Oz Mall: Open Air Mall Experience

Japanese Required: None to moderate depending on shopping

The Oz Mall is an open air mall located a short walk from Ozone station. The street is lined with a multitude of different shops, ranging from shoe stores to floral shops. To walk down the entire way and enjoy everything can take anywhere between ten minutes to half an hour or more depending on your interest. The main reason this is called Oz Mall actually has little to do with Ozone: there are several statues featuring scenes from The Wizard of Oz.

There are many statues of Dorothy, of course, but the one that I found most interesting was actually a little bit out of the way. Most of the statues are straight down along the street, but the one above was to the side and placed amidst a gorgeous display of flowers. I found it to be the best of the statues due to the pretty background. Aside from the statues, there were other displays of artistry (not least of which is the Oz Mall sign itself).

A prime example of this would definitely have to be a mural that was painted on the side of a three story floral shop. It was closed at the time that I went there, so I don't know how many of the floors are accessible to customers, but the mural was amazing. I've seen a few mural art paintings before, but most of them did not have the same  style. In my opinion, this was the most interesting of the things that can be seen at Oz Mall.

Overall, it was a pleasant experience, and the location lends itself especially well to someone interested in taking their significant other out on a date. The atmosphere is relaxed, and it's possible to have a leisurely walk around and explore a multitude of various stores before deciding to have a light snack at a cake shop / cafe or a full meal at a nearby restaurant.

Nagoya Castle: Modernized, but Historical

Japanese Required: Minimal
Cost: 500 yen for adults, free for junior high children or younger, with discounts for groups of 30 or 100
Good for: Groups, people interested in history, people that like art

Nagoya castle, despite its age, is not considered by many people I talk to as being a worthwhile place to go to because it has been renovated and changed. However, after having gone there, I believe it's still a great place. The major difference between Nagoya castle and other castles is it doesn't have the same feeling of age. This is contrasted with slightly more comfort, and the castle itself is reminiscent of a museum. When walking around the grounds, there's not many hints of the modernization that has happened elsewhere, and the greenery is beautiful.

Upon entering the castle walls, there's a separate area (the guest house) that has the rooms used in the past, and their decorated sliding doors, on display. With the very subtle lighting changes between rooms, each illustration is stunning. The colors in all of them are very vibrant. Animals were depicted in almost all of the pieces, but my favorite was of a tree. The lighting gave it an especially pretty glow that made it pop more then the others. The best aspect of it had to be the feeling that I was seeing the sun climb over the clouds thanks to the great positioning for the shaded and lighter areas.

The guest house is small, so going through it shouldn't take more than five to ten minutes for most people. After the gardens and the house, there's the castle itself. Nagoya Castle had six accessible floors when I went there, and each floor had something interesting on display. Displays ranged from old suits of armor and weapons to architectural models and works of art. I'm a big fan of old weaponry in part because of sense of permanency to them and in part because the way that the Japanese treated weapon creation as an art form led to many beautiful swords and spears. In addition to the works of art, a fair amount of actual history is explained in both English and Japanese.

Noritake Craft Center: Ceramics

Japanese required: A little
Cost: 800 yen or more per person (depending on purchases)
Good for: Single people, couples, or groups up to about ten people

The Noritake Craft Center is a place filled with ceramics and ceramics related information and history. Since the craft center is located in a garden park of sorts, it has a rather relaxing atmosphere when walking between the buildings. The craft center is made up of two central buildings, a welcome building, two restaurants, and a couple of shops. To explore everything at a leisurely pace took me roughly four to five hours. There is one area where the exhibit actually changes regularly, and it seems to only have a slight relation to the rest of the craft center.

When I went to that place, the exhibition was for flower arranging. There were a lot of really amazing displays, ranging from smaller ones to large, elaborate set ups. I think one of the most fascinating was one that actually used shadows as part of the exhibit. I found it really amazing how they used the placement of the flowers to create the body of a person. Although there were other flower arrangements that, in my opinion, were more in line with what I would imagine as "traditional" flower arranging, I found this display in particular to be interesting because of how different it was. A more usual flower arrangement has about three main "branches" that the plants are grouped in, which are at different elevations and placed in particular directions to try and match the Japanese concept of artistically creating peace and serenity within oneself.

The majority of places in the craft center don't allow pictures to be taken, so keep this in mind when you go. There isn't really much to take pictures of outside of the places that they you can't take pictures, but you might be interested in taking pictures of the garden itself rather than the ceramics displays. There's a fountain that comes on in the afternoon/evening, which is rather picturesque. There's also several trees and outside displays that might be of interest. Since I went about a month before Christmas, there were actually wooden reindeer on display outside in several places. They weren't terribly interesting, but there might be other displays during other parts of the year that are enjoyable to look at.

The most interesting place in the Noritake Craft Center was the museum, which was a no-picture zone. Inside, there were several displays of the machinery used in making ceramic dishes and vases, along with textual and visual explanations (some text was translated to English, but not all). There were also people actually doing several of the jobs described within plain sight, which was fun to watch. The most amazing part was definitely when they actually showed some finished works. They had jaw dropping, gorgeous vases and plates on display. Each one was a wonderful work of art in and of itself, and I was really sad that I couldn't take any pictures.

The other main attraction is a sort of science museum-esque building. Inside, there's a bunch of English or Japanese exhibits (the language of which changes depending on which language card you get at the front desk). You go to different parts, called zones, and swipe your card over the indicated locations to get some instructions for how to interact with the display. There's also quite a bit of English explanation written down for various things, which made this the best place to actually learn about ceramics, and it is also the best place to take children due to the interactive nature of everything. To just walk around takes hardly any time (three to ten minutes, tops), but interacting with everything and listening to / watching all of the video explanations can eat up a couple of hours very easily. There's a place to sit in the middle, so there's no need to worry about getting tired from standing around and listening to all of the explanations.

I really liked the Noritake Craft Center. It's a great place to go for a six hour day of seeing different things about ceramics, and there's also a lot of ceramic dishes and such for sale (they are beautiful, but expensive - the lowest priced items were about 8000 yen, and the highest were upward of 100 thousand yen). I would recommend it to anybody to go at least once.

Osukannon: More a marketplace than a temple

Japanese required: None

Cost: Temple is free to enter, Shopping options vary from a 100 yen store to a gemstone and jewelry shop (costs varying from 5000 yen to upwards of 3 million yen)

Good for: Everyone

There are two parts to Osukannon: the marketplace and the temple. The shopping street was the more interesting of the two experiences for me, so I'll start by talking about that.

The marketplace is runs the length of a street right outside one of the Osukannon temple exits. I had a lot of fun just walking up and down and looking at all the different shops. They were mostly clothes shops, but even the variety of clothing was interesting. It ranged from casual, more Western clothing (jean jackets, levi's, etc) to kimonos and full length dresses. Most of the clothing stores were surprisingly cheap (the kimono and dress ones being exceptions), ranging from 700 to 5000 yen depending on whether clothing was branded or unbranded.

There were a couple of stores that were unique: a wooden toy store and a gem / jewelry shop. The toy store had puppets, shape blocks, figurines, a rocking horse, and several other types of wooden creations. It's a small store (barely room for five people inside), but the variety was enjoyable.

I call it a jewelry and gem shop, but they had a much larger selection than that. In the shop, they sold life sized statues of dogs, paintings, necklaces, and a lot of other things that would take too long to even list. Even if you don't plan to buy anything, simply looking around is a treat all on its own (be careful, though: no pictures allowed). It's possible to spend five or more minutes just looking at all the things sold here.

A store that might be of interest for anybody looking for more general things would be the 100 yen shop. When I walked around, there was a variety of toys and things for children (ranging from small toys to magic card decks). They also sold stationary, pots and pans, normal dishes, and other household goods.

Aside from all of the different stores and such, there's also a large number of food stalls. Almost all of the stalls sell different food, including hot dogs (with Japanese toppings), ice cream, hamburgers, fruit smoothies, and more. The places have a small seating area, so it's simple to just stop at one, grab some food, and take a break after walking around.

I actually had no intention to stop at any of these places at first. Then I got called out to by a pair of very friendly Turkish guys (in English no less) working at a place called Mega Kebab. They talked with me for a while, made recommendations about what to order, and shared some information about themselves (in Japanese). In the end, I only had a coke because I had eaten earlier, but the food looked good and they were great guys.

One of them actually tried to set me up with a girl when a couple of them came into the shop. He initiated this by asking them if they're interested in foreign guys, if they liked being talked to while eating, and a bunch of questions about themselves. Then he turned to me and gestured toward them. Although it was awkward, I did talk with the girls a little before they left.

The temple was a very different experience from what I was expecting. Although the Osukannon temple is large, most of it isn't available to the public. When I walked through the different parts of the temple that were accessible, it took roughly fifteen minutes total. Entry to the temple is free, and there are a sizable number of events that happen there. It's worth it to go two or three times to experience festivals and flea markets. The temple sells candles made by the monks, from a small 500 yen size to a very large 2500 yen size. I don't know if they're scented or what they're made of, but you can find out for yourself when you go (they are on display). There are also several talismans and good luck charms for sale, and you can buy a bundle of incense sticks to burn in the temple.

On a normal day, the temple is rather boring to me, but I have also been there on a flea market day. When a flea market is going on, the temple courtyard becomes packed with stalls and people. The things being sold vary, but I saw Japanese style bracelets and Seto-style plates as well as children's toys and figurines. Just a warning to families: I did see some pornography on sale. Overall, the flea market took me an extra twenty minutes of just looking around all the stalls.

I quite enjoyed my experiences at Osukannon, and I would definitely recommend it for people who have a few hours to spare. It's an adventure if you're willing to be adventurous, and it's just a relaxing time if you want to relax.

Delicious and Inexpensive Italian Restaurant: Saizeriya

Japanese required: Almost none
Cost: Between 500-1500 yen per person

Good for: Everyone

Saizeriya is a famous Italian style restaurant. One of its locations is in Sakae, which is where I tend to eat. On average, my lunches there cost around 850 yen. The meals are consistently good, the spacing of tables means I'm always comfortable, and the service is great. It's currently my favorite restaurant to have lunch at whenever I'm in Sakae, either with people or by myself.

Normally, I go there and have some garlic bread, popcorn shrimp, and pasta or pizza. The garlic bread is delicious, but the popcorn shrimp is only good if you eat it while it's hot. The texture turns horrible if you let it cool off. You get to cut your pizza yourself, and the bread is soft and doughy, but it doesn't fall apart under the weight of the toppings (an experience I have had at other restaurants). The pizza tends to have sauce more towards the crust rather than evenly spread, but it's still quite good. 

The pasta I tend to eat is rather simple: just meat sauce with spaghetti. They have a lot more options, but I like the meat sauce the most. The sauce is spread pretty thickly over the top, so I have to mix it in with the rest of the pasta, but there's more than enough to do so. I can't really taste the cheese they sprinkle in with the sauce, but it makes the food look prettier before I eat it. The food usually arrives either with both of the appetizers first and the main dish soon after (a couple minutes) or at the same time. The pasta stays warm for a while, so this isn't usually a problem.

The restaurant has cheap prices with good food. The main dishes are pizza, pasta, and steak. There's also a sizable selection of lunch sets and appetizers, such as having a side of rice (one lunch set choice) or some popcorn shrimp (a side dish you can order separately). The menu is written in Japanese and English and has pictures of the food, so there's no problem ordering food even if you can’t read or speak any Japanese. The restaurant is pretty large, and the waiters react quickly if you ask for something or call for them. 

There are also smoking and non-smoking seats. In addition, they have many drink options along with a drink bar option where you can just pour yourself any of a number of choices. I've gone there with friends before and had a couple of them even mix drinks together, though I've never tried it myself. They swore it was the most delicious drink they've had in a while, but to this day I am skeptical. The drink bar doesn't seem to have a limit on how much you can drink, though alcohol isn't available without ordering it specifically. If you aren't feeling like having any special drinks, water is free.

 Overall, with great, inexpensive food and a relaxed atmosphere, Saizeriya is a great place to eat if you're ever in Sakae. You can find more information at saizeriya's website: http://www.saizeriya.co.jp/

Higashiyama Zoo: A Time Commitment

 

 

Japanese Required: A little

Good for: Everyone

The Higashiyama Zoo is huge, and it has exhibits for fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals. To look at all of them took me several hours (mostly spent standing up), but it was a very enjoyable experience.The most interesting exhibits, for me, were the ones of the fish and reptiles. The birds weren't terribly interesting, but the rest of the exhibits had some animals that I liked.

Although zoos are not really known for fish exhibits, there were actually a few interesting ones. I managed to get a really great picture of a fish with an eye mark on its body, which I felt I should share even if the fish itself isn't that interesting. And then there were also fish whose fins actually changed colors while they were swimming. I have known about these kinds of fish for a while, but it was a first for me to actually see them in person. I really enjoyed staring at them for a couple of minutes just to see how many different shades they could change to. The fish exhibit area was set apart from everything else, and it was purely smaller fish. Overall, it took roughly ten minutes for to see all of them.

 

The reptile / amphibian area had crocodiles, lizards, frogs, snakes, and more. The majority of the animals in this area weren't very active when I saw them. Quite a few were hiding away under a rock or behind something and sleeping. This made it a lot harder to take pictures, but I managed to get some good pictures of the lizards (my favorite animal). I've always liked lizards the most out of all the animal kingdom. Their intelligence, the way they move, everything about them fascinates me. Particularly interesting to me are the monitor lizards. Monitors are the most intelligent of the lizard species, and there's quite a bit of variety even within this subset. The zoo only had one type of monitor, but I quite liked their coloration.

Lizards aside, there were several types of frogs as well, including a poison dart frog. Although there was an entire section devoted to frogs, it was actually a bit difficult to find many of them. So many of them were difficult to see that I actually ended up making a game out of it just to avoid being frustrated. I actually gave up on even looking for them after the third failed attempt. To make myself feel better, I went back to the other amphibian sections and took a picture of a newt waving at me.

Newts, frogs, and lizards aside, the displays also had a few types of giant salamanders, crocodiles, some turtles, and a few toads. The most amusing thing for me in the entire zoo was the crocodile exhibit. There was a Japanese crocodile in a cage that looked rather small, and in a cage right next to it was one from America that was at least twice as large. The sheer difference in size really displayed just how a difference in environment can lead to drastic changes in even the least changing type of animal that I can think of.

About ten minutes' walk across the zoo from all of this, there are large and small cats, birds, koalas, and some other animals. The birds had a bald eagle, a few cranes, and some other varieties. The large cats included a jaguar, a couple of small tigers, a female lion, and a snow leopard. The snow leopard was the only one that really moved around in a way that it was possible to take a picture. The majority of the caged animals stayed near the back or zipped about their enclosure with wild energy. I haven't seen many snow leopards, so it was nice to get a close up view of one.

Personally, I find koalas to be very boring, but I know that a lot of people like them. The koalas had their own building, and they got to sit in their trees doing basically nothing while a rather sizable number of people stared at them in fascination. So, for all of you koala lovers, I took a picture.

Overall, the Higashiyama Zoo is a great place to go, but expect to be out and walking for the better part of your day if you want to see everything it has to offer. The place has rhinos, elephants, penguins, birds, monkeys, reptiles, amphibians, fish, lions, tigers, and bears. You'll be there a while, but don't worry. There are places to buy food and take a rest. If you plan to go to the botanical garden and other places in Higashiyama Park, expect it to take all day. I didn't even go to those places and still took more than three hours with just the zoo.