22 Days in Japan, Day 12: Osaka Science Museum, Umeda, and Spa World

Day 12. Osaka, Japan. I wake up at 9:30 thanks to some guy in my six-person dorm room who decides to start his Osaka adventure early by opening and closing backpack zippers for half an hour. It’s about 10:30 by the time I get out of the hostel and into the city.

The weather is decidedly overcast, cloudy with some tiny specks of blue.

I’d decided the previous night that I would hit some of my second-tier attractions today, and first up on that short list is the Osaka Science Museum, in Nakanoshima. I’m expecting something like the Liberty Science Center in New Jersey; I get something a lot smaller and a lot kiddier. There are at least five other groups of children touring the museum (aka generally running around screaming and chasing each other). The science museum’s not bad, but 99% of the exhibits are in Japanese (though the titles are in English – go figure) and geared toward younger kids. But there’s lots of hands-on stuff with magnets and centripetal force and what not. I bombed several years of science classes in high school so most of it was lost on me, but it’s still a nice one hour diversion.

Lunch is across the street, at this “fast-food” restaurant:

That’s the best I can do. There’s a sign that reads “koshihikari”, which Wikipedia helpfully informs me is a type of rice.

The restaurant has a large display case of ready-to-eat food at the front; all you do is open the case, grab what you want, and sit down. Prices are very reasonable – for 598 yen I get a hearty meal – three over-sized shumai (not your typical small Chinese yellow shumai miniature things), a plate of pork tonkatsu, and some stir-fried noodles. Good stuff!

After lunch, I spend a number of hours going up, down, and around Umeda, the “big building” district. There’s nothing really crazy here: lots of underground malls again, and lots of shopping. I stop for bit at the hip-looking HEP Five mall which conveniently houses its own Ferris wheel. I almost buy a $40 shirt. I take a short break at a Taito Game Station arcade and attempt to play a Japanese Drum Game. Like most Japanese rhythm games, this game is serious business. It has seven drum heads and two pedals. (take that, Rock Band)

Naturally, I have to try my hand at it. Naturally, the game ends up beating me.

At this point, it’s 6:30 pm, and I’m not hungry at all after my late/large lunch, so I consult my attraction list. There are only two sights left – Spa World and Tenmangu Shrine. I figure the shrine and the surrounding area are probably closed (for once, good thinking, me), so that leaves Spa World.

After a couple of train stops and WHOOPS! getting off at the wrong station (which means more walking!), my feet are officially out of commission for the rest of the day. My shoes suck. Learn your lessons folks: don’t bring casual leather shoes to Japan.

But now back to the matter at hand: I am standing in front of Spa World.

I have to say. I’m a guy, and I’ve never been to a actual spa before. What am I in for, I wonder? And a Japanese spa, to boot. I pass an intriguing warning sign:

…and walk through the doors. It looks like a hotel in here, albeit a large empty one. Guess no one hangs out at the spa at night.

Spa World is eight floors of spa, sauna, and hot mineral bathing madness. There’s separate levels for males and females, and a mixed “family” floor at the top. The elevator opens up into the open-air guys’ locker room and I change into…uh, well, nothing. More like I change out of everything.

The second you step into the spa area, you’ll probably notice two things: the smell, and the fact that everyone is really, really, naked. This is how Japanese spas work. Spa World thoughtfully provides some “modesty” towels that are in actuality no bigger than a face towel. They don’t help much. You will, quite definitely, see lots of genitalia.

I thought spas were supposed to be relaxing, but as I dip my feet into the first “Persian spa” (each room has different countries’ takes on spas, with “American spas”, “Japanese spas”, etc) I’m already sort of gagging from the sulphur. And the spas are ridiculously hot, hotter than any bath or shower that I’ve ever taken. For the first ten minutes, I sit in the spa and gasp for breath: the heat of the mineral basically compresses your chest and lungs with some kind of atmospheric pressure.

Eventually, though, you get used to it. It being the public nakedness, YOUR public nakedness, the smell, the heat, and you just sort of veg out in Spa World. Life, for a time, is good.

Dinner is served back in the Dotonburi area, and consists of one large plate of what appears to be strips of pork belly, peppers, onions, carrots, and bamboo shoots over rice. It is amazing. (see title picture)