Sometimes a day doesn’t go anything like you expected it to. Sometimes that’s a bad thing, but today it was a great thing.
Kuniko picked me up in her car a little after noon, and we hit the road. Originally we had thrown around the idea of going to Himeji and looking around there a little bit. Kuniko had other ideas, however. We decided to drive into Osaka and have some fun there.
A while back Kuniko had told me that at Universal Studios Japan they have the tallest Christmas tree in Japan. We decided to go check it out. We took our time getting there, and both of us went through our first drive-thru in Japan to get lunch.
Finally we arrived, and the place was packed. We parked so far away – it was a 15-20 minute walk just to get to the entrance. The good news was that they had a special for people showing up late in the day – a little over half price to get in. We took advantage of that and started walking around. Unfortunately, as soon as we got in it started to sprinkle. Also the lines were pretty long, with the longest wait time at 150 minutes.
But did we let it get us down? No! We bought a cheap umbrella, walked around people watching, did the Backdraft ride which was only a 20 minute wait, and finally wrapped up our visit with a trip to the tallest Christmas tree in Japan. They had a lighting ceremony at 5:45, and I’ll admit that it was very impressive. They had a Japanese boy band singing at the start of the ceremony, and the lights of the tree were timed with their song – it was pretty good.
I hadn’t planned well since I thought we’d be local. I didn’t bring my camera or my phone on this trip so I can only let you imagine the sight of the tallest Christmas tree in Japan.
We left the park around 6:30 or so, and went across the way to eat dinner at Bubba Gump’s Shrimp Company, a guilty favorite of mine from America. We ate big and the food was really good. We sat and enjoyed the seafood and the servers didn’t bug us too much like they tend to do in American Bubba Gump restaurants.
At one point a guy in a Santa Claus suit walked by outside, working the crowds and waving to everyone. This was a foreign guy like me, and I couldn’t help but wonder what career choices put him in a Santa suit in Japan this holiday season, and how close my career path might run to his. The guy stopped at the window outside our table and waved to us, and then smiled under his fake beard at me and pointed a finger pistol at me before being ushered off by his helper.
Filled with shrimp and all Gumped out, we made the long trek back to the car in the rain. Good news – only one umbrella, so it was a great way to stay close to each other on the way back.
Still feeling a little adventurous, we got in the car and drove across the bridge to a couple of big building complexes that we had noticed a couple of times in the past. The buildings from a distance look like part of a giant cartoon castle. It reminds me of modern art, Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, and Aladdin’s Castle all in one. Up close there was nothing to change that impression.
We both were kind of creeped out by the buildings, empty but lit up, strangely painted walls and towers built to look like half tree, half stone. I noticed a tree growing out of one of the windows on the side of the building. The signs in front of the building said that it was for a construction company, but it seemed like more than that. I can’t begin to do it justice by describing it – it’s surreal and is too big to be a joke.
Kuniko and I got out of there in a hurry and we headed back home. Kuniko dropped me off and went home, but then found my sunglasses in the car and drove all the way back here to give them to me. It gave me a chance to exchange gifts with her parents. I sent a bunch of cream and raisin filled pastries, and they sent back some chocolate, a homegrown radish and some shitake mushrooms, and a gigantic apple. Kuniko invited me to spend New Year’s Day with her family in Kakogawa. That should be a lot of fun.
I’m off to bed – I’ve got classes tomorrow on a strange schedule. I’m not sure how it works, but I guess I’ll figure it out when I get there!
