Japan: Dontonbori Shopping // 在大阪购物

So, shortly after I arrived back in SH from Harbin, I basically had a day to repack all my belongings and get ready to fly to JAPAN! The plan was to stay with my good Japanese friend Yuna and her family for about 5 days until my final return to the States. I was beyond excited!! Although I’d been to China 3 times before, and suffered that long flight many a times, I had never taken the opportunity to visit any of the surrounding Asian countries. And best of all, I wouldn’t be staying in a hostel, but with a Japanese family! Finally, I would be able to experience another Asian culture, which in turn, gave me a whole new perspective on China itself.

The flight to Osaka from SH was about 1.5 hours and once we got to the airport, Yuna’s parents picked us up and drove us to their home, which was actually in Nara, a kind of “suburb” and family-living district of southern Japan. First thing that I noticed, they drive on the opposite side of the road. Didn’t know that… so that means the UK, Hong Kong, and Japan all drive on the other side of the road. Noted: Never drive in these countries! Although it was night time when we arrived and I couldn’t see too much, I could already tell that the roads were very well developed and the buildings were all very modern-looking. When we got home, its a MUST to remove your shoes before walking in the house. It’s extremely bad luck (and rude and dirty) to keep them on. Next, Yuna showed me a little washroom where “in order to get comfortable” you should rinse your hands with warm water and then sit with your feet in warm water for five minutes. This is just a cleansing and relaxing process that Japanese do to get comfortable when they arrive home. It totally took me off guard but I definitely enjoyed it after the whole plane ride and airport process.

Oh yeah, so Yuna is actually half-Japanese and half-Chinese, so she can speak both languages, as well as English really well because she studied abroad for a year in the States. Her Mom is Japanese and can only speak Japanese and her Dad is Chinese, so I could only use broken English phrases and some Chinese to communicate with them. Yuna did the rest of the translating… but they were so welcoming and adorable. I couldn’t wait to learn more about their family culture and explore Japan!

For our first day in Japan, we decided to go SHOPPING! I was so excited. It had been nearly 5 months since I had had the opportunity to get some new nice clothes. China just doesn’t do it, even if its H&M or Forever21 or Zara, because their clothes are tailored a little differently for the Chinese population (both design and size-wise). Yuna took me to Shinsaibashi and Dotonbori for the ultimate Osaka shopping experience. There were limitless stores in every which way. We would have a destination in mind and just kept getting distracted by shoe shops with major sales, or boutiques with cute coats and scarves, or buy one get one cosmetic stores. It was pretty overwhelming!!

Also, overall the Japanese have a really good sense of fashion and style so it was great shopping in Osaka. In general, they are a very fashion-centered society, and I mean, you definitely wouldn’t see them wearing sweatpants in public (but maybe a onesie). Appearance means a great deal to the Japanese, where they even go to the extent to getting plastic surgery to create a simple eyelid. Also, they get perms for their eyelashes because they don’t like how flat they are. Just some interesting observations. They also take such good care of their bodies and skin to maintain a perfect fair complexion and maintain petite figures. It was interesting to experience it first hand!

In the end, it was a very successful shopping trip and it was mind blowing how cheap every thing was. Right now, even the Chinese RMB is stronger than the Japanese Yen, so USD go even further in Japan. The only thing stopping me from buying more was the strong possibility that I might not be able to fit everything into my suitcase… Struggles…

For dinner Yuna took me to this awesome little Sushi Bar where you could just pick up as many plates as your heart (and tastebuds) desired! Each plate was about $1-4, depending on the quality and type of ingredients, so it was really fun to try some new types of sushi. Also, not sure if you’re a sushi fan or not and if this will make sense, but Japanese do NOT eat sushi rolls, like what we eat here in the US. They primarily only eat Nigiri or Shashimi with certain preparation varieties. They also don’t slosh it around in a dish full of soy sauce and wasabi, they just pour the soy sauce over each individual piece before eating it. Now I realize how wrong I’ve been eating sushi my whole life!

My first day in Osaka was over but I had already learned so much about Japanese culture! Not to mention I could take home some nice new blazers, boots, cosmetics, pants, shirts and scarves for an amazing record-low price. Shopping and sushi in the same day? I was loving Japan already 🙂