Ever since I got interested in travel blogging, one of the things that piqued my curiosity were the stories of those brave travellers who would go into unfamiliar countries and explore them on their own. I admired how they could find the courage to be immersed in an environment that was foreign and manage it all by themselves.
Since I’m a bit of a lone wolf myself, solo travel is something that I dream of doing, but many inhibitions and limitations prevent me from doing it. So I thought this is something I could do step-by-step, and the first step I took was by doing a ‘solo day’ in our trip to Osaka, Japan.
Shinsaibashi station
My solo day was on 5 September 2015. My agenda for the day was a bit of shopping and exploring Dotonbori and Amerika-mura, and Shinsaibashi was the perfect place for that, since it was a renowned shopping area, and because of its location right between both Dotonbori and Amerika-mura.
I took the subway from Dobutsuen-mae station to Shinsaibashi station, and the moment I got off the subway, I was amazed by how pretty it was. Shinsaibashi looked different from the other areas of Osaka we’d gone to so far, and there were lots of huge shops and tall buildings everywhere you looked.
Daimaru is a Japanese department store, and in Shinsaibashi, there are several HUGE buildings of Daimaru side-by-side.
After walking for a while, I found myself in Shinsaibashi-suji, and I spotted a Uniqlo and H&M store on opposite sides of each other, and lots of tourists who looked like they had done a bit of shopping themselves too. Shinsaibashi-suji is a loooong (and I mean long, it spanned several streets) arcade with more stores than you can imagine. If you’re looking to do a bit of shopping, I’m sure the stores in Shinsaibashi-suji will fill your needs.
Walking the entire length of Shinsaibashi-suji would lead you to Dotonbori, another popular tourist spot which I also went to, but that’s going to be a post for another day. 😉 Instead, I had roamed around a bit more in the nearby areas of Shinsaibashi.
I’m not sure what this building is, but the statue caught my eye so I took a photo of it.
That’s a pretty tree.
Like Daimaru, Tokyu Hands (note, that’s TokyU, not TokyO 😛 ) is another shop with several different items being sold inside. It’s divided by floor, with each floor having its own specialty of items. If you’re a fan of Copic Markers, you can get your markers here, at the top floor, the floor dedicated to artist materials.
Shinsaibashi has a few of these seemingly randomly-placed statues all over. Spotting them as you walk by is a pleasant surprise.
This was on one of the streets away from Midosuji, the main boulevard of Shinsaibashi.
Looks like a church, which is a rare find in Osaka and elsewhere in Japan, I think.
Back to Midosuji
Shinsaibashi is also dotted with buildings and shops of different Western brands, and it was nice walking around and seeing several familiar names.
Another unusual thing I spotted in Shinsaibashi was a building with a huge Roy Lichtenstein-like comic in front of it. I didn’t know what it was, but I thought it was pretty cool and eye-catching.
A bit closer
One more unusual thing I spotted while walking around in Shinsaibashi was this really cool-looking place. I think it was a cafe or a restaurant, and I had to do a double-take when I saw the huge Totoro display in front.
Looks pretty cool, eh?
Totoro!
And that’s it for my walk around Shinsaibashi! I really enjoyed the experience, and being alone helped me blend amongst the people and made me feel like a local, which I think is one of the best things you can experience when visiting a country.
At one point, there was even a Japanese guy who approached me, and asked me in Japanese where the nearest barbershop was. I had to tell him in my best Japanese (and by ‘my best’, that’s not saying much) that I didn’t live in Osaka and that I wasn’t Japanese, and had to apologise that I couldn’t help him out. So I guess you can say that’s a success for blending in like a local since I got mistaken for one! 😛
Lastly, here’s a short (and shaky) video I took while walking in Shinsaibashi. It’s not really a very good video but if you want to feel like you’re walking there, I’ve got you covered!
Shinsaibashi can be reached through the Midosuji line of the subway. Most shops in and around Shinsaibashi are open from 11:00 until 21:00.
Jen is Going Where? 