Post #22 (14.05.14) >> Den Den Town, Namba Parks, & Shinsekai ***NSFW***

After breakfast, Trevor and I kept walking and ended up in neighbouring geektastic nerdgasmo Den Den Town in Nipponbashi.

This shopping district is full of electronic stores, it also has maid cafes and shops upon shops of anime merchandise and cosplay goods.

Hard job refilling the vending machines

Paul left us earlier at the market to have his own breakfast, buy some stuff then catch up with the other two.

We were gonna meet up here in Den Den Town but he said they were at the main section of Den Den town whilst we were at the fringe.

This being the case we decided to keep moving to our next area, Namba Parks !

Namba Parks is an office and shopping complex located in Namba, south of Dotonburi.
The 30 storey office tower building is called Parks Tower and the mall has 120 stores and a rooftop park.

The park gradually ascends eight levels of the mall.
It gives shoppers the feeling that they are standing high on a mountain top amongst nature when they’re actually right in the middle of the city.

It is an oasis in the city where people can enjoy trees and flowers while taking a walk, providing an escape from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Below the rooftop park, a gradiated “canyon” carves a path through the mall, as patrons stroll past shops, entertainment spots and restaurants.

Pet store on level 3 !!!

Cat will love this little kicked out bunny !

Baby Fugu ?

Lovebirds in a tiny cage ???

Young Cockatiel ! Makes me miss my boy Birdy back home

What the fuck is that ???!??!??

People chilling

Now to the real reason for the visit to Namba Parks... Lacoste on the Third floor.

I was hoping this store would have size 5 of the two polos that I couldn't buy from Daimaru Shinsaibashi.

I convinced Trevor and Paulie to buy something too !
Trevor chose a white polo with black dots, whilst Paul was talked into the exclusive Japan only camoflauge polo.

She had to strip the dummy to get his size

Shopping done !
Bye bye Namba Parks !

Poor business men returning to the towers after lunch

In an effort to discover everything Osaka has to offer we continued down further south to Shinsekai by train but first, a Maccas snack.

Shinsekai is one of Osaka's most interesting neighbourhoods, it has a colorful history and has remained largely untouched over the years.
It was developed in 1912, its streets were modelled after New York and Paris.

Shinsekai is known for Jan-Jan Yokocho Street.

It is a popular dining & shopping street with about 50 stores including souvenir shops, pachinko parlours, japanese pubs and kushi-katsu restaurants
Kushi-katsu is skewered meat or vegetables dipped in egg, flour, panko and then deep fried in vegetable oil.

These "deep fried kebab" sticks are then dipped in sauce once before eating, no double dipping ! ^_^.

The main attraction of this old world area is the Tsuten-kaku tower.
The tower was built in 1912 as part of the Luna Park amusement park drawing inspiration from the Eiffel Tower.
At the time, it was the second tallest structure in Asia at 60 meters.
The park was closed in 1925 and the tower was damaged in WWII.
It was dismantled for its iron for the war effort.
In 1956 it was reconstructed, measuring 103 metres tall.

Nowadays, the tower is used as a billboard for Hitachi.

At night, the entire tower is lit in 6 colours using LED light. 

The combination of colours at the top of the tower signifies the weather whilst illuminating the night sky.

Shinsekai is an interesting (read touristy) place to visit.
It has loads of cheap restaurants, souvenir shops, mahjong clubs and pachinko parlors + charismatic locals.

New BMW Z4 + parking space device beside it

Next up, back on the train for shopping @ Orange Street and Amemura.