I probably didn’t sleep well last night because I didn’t think I was going to sleep well last night. I didn’t like the hotel much and that affected things. I kept hearing weird rumblings like there was a train station closer than it actually was. Maybe it was the subway. This hotel seems a lot better but we’ll see.

Breakfast wasn’t bad. It was no Castle Hotel Fukuyama, but that place is special.

The only real weird thing is the cappuccino machine wouldn’t shut off. I guess if you push the button three times it gives you 3x what you think and somehow it thought I pushed the button three times.

Before I left Kobe I made a quick trip to Ikuta Jinja because, well, it’s kind of my thing.

After that it was off to Osaka. I left my bags at the hotel and took off for Dotombori-ish. I had to go to Nihonbashi and the National Bunraku Theatre to pick up my mom’s calendar like I do every year. Bunraku is her thing. I stopped at the Mizukake Fudou because it’s on the way. It’s a Buddhist statue that people splash with water instead of going normal offerings, and it’s covered in moss.

I wandered around the shopping streets of the area, including Kuromon Ichiba. Everywhere is geared toward Chinese tourists and there’s plenty of them. I see way more Union Pay signs (a Chinese credit card) than Visa. I avoided them by going to places they were unlikely to be, like Yasaka Shrine or the kitchen shopping street.

Even the giant sporting goods store I was looking for has turned into a “tax free” Don Quixote discount store. It still says “Spotaka” on the top but it says “DonQui” on the front.

I made it back to Umeda and started my shopping for the family back home. There’s a short list of things my mom and my sister want and it’s going to take a bit to find it all. Wish me luck.

Oh, here’s where I had dinner.

Because there was live music!

Check out what this girl bought. I asked what it was and she said, “Minion!” I asked what was inside and it was full of popcorn!