Travelling Bunnies - Den-Den, Giant Bugs & Going home (Day 8)

We're home! First thing yesterday we went back to Excelsior Coffee (a bit like a Japanese version of Starbucks) for breakfast. It was the only place we found in Osaka that had a barista and a real espresso machine and didn't charge 400 yen per coffee (which would be almost $6 AUD with the current rate). Ky was super happy because not only was it a real cappucino, it came with choc sprinkles on top.

Yep another picture of food

Extra added bonus for Ky was grossing me out by eating prawns for breakfast (bottom feeders - totally ick). Ky managed to gross me out a lot on this trip by eating prawns, scallops & octopus tentacles whenever she got a chance to.

After a quick stop for last minute gifts and a play on the giant claw machines at a nearby arcade (Ky won me a Gloomy Bear plushie!!!!) we raced back to the hotel to check out & stash our luggage. We had five hours to kill before we had to catch a train back to Kansai airport & we weren't planning on wasting it.

We jumped on the subway to Nipponbashi station near Den-Den town. Den-Den in Osaka is the equivalent of Akihabara in Tokyo - full of electronics, comics, toys and capsule toy stores. At night, the area is lit up like a Christmas tree. During the day it is quite a lot more subdued.

Den Den town looking downright boring during the day

I was trying to hunt down shops that had accessories for my Usaggie doll - shoes in particular. I can make her clothes myself but no way can I make shoes. Ky researched the 'dolly' stores in Den-Den and found a recommendation for Volks. To be honest, it was a huge disappointment. Not much dolly stuff at all and none for Usaggie (or Blythe either). We stopped off for lunch and decided to wander around a bit afterwards.

In Japan, it pays to look up! We were looking down a side street at a huge 'Melonbooks' sign when we spotted this on the roof of a nearby building. No idea why it was there but we thought it was awesome.
 

Good thing we decided to investigate the giant bug too - it lead us to a back street and a stack of anime, toy & capsule toy stores. One of them, Kotobukiya had what I was searching for - Usaggie shoes! We also found that the same items found in stores on this street were way less expensive than those on Sakai-Suji (the main street).

We then wandered off back towards Namba via Doguya-Suji (Kitchen Town) and Dotombori.

Hovering Cow sign

Tako yaki cooking

 

We got back the hotel, collected our luggage and caught the train from Namba back to Kansai Airport. Along the way Ky managed to run over my foot with her luggage - all 35kg of it >_< All I can say is "Heavy fabric is heavy". We must have looked crazy because we were on the train platform laughing ourselves stupid while I hopped around on one foot trying not to cry and Ky kept saying 'Sorry! Sorry!' over and over again. I guess you just had to be there :P

The flight check-in was almost a disaster. Jetstar still had us down as being in Ecomomy even though we paid for upgrades to Business Class. To fix the problem meant that Ky & I may not have been able to sit together. I got stern. My feet were sore, I wanted a shower & I was not in the mood to deal with Jetstar borking our flight up. We needed to be in Business Class for the luggage limits! We were under by less than a kilo (not including our hand luggage). Like I said before, "Heavy fabric is heavy".

0.6kg under luggage allowance!!

Flights finally sorted, we caught the shuttle train (yup the airport is that big) from the main terminal out to our gate and the Jetstar lounge. No showers. They were back at the main terminal! We decided to have a coffee / snack then go back. I dropped by biscuit into my coffee. Made Ky laugh but it wasn't looking like our airport experience was going very well!

After a hot shower (500 yen & totally worth it) we boarded the plane. Our seats were fixed up and we were sitting together again. Business Class is rad. I've always flown Economy & hated it. This was.... incredible. Customer service, free Bailey's, plunger coffee, real food, hot towels, real napkins, real cutlery, free water... did I mention LEG ROOM! Another great thing about Business Class? When your flight is delayed by 2 hours due to engine problems and Japanese Customs won't let you disembark while the repairs are done you get snacks and LEG ROOM and drinks.

We landed at Coolangatta just after 8.30am. I got home around 11.30 and slept for the rest of the day. The Great Unpacking begins tomorrow.

~ Cloud & Ky