After getting acclimated to Japan and a few days of classes, we finally had a free day. I started my day the right way by sleeping in. Of course, the fun didn't start until later tonight, as we'll get to that.
Getting a not-so-traditional Japanese breakfast of donuts and coffee with my friends, I met up with my parents at our hotel as they have recently arrived in Osaka. First, we go visit the nearby Namba Jinja shrine. Not to be confused with the more popular Namba Jinja lion shrine, you can learn more about it in my travel guidebook entry. Regardless, we took in the scenery, did a prayer, and my mom gave me a charm for luck. Juxtaposing ancient Japan with not so ancient Italy, we stopped by the nearby Ferrari store to get a picture with the Formula 1 car.
Moving on, my family requested that I show them around Osaka castle, making it my third visit to the beautiful site. We didn't go inside, as we saw the line and decided the outside is fine enough. Every time I walk into the castle grounds, I imagine how difficult it would be to invade. After all, it's what it was built for.
Meanwhile, I decide to show my little brother some more modern Japanese culture through the figure museum. We had a good time there, although he's not a gargantuan nerd (like myself). We played some of the gacha machines for a cat figure to bring back home, since we have a pet cat.
Leaving the figure museum, we go visit the shrine on the castle grounds. I have not been there before, as the group didn't visit it either. It is called Hokoku Shrine, and it's particularly nice, and out of the way from the crowds for the most part.
However, the main attraction for my day wasn't until later at night. Since I was busy all day today (July 8th, my birthday), we decided to celebrate it early at a secret bar called "Deepening." Down a few narrow and sketchy alleyways, it was tough to find, but we immediately noticed the submarine hatch standing out among the regular buildings. Opening it revealed expertly designed submarine interior, resembling a U-boat if anything (if anyone has seen Das Boot, you can imagine what I'm talking about). It was cramped and covered in countless greebles and details, like walking into a human scale kitbash model. The walls were decorated in pipes, cable, valves, analog switches, an old sonar detector, and even a rotary phone. The atmosphere was incredibly unique, and the bar was the exact right size for my group. Most just had coke or water, but me and Rahm had a bottle of Asahi each, followed by a shot of sake to celebrate. I was a little disappointed it was just us two drinking sake, but we soon found out the hard way that sake is upwards of 20% alcohol by volume!
On the bright side, I did have my first shot. I don't think I did it right but it was fun anyway. After footing the bill, we hit a sushi conveyor belt and I had some shark. It was good! After that we had to call it a night, since we knew we would be busy in Kyoto tomorrow. (As of writing this, I already went to Kyoto. Good call, we were busy!)
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