Hanna in Japan | 日本でのハンナ

月曜日, 5月 22, 2006

History of the Capsule Hotel:

This style of hotel accommodation was developed in Japan and has not gained acceptance outside of the country. The Japanese capsule hotels vary widely in size, some having only fifty or so capsules and others over 700, and are often male only. There are also capsule hotels with separate male and female sleeping quarters. Clothes and shoes are sometimes exchanged for a yukata and slippers on entry. A towel may also be provided. The benefit of these hotels is convenience and price; usually around 3000-4000 yen a night (€21-29, $25–34, £15–20). Such hotels are not necessarily regarded as only an option for those with lower incomes - a typical customer would be the business salariman after a night of drinking.
The first capsule hotel was the Capsule Inn Osaka, designed by Kurokawa Kisho and located in the Umeda district of Osaka. It opened on February 1, 1979 and the initial room rate was 1,600 yen.

Osaka's Aquarium and Ferris Wheel

Osaka Aquarium, also known as Kaiyukan, is probably Japan's best aquarium. It introduces various forms of life inhabiting the Pacific Rim in a well organized and impressive way.
Marine life is displayed in 15 tanks, each representing a specific region of the Pacific Rim. The central tank, representing the Pacific Ocean, is nine meters deep and home to a whale shark, the aquarium's main attraction.
Visitors start their tour of the aquarium on the 8th floor and slowly spiral down floor by floor around the central tank. Some of the tanks stretch over several floors, making it possible to observe the animals from different depths and perspectives.
Osaka Aquarium is located in the Tempozan Harbor Village of Osaka's Port area.

These are Japan's Giant Sea Crabs - FREAKY!

The Ferris Wheel - It measures 112.5 meters (369 feet) from the ground to its apex, and the wheel has a diameter of 100 meters (328 feet) It's got 60 cabins that seat eight people each, with two of them designed to accommodate wheelchairs. One revolution takes about 15 minutes. Another big attraction of the huge wheel is the way it's lit up at night. The patterns were created by an internationally famous illumination designer, Motoko Ishii, and can be seen until 10 o'clock every night. One of the patterns, which change every hour, resembles a fireworks display. The illumination is not just pretty; it's also quite useful, showing temperatures and the weather forecast for the following day. It's possible to see as far away as the Kansai International Airport and even the Akashi Ohashi Bridge from the Ferris wheel on a clear day.

金曜日, 5月 19, 2006

Universal Studios - Japan (USJ)

In Osaka, we planned a whole day for USJ. We got VERY lucky too, right before we paid for tickets a group of High School teachers came up to us and gave us 3 free tickets. They were on a school trip and they had a few students who didn't show up! Yayy!!! 5,500 Yen SAVED!

It was strange being there. The whole park was divided between New York, San Francisco, Hollywood and other American places. SO, they had Stop igns and blue US Postal boxes on the street. WEIRD not seeing all that stuff for so long! Fun times!!! Can you find Beth the pic? :)

The Hello Kitty Parade! I think it was HK's b-day party like 4 times that day! :)

Spider Man - the Ride!

We waited in line for TWO HOURS!!!!

Check out our COOL 3-d glasses we had to wear for the ride! We actually rode Spriderman TWICE that day after we smartened up and purchased the speed passes for the rides. (The Japn. guy wanted to sneak into the pick behind us a well - nice!)

Ater riding the ET ride and laughing how dorky it was the whole time, Shanna pulled our her camera and started shooting away! Plus, after Shrek 4-d we bought green ears and crowns - cuteness! We wore them for the rest of the day too!