Umeda Sky Building

Oh my gosh I am so tired out from the day it’s not even funny.

I slept in until 11:30, which was glorious. I got up, showered, walked to school, bought some tape so I can make my art history flash cards, and ate lunch while I studied for my art exam on Wednesday. At 2:00 I met Saho at the CIE, and we walked to Hirakatashi-eki. Thank goodness the weather was beautiful today—sunny and in the high 50s—because I did so much outdoor walking today!

We took the train to Shinsaibashi and did some shopping there. I really like that place; it’s the third time I’ve been, and each time I’ve been amazed by something. This time, on the main bridge, there was a wonderful mix of people. There were all the regular shoppers, and of course Glico Man triumphant in the background. There was also a street musician with a didgeridoo, and a bunch of monks out begging. One of the monks had a digital camera and was taking pictures of his colleagues as they stood there with their little bowls. Super cool.

We stopped at a little cake shop in the area, too, which was fun. It had this neat rustic French theme going on, so I felt like I was in Beauty and the Beast. Anyway, I got something called “Shortcake New York Cut,” which was a really nice strawberry and whipped cream concoction with some chocolate cake. I have always heard that Japanese desserts are lousy, and I can understand where that idea got started. It looked totally decadent, but it tasted like some low-sugar, low-calorie, sawdust-instead-of-butter dessert we’d have in the States. It was still good, just needed some more sugar. Of course, being from Kentucky, if it’s not fried, chocolate, and covered in salt and sugar I don’t think it’s worth eating. Anyway, I was pretty impressed; it was tasty without being overpowering. Verdict on Japanese cake: meh. (Note that the small sample size of 1 may have impacted the survey’s outcome.)

After the cake, we were off to the Umeda Sky Building. We got a little lost and wandered around Umeda for a while trying to get oriented, but eventually we found our way. In the plaza at the building’s base, they were having this big Christmas festival, and the theme was Germany. There were all these booths set up selling German foods and trinkets, and there were a lot of German people there. Also, there was a big Christmas tree with lights and everything, and a stage in front of it where there were performers.

Anyway, we paid our 700yen entrance fee to the building. First we walked across this glass walkway three stories up, so you could look down and see all the people walking around looking at the booths and all. Then we got into the glass elevator that took us to the 35th floor; the ride up was way cool, and we went so fast it made my ears hurt from the pressure changes. At this point it was about 5:30 and the sun had gone down, so the city lights were pretty. After the 35th floor, we took an escalator up to the observation area. It’s hard to describe the escalator, but it was glassed in and took us diagonally from one part of the building to the other so we were suspended in midair. Way cool, anyway. At this point I’m not sure how far up we were, but there was a restaurant and all these chairs in front of huge windows so you could look out on the city. There were even these elevated booths that couples seem to like, and there was sort of a museum-like display of the forerunners of the Sky Building. It included everything from the Hanging Gardens of Babylon to the ruins at Tikal to the Empire State Building.

The best part, though, was the open air observation deck. It’s a circular platform stuck between the two legs of the building, and there’s paint splattered on the floor and black lights to illuminate it, so it looks like you’re standing on stars. And you can just walk around and look at the lights for as long as you want, and they were playing Christmas music. It was so neat. Absolutely amazing, though, was the moon. The sky was overcast, so you couldn’t tell where the mountains surrounding the city started and the sky stopped. Except we arrived just in time to see a bit of orange peek out over one of the mountaintops in the east, and that part of the sky cleared just enough to see the full moon rise over the mountain. It was absolutely amazing. We stayed up there for quite a while looking at all the lights and buildings and people. I especially liked the trains; they look like little centipedes running through the city.

It was so, so cool getting to see Osaka from above, and I’m glad that I went just before I’m leaving. It put me in a sentimental mood, especially watching the planes take off and fly away over the mountains. But all the Christmas music and lovey-dovey couples made me really want to go home, too. Anyway, if you’re ever looking for a great date spot in Osaka, go to the Umeda Sky Building at night.

At that point we were hungry, so we took the escalator and elevator and walkway down to the ground level. This part of the building contains a lot of restaurants, which would be ho-hum except that it’s been decorated to look like a Showa Period street. It’s so cool! There are all these wooden buildings with tile roofs along narrow streets, and power lines going across above you, and there are even details like an old bicycle left leaning up against a tool shed, and a pump well like the one in Totoro. If you’ve ever been to the New York, New York casino in Las Vegas, you’ll have an idea of what I’m talking about, although this was much, much better than that casino. New York New York is totally overwhelming and claustrophobic, but this was just cool. We stopped to eat in one of the restaurants, and I had some shrimp tempura ramen in soy-based sauce with brown rice and carrots and shiitake mushrooms. Yum!

Before we left, we walked around the plaza a bit and looked at all the things for sale. Santa Claus was there, and we took our picture with him. Also, there were two bands that we stopped to watch. The first was a group of salarymen from the Sky Building who had a Beatles tribute band, which was awesome! I mean, they weren’t that good at all, but they were a blast to watch, and it was so cool hearing the Beatles in Japan. The next group was just bizarre; it was a Dixieland quintet, and I’ve never seen anything so strange. They were dressed in these old-timey clothes, and the leader sang the Japanese lyrics with a very strong south Alabama accent (“uh-shee-tuh gah ah-rrrroo”). Weird! Their mannerisms were over the top, and they played twangy tunes with silly lyrics. Basically, it was a minstrel show, and if I hadn’t been so perplexed by the whole experience I probably would have been offended because really the only thing they were missing was the paint for blackface. Anyway, there was this group of little kids, probably ranging from ages three to six, who were standing directly in front of the stage and dancing wildly to the music of both groups. Saho and I just stood there and laughed hysterically at them for minutes. At one point two boys were attempting to breakdance, and later on they were leading a sort of patty-cake game to the beat of the music. The whole thing was a total blast.

Saho gave me a cute little cell phone charm of Hello Kitty at the Umeda Sky Building, which I thought was very sweet. It’s now hanging on my purse until I get back to my cell phone at home. She also called her house and let me talk to her family members to say goodbye. They were so nice to me; I’m going to send them a really nice letter once I get settled back at home.

I didn’t get a seat on the trains or on the bus on the way home, and after so, so much walking today my feet are completely killing me, and I’m about to fall asleep as I write this. I treated myself to a Snickers bar when I got home, because chocolate is a cure for everything. And now it's time for bed.

Seven days. (Geez, I feel like Frank from Donnie Darko.)