Twenty-fifth, twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh days in Japan

Dotombori at night

 

Thursday

Thursday morning from our room on the 7th floor of the Tottori Washington Hotel Plaza 鳥取ワシントンホテルプラザ. Still raining...:

A pair of local specialties available to try as part of the hotel's breakfast buffet. On the left is Ago Chikuwa あごちくわ, or flying fish fishcake; on the right, Tōfu Chikuwa とうふちくわ, or tofu fishcake: 

Tottori's 鳥取's most popular attraction (perhaps the only reason non-business travelers pay a visit to the capital of Japan's smallest prefecture by population) is the Tottori-sakyū 鳥取砂丘, more than ten kilometers of sand dunes stretching along the Sea of Japan 日本海 coast about five kilometers from the city center. And our gratitude went out to the kami for easing up on the rain long enough for us to get a taste of the dunes:

And when it did start pouring down buckets of water again, we retreated into the nearby Sand Museum 砂の美術館. I wasn't expecting much, but the collection of sand sculptures (based around the theme of ancient Egypt) was amazing. So much craftsmanship put into works of art that will literally be destroyed and then reformed to conform with next year's theme:

The 2nd floor of the museum has photographs of works from past exhibitions:

Franz Kafka in sand:

Returning to the city, we had a delicious and surprisingly affordable lunch (only ¥1200, or fewer than USD$9 at current exchange rates) at an Asian eatery close to the southern exit of the train station:

Train services were suspended for the day due to heavy rain in the San-in region 山陰地方, so the decision was made to cancel our booking at what was supposed to be our penultimate destination on this trip, Kinosaki Onsen 城崎温泉, and spend another night in Tottori instead. The remainder of the afternoon was spent wandering the quiet streets of central Tottori, with Amber gleefully amassing a collection of Made in Japan stationery goodies at one lucky merchant's:

Our new room at the Tottori Washington Hotel Plaza was on the ninth floor, just two stories above our previous twin room, meaning the view we had was slightly more expansive: 

Still feeling somewhat full from lunch, for dinner we opted for a light meal at McDonald's マクドナルド, where I resolved to try a Japan-specific menu item. The choice came down to one of the two Samurai Mac サムライマック burgers, ultimately opting for the Roasted Soy Sauce Double-Thick Beef Burger 炙り醤油風ダブル肉厚ビーフ, complete with sword-like cleft in the bun. This would prove to be the only disappointing meal of the entire trip, as I found the whole concoction to be too saucy (the girl stuck with tried-but-true Chicken McNuggets):

All over Tottori can be found references to the Hare of Inaba 因幡の白兎, myths dating back to the ancient province of Inaba:

A decapitated Inari 稲荷 statue at a local shrine:

Yodoe umbrellas 淀江傘 are a local handicraft:

A Thursday evening nightcap back in the room:

Friday

The weather had improved considerably from the day before...:

…but the trains were sill not running:

No problem, as the previous day I had booked two seats on an expressway bus going from Tottori to Namba Station なんば駅 in Ōsaka 大阪:

Final glimpses of the Japanese countryside as our bus headed toward Japan's third-largest city by population:

Pit stop along the expressway:

My daughter was quite taken with this truck parked next to our bus at the service area:

After almost a three hour-long ride, the bus entered Osaka, passing by the Bank of Japan's Ōsaka Branch 日本銀行大阪市電:

We dropped our bags off at our hotel, and went out for lunch:

A variation on Taco Rice タコライス, an Okinawa 沖縄 favorite:

Riding the subway to Umeda Station 梅田駅, and an unflattering candid shot of her father taken by Amber:

First stop was the Hanshin Department Store 阪神百貨店 to buy some more Hanshin Tigers 阪神タイガーズ merch:

The area immediately around Osaka 大阪駅 and Umeda Stations seems more gargantuan in size with every visit:

Our second stop was the Umeda Sky Building 梅田スカイビル, for a view of the metropolis from 170 meters/558 feet up:

Checking into the hotel, and watching some of the action from the Day 7 Nagoya Basho 名古屋場所:

The view from our 10th-floor room at the Hearton Hotel Shinsaibashi ハートンホテル心斎橋:

Are these Astro Boy 鉄腕アトム figures telling us to "fuck off"?:

A vending machine selling drinks for only ¥100. I would buy a can of UCC coffee the next morning before our departure:

It was Amber's idea to have food ending in "-yaki" for dinner. Takoyaki たこ焼き...:

… Tonpeiyaki とん平焼き…:

...and Okonomiyaki お好み焼き:

All the above dishes were enjoyed at Tako Tako King タコタコキング, one of these friendly places where you wish you could be a regular:

We couldn't spend time in Osaka without taking the girl to see the night lights of Dōtombori 道頓堀, starting with the view from the Ebisu-bashi 戎橋 bridge:

My first time in a Don Quixote ドン・キホーテ, and most likely my last:

The Glico グリコ man has been present in the area in some form or another since1935:

Another famous landmark is the giant mechanical crab looming above the entrance to Kani Dōraku Honten かに道楽本店:

Alas, the mechanical clown is now gone, replaced with a souvenir shop inside the Nakaza Cuidaore Building 中座くいだおれビル:

I used to smoke Mild Seven マイルドセブン, which for some unfathomable reason has been rebranded as Mevius メビウス:

Hōzen-ji Yokochō 法善寺横丁:

The Fudō Myōō 不動明王 statue at Hōzen-ji 法善寺, somewhat mossy in appearance after being splashed with water over the years:

Dessert in a retro café:

Saying goodnight to Osaka:

Saturday

Triangle Park 三角公園 in the heart of Amerika-Mura アメリカ村. The night before it was full of tourists and young Japanese, drinking and smoking while deciding where to go next. On this morning people were already lining up in the heat and humidity for an event being set up behind the screens:

At Kansai International Airport 関西国際空港, waiting for our flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport 桃園國際機場:

And so, after 27 days, came to an end my longest single trip to Japan. I'll be here in Taichung 台中 until this Saturday, before returning to Beijing 北京 and work. Final thoughts will be put into another past following my return to China's capital, but thanks for following along as Amber and I made our way from Tōkyō to Osaka, and many points inbetween.

またね！