trip kind of blah. I feel like there's no way we could've really topped Saturday anyway, so although I miss Melissa terribly, we said goodbye and everybody headed back to their respective Japanese homes. I very nearly cried. T__T I think the fact that I was in a crowded public place is the only reason I managed not to. I miss home a lot, and I can't wait to live with Melissa and Megan and Lindsey(?) next year when I get back to UMass. And now I'm just really tired and unmotivated and needing of a bath. So entry is over.
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