The most ridiculous fish of all

Sunday we had plans to visit a ring making workshop in the afternoon, but no earlier plans. So we decided to go to the Kaiyukan aquarium in Osaka to see the fish, including whale sharks.

By the time we got there, they were selling timed entry tickets for 12:15 or later. Rather than wait around until then, we bought tickets for 4:30 and went to find air conditioning.

We found it at Osaka station and one of the tracked malls. While there, we happened upon a spontaneous J-Pop performance on a pedestrian bridge!

The ground floor of the shopping center had a craft fair with the products of various makers being sold from booths for much less than typical department store prices. We wandered around admiring the different things.

Soon it was time for our ring making workshop. The studio was a couple of stops away from the station, so we got there quickly and were shown the ropes on how to make our rings.

The rings had options of different textures based on the type of hammer used. The names were onomatopoeias - the style created by a small hammer with a flat screwdriver-like head was called “katakana”, while one made using a flatter hammer with duller strikes is called “pokopoko”.

We were all impressed by the finished product!

Finally it was time to head to the aquarium. We were excited to see this famous aquarium at last! 

We spent several hours exploring tv tanks and looking at the various specimens. The Pacific Ocean tank was especially impressive - it contains two whale sharks, several hammerheads, several other sharks, manta rays, stingrays, and assorted other fish. We agreed that the sunfish was the most ridiculous fish in the tank (and there were two).

On the way back, we stopped at a shooting gallery. This gallery used air-driven rifles to propel corks into targets. It was a setup that puts the shooter at a disadvantage - both Jane and Mio were crack shots, but the impacts didn’t always have enough force to knock down the targets, in at least one case getting stuck on the target without knocking it over. Nevertheless, they knocked down enough targets to win some prizes.

On the way back, we stopped into an insect shop. This shop specialized in rhinoceros beetles, and had several for sale, including some very large ones with pincers in front that resembled a crab’s claw. They were great specimens of evolution and we were impressed.

Once we got back to Dotonbori, we decided to get some dinner. We really wanted okonomiyaki and there was a highly rated restaurant right across from our hotel. We got there and were welcomed in - however since the tables were standing tables only, and the inside temperature was warmer than it was outside, we decided to go somewhere else. We walked over to the densest part of Dotonbori and found an alley with three other recommends spots, all of which had long lines. Finally we gave up and went to a sushi restaurant. It was empty except for us. but hard to say why - the sushi was excellent and the staff were all super friendly and excited to serve us.

We headed back to the hotel after a random and exciting day in Osaka!