Sunday, January 22, 2024

• Still in Osaka, Shinsekai day today!
• Started the morning back at Hoshino Coffee.

• Stopped at a Tokiwa used camera store on our way to the train, as well as having a general explore of the area around our hotel a little more.

• Arrived at Shinsekai New World, which we had never been to before, but found to be completely amazing – strangely retro feeling, lots of tiny shots, and a bit of an old-school vacation destination vibe. Love it!

• We wandered down a random alley and found a tiny retro arcade, no one there whatsoever, but some classic and weird game selections.

• For lunch, we finally got to try a fishing restaurant! We had one in Shinjuku in our planning on an earlier trip, but got lost in Shinjuku station, took the wrong exit, took ages finding the restaurant (this was before Google Maps was as ubiquitous as it is now), then finally found it to learn that they were only doing the fishing experience for dinner, not lunch.
• It was an excellent experience! Took a little while to find the right fish, but was able to hook it, net it, and pull it in! You then hand it off to a chef who prepares it to your liking. We went with nigiri and tempura.

• Beautifully fresh! While we were eating, another (possibly Aussie) couple came in, and the bloke tried to catch their lunch. Try as he might, the poor guy was just having zero success. He tried multiple spots, multiple rods, different nets. I popped over to try to give him some advice, no luck. Some of the Japanese waitstaff came over and tried to offer directions – no luck. Just when the poor guy looked like he was about to throw himself overboard to catch a fish by hand, his girlfriend offered to give it a go. No joke, she had a fish hooked and caught on her first cast, within about 15 seconds of taking control of the rod. It was hilarious, and luckily they both seemed to see the funny side!

• Our our way back to Dotonbori, we came across a Tsutaya store that had a little NJPW pop-up store, so I ducked in to stock up on some more merch….

• Finally, the rest of the day was spent exploring the Dotonbori area.