Shinsaibashi Fun Places

We have been to Shinsaibashi several times by now, but hadn’t really checked out the Daimaru and Parco department stores. It was also M’s cousin’s birthday, so we went out to lunch and found some pop culture and kids things to do.

Ghibli Store

In the Daimaru department store, there is a floor dedicated to kids stuff and pop culture. For anime fans, the Ghibli store has some cool collectors items and toys for their various famous movies. There is also some cool photo op places, including a life-sized Totoro!

I can’t remember which movie this is from, but maybe Spirited Away?

Lego Store

There are actually a few Lego stores around Osaka. The stores themselves are Japan sized, but look familiar to the ones in the states too. However, some of them have some cool Lego sculptures with an Osaka theme. This one has a life size ‘Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki Stand’ which is common street foods here.

Godzilla Store!?

I guess Japan wouldn’t be Japan without being under siege by Godzilla! I don’t remember much from watching some of these movies as a kid, but they might make for some good Mystery Science Theater type fun on a rainy day with some wine.

Pokemon Cafe

M is not a huge fan of Pokemon, but it does seem to be quite popular still with the kids. There are quite a few places to get Pokemon goods, but the Pokemon Cafe is probably a neat experience. The reservations were completely booked for the day, so I imagine you gotta reserve way early. They also sell Pokemon themed plates and utensils, so you can recreate the experience at home!

Winter Bedding

The weather is starting to get chilly, but I actually like it compared to the summer heat. However, with winter approaching, the stores have switched over to warmer blankets and sheets. Having lived in California most of my life, the idea of winter specific bedding never occurred to me, but I had to do a double take when I saw the displays for them. Do we really want to have a ‘moist’ blanket? I was trying to think of another word, but ‘damp’ or ‘wet’ didn’t sound any better. In any case, I guess the idea is when the air turns really dry do you want your bedding to retain moisture? I still don’t know how to feel about it. There are levels of warmth and ‘moist’ retention… we ended up getting the lowest level ‘warm’ to try out.

After a night in them, we found them to be too warm! I guess we will put them away until there is snow on the ground or something. I think old houses in Japan tend to have poor insulation and are much colder, but our place is in a more modern building and large buildings probably retain heat better. We haven’t had to run the heat yet either, but maybe in another month or two.