It is crazy there. Unlike anything I've ever seen before. So much different than Korea, even though they are close neighbors. If you've seen Lost in Translation you'll have a better idea of what I'm talking about. It's almost like being in a comic book or video game.
I ended up staying in kind of a hostel/hotel hybrid for five nights. It was super cheap (Japan is soooo expensive) and I was able to pay with Korean won to stay extra nights.
Lunch. This is from a 7-11 right around the corner. I love me some kimbap.
A huge sporting goods store. They had brands from around the world. 
A huge traditional building right downtown, pretty cool. They had some old-school theater productions going on inside.
Right outside of the Namba station. They had a huge LCD screen on the side of the building blasting anime.
Bikes EVERYWHERE. Everybody bikes there.
One of the main streets outside of the station.
This is just one of the millions of indoor shopping alleys that are everywhere. They had blocks upon city blocks of these walkways. Everything from ramen houses to sushi to comic book shops to pachinko arcades.
Ehhh, can't say much for Japanese beer either. Micros from the pacific NW have spoiled me for life.
He has fresh fish he wants to sell you.
I've never seen so many vending machines in my life. They even had cigarette vending machines on every corner as well. You needed to insert your ID to prove you're over 20 to buy them, though.
Another one of the shopping alleys. The man in the bottom left was giving me the 1,000 yard stare.
Pachinko parlor. Very, very popular among kids and adults alike.
Looks a lot like Korea. Except for all kanji and no hangul.
Dinner. I was on a budget! I had to try the Straight after seeing a very compelling commercial.
I went to a sports bar to go watch Ichiro's team play. I got to rapping with the bartender, Yuji, and gave me the rundown on shochu. I thought we were talking about soju (sounds almost exactly the same, phonetically) for quite a while before he insisted I tried some. Before leaving he gave me his card and some rice snacks which he informed me would "help you tomorrow".
Didn't get to see any live sumo-action, unfortunately.
Big puffer right outside of a sushi restaurant.
Busy, busy Sunday afternoon downtown.
This sign was about 3 storeys tall. He looks happy.
They had a huge canal running the length of downtown. Not sure if it was man-made or not. Lots of cafes and such along the water. A few boat tours as well. Alas, I was on a tight budget though and couldn't partake. If you're visiting Japan brings LOTS of cash.
This is where the story gets interesting. I was sitting outside of a coffee shop reading downtown when the gentlemen pictured above sat down for a rest. His name is Moriwaki Toshimoto and he's 67, and retired after working for 45 years at Mitsubishi. It was humid as hell so he gave me a fan, a beer, and some bento and we got to talking. He said he was studying English but hasn't been to the States in years so his skills had gathered rust. I told him where I was from and such and he offered to be my host for the day. I told him my predicament, how I hadn't brought enough money with me and was basically broke. He told me "nonsense, I'm your Japan host". So off we went. The next pictures are me and Mr. Toshimoto out on the town.
** Mom, if you get pictures from Japan sent to the house they're from him. There were many photo ops and he took doubles.
Our sushi chef ready to slice some flesh.
First round was tuna. Probably my favorite sushi. Kind of my go-to when eating sushi or sashimi. It was delicious, as to be expected.
Some squid rolls. These were HUGE.
Next up, salmon. I told him how good the steelhead fishing was in Oregon and he seemed really pleased.
Not sure what this was, nobody knew the English translation. I did the universal "pinchers" motion with my hands and the chef agreed. The delicious mystery crustacean.
One good turn of tuna deserves another.
Our night ended at a shochu bar. They had over 200 bottles of all different types. I tried plum, wheat, potato, and blackberry. They had about 6 monitors above the bar and after the patrons had quenched their thirst the karaoke flowed. It was great because they had 6 mics and everybody was singing the songs at the same time and then cheering (kan-pai!) afterwards. Per usual, Rick Astley and RJ Dio were big hits (yes, they had those songs there). It was hilariously fun.
Grabbed some souvenirs on my way out. Here is a shochu flag. On the inside they warn, "Be careful not to drink too much." Okay.
My sake set I got on the cheap from the 100 yen shop near my place.
It was a great trip. My only regret is not enough cash and not enough time to properly plan things to do except walk around. Everyone kept saying Kyoto was the place to see the beauty of old Japan. And of course, Tokyo must be mentioned too on any trip there. Oh well, I had a blast and know where I'm going on my next vacation.
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