Day 7 Part 2 - Osaka (大阪) Umeda (梅田)

We checked into our hotel, which is the Hotel Sunroute Umeda (ホテルサンルート梅田):

Hotel lobby - although still classified as a "business" hotel, this one seems a cut above in quality compared to the one we stayed in Tokyo:

When I checked in, I discovered they had allocated us "American" rooms - these are supposed to be larger than the ones typical for Japanese hotels. I discovered when we entered the room there was another reason why it's called an "American" room - it's decorated in Americana:

I especially liked the American car plates:

And the bathroom was quite large by Japanese standards - I didn't have to hit my elbow against the wall whenever I turned:

Despite the American style decor, I pity the poor Western fool (the previous phrase must be read aloud with a "Mr. T" style voice) who has to figure out how to use the air-conditioner (or the toilet bowl):

We took a walk towards Umeda (梅田), which is one of the main commercial and shopping districts in Osaka. On the way, we passed through the Umeda Arts Center (梅田芸術劇場):

This is the overhead rail track that leads into Umeda Station:

And on the way, we encountered a fire engine (we found later that our hotel was directly opposite the fire station, because they received a call in the middle of the night and we heard the sirens!):

There's a small shrine near here, the Tsunashikiten Shrine (綱敷天神社):

This is the NU Chayamachi shopping centre:

View from the balcony on the other side - not exactly pretty, but a good illustration of how dynamic the Osaka landscape is:

This is another shopping centre that is adjoined to Hankyu station - it's called the Hankyu Sanbangai:

There is also a Kiddyland here (don't worry, this is not the only photo - will do a photo tour soon!):

Yodobashi has a really huge store right next to the JR Osaka station:

Pictures from the pedestrian bridge:

There is also Daimaru department store next to the station - here is the clock sculpture at the entrance:

Canon advertisement for the IXY 20IS - we ended up buying this Camera! It's a really nice compact camera that takes great pictures:

The Nakai Guitar Shop -  note the Hello Kitty guitar on the lower right:

I can't believe how expensive some of the guitars were - for example the gold Fender is 780,000円 (or approximately A$8000 at that time):

Umeda in late evening:

People queuing up at the Umeda Arts Center (obviously, there was a performance that night):

Map of Umeda area:

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Full album on Picasa:

[2008-04-16] Japan - Umeda