Because we didn’t do any school work at the laundromat yesterday, we were back on track with Tuesday being math day. We knew we’d want to not have school on Friday, so we doubled up today, matching math with English, and both girls did really well.
After a quick lunch at home, I decided I wanted to explore the “grand boulevard” that we’d only really briefly seen after dark, all lit up, hurrying from a restaurant to the subway. So today, we aimed for Namba, and set out to walk north.
First thing out of the station, we were met with this curious, half-finished looking guitar building:
Directly across the street was an enormous Don Quijote store, and we spent some time browsing, and picking up some souvenirs. It’s an impressive store, and I understand why most travellers double their luggage on the way home from Japan, but we don’t have that luxury. We have another 5 countries to visit on this trip! We found some cute magnets and of course lots of character toys, and tried hard to limit our purchases.
After Donki, we found this cute vending machine outside:
I love these impressive streets, with several lanes in each direction, and extra wide sidewalks. It reminds me of walking Champs Elysée… I love window shopping at all the brands, and marvelling at Louis Vuitton’s creative buildings. Last year in Paris, their entire block was a branded suitcase! Just look at their Osaka creation:
I was pointing out different designers to Téa, talking about what makes each different from the rest, and also how much I think we’d have to earn to be able to shop at Cartier… Although that is NOT a goal! But even though most of the products along this street are quite unattainable, there are also brands that we know and own. Like this one:
By now it was way too hot, so we sought some AC and maybe some more casual clothing options for Joe. We ducked into a mall, and ended up finding a cookie café, and we tried each of their three flavours. Téa chose their classic chocolate chip, Maylin wanted the double chocolate cookie, and Joe and I shared a double chocolate and a matcha chocolate chip cookies. All were delicious, gooey and warm!
Upstairs in this mall were all the character stores! We spent some time admiring the massive LEGO structures and a little bit being sad that we can’t bring all the ones we want all the way back home to Canada.
Téa’s new obsession is definitely the Rilakkuma bears, and she runs off towards the store whenever she sees them. And of course, Maylin being Maylin, she needs to be in every picture as well, although usually with a frown or a pout just to be extra Maylin.
We then rounded a corner and were faced with the biggest burger we’ve ever seen! Large signs said “do not touch” all the way around, but it sure did look delicious!
The world of Studio Ghibli is absolutely amazing, and even though we haven’t seen all the movies, we can still admire the art. We are not visiting the theme park, as it is a full day trip from Tokyo, so we take advantage of drooling at the merchanidise every time we find one of the stores. This one even had several photo ops, none of which we lined up for.
At this point, it was time to go home, and we were in a new area and in a new station, this one with “chandeliers”!
One of the things I appreciate with the Japanese subway and train system, is the physical barrier on the platforms. The “fence” gates are always perfectly lined up with the subway/train doors, and it keeps accidents from happening. Each gate tells you exactly which car you’re entering, and which set of the four doors you’re in front of. That way you know before the train even arrives what types of seating you can expect on the inside, and I love this for passengers travelling with wheels (strollers or wheelchairs). I’ve gotten so used to these fences and gates now, that I get nervous when they’re not there! How will I cope when I go back to Canada??
We got home and had a delicous Japanese curry for dinner, before we had family game night with some Mario Kart racing. I am NOT an expert, but I can at least beat them all in Super Mario Bros!