It looks like I'm going to be in Osaka in August. Can anyone recommend any hotels? Aside from Mandarake and Astro Zombies, what fun toy-related and non toy-related stuff is there?
the charactics store is there... there is also a great record shop near astro zombies called JJ.... lots of teenagers into dancehall & hip-hop in osaka,,,,dressed to the 9s in ghetto wear!!!! quite funny.... also check out the aquarium if you have time,,,they have these incredible jellyfish tanks...... here is a link to the ryokan/hotel i stayed at last time i went to osaka..nice place right in the centre...they are not the cheapest,,but was quite good all around,,not far from the toy/record district too!!!!! http://www.yamatoyahonten.co.jp/bilingu ... exeng.html
Shocker is mostly a clothes store. Some nice stuff and usually a few things on sale. Just wander around Amerika Mura and Namba. Lots of neat stores all over. If you want to stay in the Shinsaibashi district (where Amerika Mura is) look into the Arrow Hotel, which is reasonable and clean. Around 5-6,000 yen for a single for one person, if I remember correctly. If that's too much there's a world class capsule hotel place for 2,700 yen just a few yards away.
hey roger . all the toy stores in osaka are in one area and are close to astro zombie . the only exception that i know of is the second mandarake you will have to drive to . psychodelia ( bad spelling ) is in a mall and might be the best shop in osaka . if i remember the hotel i was staying at i will e mail you . it is a chain and the name sounds kinda like tokyo . it also has a crazy looking shrine in the back . price is about 7000 yen and it is walking distance to the toy stores .
Psychedelia is next to Chameleon on the 2nd floor of the Namba City mall, which is connected to the Namba JR station (on the Midosuji line). I'd say there are actually 2 main toy shopping districts in Osaka: Namba and Shinsaibashi. From Astro Zombies (Namba) to Shocker (Shinsaibashi) is a pretty good walk - around 20 minutes.
That reminds me there's actually a third toy district: Umeda, for Mandarake and Charactics. But that's not in walking distance of the other two - you'll need to take the subway to Umeda station.
Go to Koshien to see the Hanshin Tigers play and have girls dispense beers from tanks on their backs! Dive into the Dotonburi and look for Colonel Sanders!
(Currently listening to: Cannibal Ferox/Zombi soundtrack by Fabio Frizzi) What's in Osaka? I am! This place is pretty different. It's as densely packed as Tokyo, but not as English-friendly. I really don't see many other gaijin around, and I'm getting gawked at a bit, but I guess on my fifth trip to Japan I should be used to it by now. Yesterday I ate at an Indian restaurant and they sat me right by the front window. I felt like Magilla Fucking Gorilla (and I know I already look the part). I don't sweat the small stuff, really. What did make me feel genuinely uncomfortable was exiting the subway station today and seeing one of those big double-decker buses that political candidates use, megaphones a-blaring. I didn't understand most of it, but the words "Americanjin" and "gaijin" were being used repeatedly and angrily. The guy doing the bleating stared down at me for a while during his speech from the top of the bus. I wish I understood more so I could have known whether to give him the finger or not. I grabbed one of the flyers his supporters were handing out. I'll see if the written words jibe with the sentiment I was getting from the speech. The Umeda area, where I'm staying, has two must-see stops if you're toy shopping: the Yodobashi building, which is humongous and has deep discounts on everything big (Yamato Scopedogs for 8,000) and small (Ultraman kaiju for 580). The Mandarake here has a stage where the employees dress up in costumes and sing. The one that was singing while I was there had a really maudlin voice that didn't really make you excited to buy stuff. I explored the Namba area today and aside from the Mandarake there (karoke-free, thankfully) there are several stores nearby worth visiting. Right next door there's a store called Super Position that's pretty much Mandarake with wood floors. Further down the street there's the official "Gundam's" store, which had incredibly deep discounts on stuff - 500 yen for HCM reissues, even the recent recolors. They also had a lot of built-up kits on display, some of which had keitai bling stuck to them for extra irony. Psychedelia in the Namba City mall had some great stuff (thanks for this recommendation, Paul), including a boxed Capsule Robo G Jumbo for 39,000 - is that a good price? They did have a Super Ostrich there for 8,000 yen. I know that _is_ a good price. Mandarake yielded the coolest score so far this trip, though. Behold, a Mein Kampf vinyl kit! Don't blame me, I didn't name it, it's a powered suit from an old anime called Assemble Insert. 840 yen, though! And there probably is a reason why that political candidate was so furious, because some gaijin cleaned the stores out of all the Macross vinyls they had: 800 yen each! I've now doubled the size of my Macross vinyl collection, and am paying prices you'd only get if you found mislabeled auctions. This place really is a paradise. Except for the crowding. And the pollution. And the nationalistic assholes. (In all seriousness, I realize that the assholes are not representative of the entire country. I've had white supremacists demonstrate in my town and it doesn't mean that we're all Nazis. Except, perhaps, the ones who think figures called "Mein Kampf" are cool. ;p) My brain is saying enough with the geek shit, already. Between the shopping here and Wonderfest, I'm otaku-ed out for this trip. Gonna hit the aquarium tomorrow and make sure I sample the local takoyaki and okonomiyaki. And it's true. Everyone here has an Osaka accent. Even the cicadas.
Hey Roger, check out the Charactics shop while you're there (and take lots of pics). Try wearing a Giants jersey. That should make you plenty of friends.
Hah hah "Magilla Gorilla". Rog you are too much. Roger! Yes! Go get some Okonomyaki tonight! Mentaiko, mochi, cheezu for me please! I love Osaka, it seems sort of "Gritty" and uptight. The whole time I was there ,"Somebody needs a Huuuuug!" echoed repeatedly through my head. Osaka needs a big hug, I think that would lighten things up for about 10 minuites. Oh, are you going to Psychedelia again? If you are PM me please. If you do, look on the counter next to the cash register, they have 3 original YMO figures that were used on the cover of "Mutiples". Really amazing piece of Japan's musical history. Melissa and I are punching each other in the head for all the stuff we didn't get from there.
I just watched a whole show on the travel channel where that cocky punk chef Anthony Bourdain went to Osaka and went to baseball games & hung out in sports bars. haha they also gorged themselves on food the entire time. There is a name for this, and If i was paying more attention, i'd remember what it was. Just yell "GO TIGERS" and you'll get out ok.
I just saw that too, made it seem super loose, not uptight like PK is saying. But I trust PK over Bourdain.
Pop Soda in Amerika Mura is cool. They have a site with a map. Shocker is also cool. I like Osaka. The waterfront area (where the aquarium is) is really nice - you'll enjoy that. Wear sunblock though - the heat has been intense! Following you from Tokyo -> Osaka in a couple of days.
yeah it made skylar hungry too, but as a veggie, i was just sad and reaffirmed in the fact that when i go to japan, i'll be eating shitty pizza the whole time.
Hell, there's tons of good veggie food in Japan. Tamago don, soba, udon, tofu, yasai tempura...Just had a great meal at Kirin City (FIVE KINDS of Kirin nama biru!!) in Shinjuku tonight - excellent salad, tofu, etc etc. Choices can get kind of repetitive after a while, but there is a lot out there. In the last few years, Japan's veggie fare has gotten better and better.
