I arrived in Osaka at 3pm today. I’m staying at the Osaka Shiritsu Nagai Youth Hostel near Shinosaka station. It’s a very well maintained and modern hostel, complete with wireless internet, which I’m using to tell you my stories.

I accepted a suggestion to go check out the HEP FIVE Ferris wheel. It’s a fancy Ferris wheel on top of a 9 story shopping complex. I say fancy because the cars are shiny, red, and air conditioned. Next to this massive commercial building are a couple other very similar buildings, but without the Ferris wheel on top. HEP is a serious shopping endeavor.

After I got to Osaka, I needed a few hours to eat, rehydrate, plan, and relax. I didn’t really get out and about until 6pm. To get to HEP, I took the subway to Umeda Station. I realized I was still hungry, thirsty, and I needed that other sort of drink as well. I went wandering around looking for an exciting bar nestled between the love hotels and hostess bars. I wanted a place that was stylish, intimate, not exorbitantly expensive, and looked like I might be able to get a pescatarian meal. After about an hour, I stumbled across a sign for do with cafe. It looked like it might be all of these and it didn’t have a table or cover charge. Table charges are my pet peeve. You have to pay a fee (about the price of one drink) just to patronize most bars in Japan. And most bars won’t tell you they have a table charge until you’re leaving and your bill is suddenly a lot more expensive than you expected. (more…)