Birthday girl woke up to a birthday banner and a few surprises at the kitchen table this morning. After breakfast we still had a bit of math and English to get through, and then we headed out just before lunch. Our plan was lunch downtown with a snack on the way to the train, and then Maylin had requested mom’s homemade meatballs and mash for dinner. Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans?
We finally try out “takoyaki-head lady” across the street from the train station, and buy a container of 6 takoyakis to share before heading onto the train.
We open the box of takoyakis to find that they have put 7 in there! YAY! These takoyakis are a lot softer and mushier than the ones we have had so far, almost like they haven’t cooked them enough? But they taste terrific, and once we let them cool off a bit, they make a great snack before we hop on the train.
We get our favourite deer-themed train today! The girls beg me to take photos, even though we did last time too.
We are aiming for the Japan Rail office at Namba station first thing today, because when one turns 6, one has to pay for public transport, and so we are buying Maylin’s first transit pass today! Very big occasion, she’s been jealous of Téa’s lanyard and that she gets to “beep” her way through the ticket stiles on and off every train and subway every day.
Inside the Namba railway, we first find Alfheim, a Norwegian themed bakery that sells absolutely nothing Norwegian.
THEN – while Joe and Maylin are waiting in the line at the ticket office, Téa and I finally find STRAWBERRY CALPIS! I kid you not, every time we pass a vending machine, all four sets of eyes are straining to see if there’s Strawberry Calpis to be had, and we haven’t found one that wasn’t sold out in WEEKS! So of course Téa and I buy Maylin a Strawberry Calpis as a birthday treat.
Across the street from the train station is a small cafe with soufflé pancakes, and that is Maylin’s wish for lunch at her birthday.
Birthday girl split a tower of soufflé pancakes, an omelette and a sausage (remember, microscopic portions, we had to order the omelette after everything else was gone, not enough food for them both) with her dad, Téa had a “brunch pancake set” with omelette, sausage and two regular pancakes, and I had the regular pancakes with ham and mushroom “gratin”.
After lunch, Joe was on the hunt for glasses. Apparently they are cheaper for better quality in Japan? To get to his first store, we had to walk through the underground network of shops and restaurants connected to Namba station. One part of this network has famous art hanging on the walls, and make us feel like we’re speed walking through an art gallery!
Then of course – “Mom, look at this vending machine”:
We stopped by a couple of glasses shops on our walk to Joe’s destination at Namba Parks, but nothing quite fit the bill. Then we get to the Jin’s at Namba Parks, where Joe browses for a good long while, then gets his eye exam done, then makes all his add-on choices and we decide to leave him to it. The girls and I go upstairs to a toy store instead, not quite finding our way to the gacha and entertainment area. Joe sends photos and asks which frame he should choose, then says “they can’t do my chosen frame unless they add on $40 of tint”, and after 90 minutes of buying glasses, he walks away with nothing. Although an updated prescription is always a good thing, right?
By now it’s 5pm, and we’ve long since realized that we’re not going to make it all the way home, stop at the grocery store, make meatballs from scratch, so once again we “have to” have dinner out. We find the restaurant floor, and the first thing Maylin sees is a Hawaiian hamburger restaurant. Birthday girls get to choose, so burgers and fries it is! We place our order at the counter, get a buzzer for our food, and go find a table.
Téa went for an adult sized burger with cheese and bacon, fries and orange juice, Joe had a cheeseburger with fries and ginger ale, and I had an avocado and cheese burger with fries and a cola. It’s been a while since we’ve had burgers, and I am quite happy to leave it a while longer until next time. That said, it was one of the better burgers of my life! Téa and I had our burgers downsized, and the meals were still huge. Joe ended up eating maybe 3/4 of Téa’s burger!
Second night in a row at Namba Parks after dark! At least some of the Christmas lights were lit tonight, but we will not be back again to check for the rest tomorrow… Maybe soon though!
After dinner and a “see the lights” stroll, we headed for home. It had been another long day on our feet, and we were heading home to watch a movie and enjoy some of the finest 7Eleven ice cream to round off Maylin’s big day. I picked up a purple sweet potato ice cream I had yet to try, and both girls opted for vanilla Coolish. We weren’t too hungry, but we couldn’t end a birthday without ice cream!
We watched Ponyo tonight, and are slowly but surely making our way through the Ghibli offerings. I’m hoping The Secret World of Arietty will be next! At least tomorrow we won’t be out this late, tonight we called it an early night, in anticipation of another exciting day tomorrow!