It was time to say good bye to Beijing and in a few short hours say hello to Osaka, Japan. Today’s departure was a bit of a sluggish one; rolling out of bed was the first obstacle to overcome. I missed the airport shuttle bus by a matter of only a few seconds. I was running low on time and if I were to catch the next bus I would never have made my flight in time. Cabbing was the only other alternative and I was fortunate to split my costs with another worried traveler who by luck was on the same flight as me. Now I won’t bore you with all the flight time, but I can still remember that exact moment when I first stepped into Kansai Airport. The airport was quiet; there were little other traffic besides our arrival. In the background, the ambient solo of the Shamisen (Japanese 3-stringed banjo) filled the silence. It was like a dash of salt to make the whole experience that much better.
Throughout the entire trip nowhere was I hassled by security, except today in Japan. I admit though, they made it as relaxing and friendly as possible. They were wondering what I was doing travelling through so many Asian countries over such a short period of time. Anyways, I finally actually got to try out Japan’s imfamous washlets. The heated seat by the way – BRILLIANT! I won’t get into the details but it was hard to part ways! I packed my entire luggage into a locker and took a side trip to Ruiku Pleasure Town. Back home I found out that this was where an awesome Plaza Capcom arcade was located. I tried getting myself a tour with Capcom Japan Inc, but after much searching, emails and phone calls, I was out of luck! The mall was my first taste of what Japan had to offer in terms of food and merchandise. From the pictures below you can see there was no shortage of toys. It also couldn’t have been called Pleasure Town without a huge ferris wheel spouting from the center. I was very happy to visit Capcom because they are one of my favorite video game developers. They have treated me to some of the best games ever to come out in my childhood. I hereby thank Capcom for releasing all those phenomenal games which I totally ignored my homework for and scrounged up any bits of time to build the bread and butter of the happiest memories from my childhood! I would also like to thank Plaza Capcom for not selling any souvenirs because I would’ve wiped them clean and simulatenously emptied my wallet!
I returned back to the airport to pick up my luggage and caught a subway which dropped me off across the street from my hotel. The railway system took some getting used to at first, but thankfully a lot of the signs and information were in English. At the hotel, the night came to a natural end with a well deserved hot bath and subsequently dozing off to Japanese games shows. It doesn’t matter who you are and what language you speak, plant anybody in front of a Japanese game show and it’s impossible not to laugh!
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