Business tripping in Osaka (さらに少し遊び時間）

For the last 3 weeks, I have been called to work out in Osaka. I have been to Osaka a few times recently for work, but this is the first time in a while that I have come to Osaka and stay for a period of time, and actually have some free time here.

I'm still not used to the Kansai-dialect, but fortunately my Kanto dialect is enough to get me by, and most shops use the official "Tokyo-dialect". I know people say Kansai-folk are generally more friendly, but I don't know if it's a case of being friendly, or just simply more expressive (for better or worse). 

I had a long overdue catchup with some friends in Osaka, where we hanged out for lunch. As they knew of my current condition, they picked out a nice restaurant that served a lot of vegetables. I ordered a ginger pork dish that came with a nice serving of steamed veggies among other sides.

I also took the opportunity to take a look around Nanba and DenDenTown. I wasn't after anything in particular there, as I was just curious what has changed since I last went there about 6 or so years back. I don't know if it's because I recently decided to stop purchasing gunpla/toys or because I have already lived in Japan for more than 8 years now, but I just didn't care for it at all this time. I suspect it's a combination of both - though maybe more of the latter in that it's very easy for me to buy what I want in Japan online or physical stores, regardless of where I am in the country these days. The previous times I went to DenDen Town, it felt more like it was one of the very few chances I could shop and get many of the things I really want. When I went there with a friend on holiday back in 2013 and visited there in 2014 during my year of study in Japan, it was like a dream, and I could buy what I wanted because I knew that upon returning to Australia, those things I wanted would be very difficult to find or expensive to purchase.

Another thing that I noticed in Osaka is that there is Cinnabon cafe here. This is the first time I have seen a Cinnabon in Japan at all, as I have never seen any in Kanto - or at least Tokyo and Saitama areas. I did go to Cinnabon in the Philippines, and it was way too sweet for me (which says a lot as I like sweet things). Not sure if it's just an American thing, but it was way too rich for me to completely finish, and I know that the minibon I had at the time is the smallest cinnamon bun one can purchase. I'm not sure if the sweetness has been dialled back for Cinnabon in Japan, but I am in no rush to find out. 

Also, last week Konami released IIDX 32 Pinky Crush. Not a fan of the overly Pink colour theme (I personally like Epolis' theme better to be honest), and I tried some of the new songs, including Bling Bang Bang Born, which was a surprisingly popular song a few months ago, and I wasn't expect this song (or at least, a cover of this song to show up in a Bemani game. Though I only played on Hyper, it had few patterns that I am not quite used to yet, but was able to pass on my first try with not too much trouble.

In the meantime, my regular gym has many branches in the area, with one that I went to yesterday a few stops away from the hotel I am staying. There are several more along the way to central Osaka, but chances are that depending on the time of day I go, it can get very busy. It is a refreshing change to have easy access to my regular gym when I am on my business trips compared to my time in rural Hyogo earlier this year.

Not sure how long I will be working out here, though my employer is hoping to have me back in the office soon. In the meantime, I will just take some time to explore more of Osaka on my own on the weekend.

The End of Gundam Cafe

Just a few days ago, it had been announced that the Gundam Cafe chain will be permanently closing all of its locations in Akihabara, Osaka, Fukuoka, Odaiba and Yokohama. Apparently, the Osaka branch will be closing January 10, 2022, followed by the Akihabara, Fukuoka and Odaiba branches closing January 30, 2022. Yokohama's branch on the other hand, will be closing March 30, the same time as the Gundam Factory facility located there.

While I have not been to the Gundam Cafe for one reason or another, I feel I should probably go to one at some point before their closure. Likewise, for any Gundam fan, or person who is curious that lives in Japan, now may be a good time to consider visiting one of these Gundam cafes before they shut down early next year.

Sources:

GUNDAM Café 閉店のお知らせ | ガンダムカフェ 公式サイト (g-cafe.jp) 

End of the line for Gundam Cafe as entire chain announces permanent closure - Japan Today

The Art of Gundam

Yesterday, I went to Osaka to see the Art of Gundam exhibition that's running until the end of this month. For the advertising and the pamphlet that a friend picked up for me a few weeks back, it's mostly centered around the original Mobile Suit Gundam (機動戦士ガンダム) series that sparked a massive franchise. Also, it seems to serve the purpose of celebrating 35 years of Gundam.

Admittedly, while I do know what happens in the series, I haven't watched much of that particular series (though I have watched others in the Universal Century timeline that MSG is a part of). Nevertheless, I found it very interesting. Before you go checking out all the various artwork, you start off going in to an introduction session that funnily enough resembles the bridge of the White Base, with Mirai Yashima steering the ship, Sayla Mass at communications, and Bright Noa right behind you in the Captain's chair issuing orders. All is normal, until you start hearing warning alarms, and red lights flashing that the White Base is under attack by the Red Comet himself, Char Aznable, and a small force of Zeon Mobile Suits. Then you hear Amuro over the comm, and see the RX-78-2 Gundam launch trying to fend of the Zakus, while also trying to stop Char from taking a shot at the White Base's bridge. Eventually, Bright Noa issues the command to descend in to Earth's atmosphere, but Amuro and the Gundam can't reach the hangar in time, and decide to ride it out and manage to break through the atmosphere. You would think they were in the clear, until you hear that a number of Zeon ships have been spotted ahead. Amuro, in the Gundam, pulls out his beam saber, and rushes head on to face the enemy ships, ending on a cliffhanger with the Gundam theme song playing, and showing the 35 year anniversary logo. Then you move along to the art gallery sections.

It was actually very interesting to see the various concept designs of the characters, and the mecha themselves. I really couldn't imagine how things would have turned out if some of the older designs were used instead of the ones that all Gundam fans are so familiar with today. There were also scenery concepts, and I must admit that the scenery designs were amazing, despite being done years ago. Furthermore, there were some promotional artwork designs, and Gundam dioramas that depicted key moments in the MS Gundam series. Finally, at the end of the tour, they were showing a movie that summed up 35 years worth of Gundam, along with a teaser trailer of the new Gundam series starting later this year Gundam Renconguista in G (Ｇのレコンギスタ）。In that same area, they were also showing off some of the designs of the setting of the series (taking place after the UC timeline called the Regild Century), including scenery, character designs and mecha designs, including the main Gundam, called the G-Self, and even showed some HG models of the G-Self, and what seems to be a grunt mobile suit. The design of the G-Self was very intriguing, in that it's very rounded in its features overall - however, it looks like it's taken elements from not only the RX-78-2 Gundam, but also the Strike/Impulse Gundams from Gundam Seed (especially when the G-Self is equipped with its flight pack), the head design reminds me of the Exia from Gundam 00, and for some reason it reminds me of the AGE-1 Gundam from Gundam Age, though a little more detailed in design. It certainly is a very unique design. However, the grunt suits that I've seen really did not seem interesting compared to other grunt suits of the UC timeline. In fact, they kind of remind of the plain designs of the federation grunt suits from Gundam AGE. However, it's too early to say how the series will turn out, so I'll save my judgement until the series begins to air.

Anyway, after seeing the artwork, I look around the souvenir shop. I was planning to buy the MG transparent versions of either the RX-78-2 or Char's custom Zaku but, sadly, they were sold out. There wasn't really anything that I wanted that wasn't overpriced, so I settled on some post cards, including one that had Bright Noa delivering his famous slap to Amuro Ray. There was also the Gundam Cafe nearby, but I didn't go for two reasons: 1) it was crowded in there, and 2)I've heard a lot of bad things about the Gundam cafe, including that it was overpriced, and not all that good. I did some other things afterwards, but that's not what this post is about.

If you're in Japan, a Gundam fan, and have some time to spare, I recommend checking out The Art of Gundam Museum in Osaka, as it's running until the 31/8. Details can be found their website (here)