Japan 2015: Isshin-ji, Shinsekai and (sunset watching attempt at) Umeda Sky Building

Since we had time to kill before our plan to watch sunset at Umeda Sky Building after visiting Osaka-jo, we decided to head to 新世界 (Shinsekai) to have a look at the area and also the Tsūtenkaku.

En route to Shinsekai we stumbled upon a Buddhist temple called 一心寺(Isshin-ji..One Heart Temple?).

The first thing that me were these two statues at the entrance, which looked really intimidating and somewhat scary. Makes me wonder if they had ever scared people away from entering the temple LOL.

The translation of the description from the board above:

ISSHINJI Temple was founded in 1185 by HOHNEN SHONIN who was the founder of the Jyodo denomination of Buddhism. Today, this temple has become widely known for its "OKOTUBUTU" the Buddha statue made out of the ashes of the dead

WTF now only I know about this. When I took the picture of this board I didn't bother reading.

Therefore I have no idea which statue is that. #uselessblogger

so pretty!

I went up to the main hall to do some prayers. The temple prepared plastic bags for you to keep your footwear instead of letting people leave them at the bottom of the stairs outside the hall. After you're done you can just return the plastic bag into the bin prepared.

So no worries of losing your shoes or temple having headache with messy pile of footwear.

funeral session at the left side

I really like this temple and I'm glad Loo Loo suggested for us to go in. It has a modern feel to it compared to the other temples I have been too.

Shinsekai is about less than 10 minutes walk from Isshin-ji.

The Tsūtenkaku, which literally means "tower reaching heaven"

Besides the tower, I read that people recommended this place to have kushikatsu (deep-fried food on skewers).

planking taken to the next level

We were quite hungry but it was hard to choose a place to eat. So we ended up in this cafe called DEN-EN.

I think it was visited by one of the EXILE members because there photos of him and also his autograph.

The cafe didn't have an English menu but we survived reading katakana LOL.

meat sauce omurice

Overall the food was quite yummy and the portion was quite big, but I would recommend people to try the kushikatsu restaurants in the area.

We walked towards the other end of the street (with the Tsūtenkaku) and discovered more restaurants, mostly serving kushikatsu. Also spotted this figure:

Billiken = The God of Things As They Ought to Be

If you think he is some sort of Japanese God then you're mistaken. He was brought in from the USA! He was created by an art teacher and illustrator who saw him in a dream.

Ok. He reminds me of the Laughing Buddha, though the latter seems happier. :P

Ok I was happy to see a tall can of Coca-Cola only to find out that Malaysia also has.
Proves that I don't take soft drinks that often!

We went to look around at a spa/beauty centre but the prices were expensive so we decided to start our journey to Umeda Sky Building, only to come across a HUGE Don Quijote on our way to the subway station.

GOODNESS GRACIOUS THEY HAVE EVERYTHING!

It was my first time in a Don Quijote so I was really shocked.

From clothes to electrical appliances to cosmetics/skincare, supplements.. It's a wonder how one can NOT go crazy in Don Quijote. Kristen even bought a refrigerator from the store in Okinawa! :3

look at these two

Then off to Umeda Sky Building! Unfortunately I don't remember how we got there but I suspect it was from Shin-Imamiya-eki to Umeda-eki, and we walked out through Yodobashi.

I didn't get a chance to go up the building the first time I came here to take the Willer Express bus to Fukuoka.

heehee

we didn't go to the exhibition

To get to the Floating Garden Observatory, you need to go up to the 35th floor, and then use the "air escalator" to the 39th floor to purchase your JPY800 ticket.

going up the escalator

Here's a short video of us taking the elevator (if not mistaken from 5th floor?) and the escalator.

Besides the ticket counter, there is also a souvenir shop on the 39th floor.

From the 39th floor, you will go up to the 40th floor which will provide you a 360-degree view of the area surrounding the building.

superlike the private seats :3

There's also a cafe for you to sit and chill while enjoying the view.

Then you can proceed by stairs to the rooftop to enjoy some fresh air, 170 metres high from the ground LOL

Sky Walk

everyone was trying to catch a glimpse of the sunset

For you lovebirds who want to seal, lock and throw away the keys to your relationship, please proceed to do so here at the Heart Lock Fence.

the Heart Lock Fence

Can sit at the red seats to take photos. No worries if you don't have selfie sticks or friends to help you take photo, there's a platform for you to place your photography devices.

We couldn't catch the sunset though. It was cloudy.

So we went down after spending some time just enjoying the view.

look at these two, even the way they stand is similar haha

Stopped by a convenience store before returning to our apartment.

I got sucked into buying this Kirin Bitters after watching the advert many times on the TV. It was a good decision! I loved it MALAYSIA Y U NO HAVE?! And Nissin cup noodles.. is a must in Japan! Even though now I realised that the noodles were too soft for my liking.

I like my noodles hard.

#closetalcoholicatwork

Kristen gave us to try some sea grapes!

Reminded me of ebiko/tobiko/ikura. They were slightly salty and are eaten with the dressing provided. According to a friend these can be found in Sabah too!

Ended the day with pasting these babies bought from Don Quijote. I think I walked more than 10,000 steps everyday while in Japan.

But I didn't come back lighter #fml.

Next up: Revisiting Nara!