Although I initially thought that I might have some time in the evening to get around town and maybe even shop a little, this expectation was quickly nipped in the bud by the late night drinking evey evening.

So on the third evening alike I found myself hurrying to my room to stow away my bag, just to return to the hotel bar where everyone waited. I tried to get in contact with my husband and was somewhat annoyed that I somehow didn’t seem to be able to get a hold of him the whole day when suddenly he stood right in front of me. Right there in Osaka, in my hotel, just to see me. We haven’t seen each other for nearly two months and I didn’t know if I wanted to laugh or cry.

Having a (really) good reason why I wouldn’t be able to drink with everyone I quickly went and excused myself and then me and my husband went out to see a bit of the town.

In the evening Shinsaibashi and Namba are very lively and the date being March 31st it was especially buzzing with people who wanted to do some shopping before April 1st. On April 1st the VAT was raised from 5% to 8% (and may even get raised to 10% at the end of the year) so everyone tried to buy everything for 5% rather than the three percent more on the next day.

Our first stop (inside a long shopping arcade in Shinsaibashi) was at a game center to take some purikura and see what the Ufo catchers had to offer. Unfortunately the purikura (purikura = print club = little photostickers) didn’t turned out the way we thought. We chose a booth at random and only when we were done discovered that it was a “Beauty Make-up” booth (^o^) Not only did I look like a doll with heavy make-up, so did my husband *ahaha* (he made me promise to never ever show them to anyone).

Both me and my husband are suckers for Ufo catchers and it’s one of the reasons I think I am not suited to visit places like Las Vegas. It’s always the same “Oh it’s only 100 Yen for one time” so I try and then it nearly comes out, just a little bit more, so I try another time, and so on and on and on…

Well, after buying some really expensive plush toys, we went on to Namba.

I really like how in Japan everyone and everything has their cute or significant character (^_^) You can find them everywhere.

The Donki ( ドンキ) short for Don Quijote (ドン・キホーテ) is a 24h open store and if it is usually crowded it was now overflowing with people who did some late night shopping to avoid the rising tax. Donki is pretty popular in Japan, not only with japanese people but also with foreigners, as you can get there literally everything.

 

Yes, this is a ferris wheel going around the building and you can actually take a trip (^_^) As it’s right next to the Dotonbori canal I can imagine that the view by day might be quite nice.

The selection of green tea snacks and sweets is amazing and I brought quite a share back home with me.

Next to KitKat, from which Japan has a vast collection regarding taste, also Fanta comes in different tastes one cannot get in germany. This pear one was very good, but I just love Fanta Grape.

I think if my husband hadn’t come to surprise me I would not have been able to see some nightlights, so I am very glad he came, even if it was only for two days 🙂