A Very Nerdy Birthday and a Very Russian One Too

After getting back from Hokkaido it was almost time for my birthday, and I throught about what I would like to do. Of course, I wanted to grab a special Pokemon from the Pokemon Center and remembered there was a cheap way to eat all the cake I wanted nearby, so me and a few friends headed into Osaka for the day.

Our first stop was, of course, the Pokemon Center. I had to pick up somethings for a friend of mine, but treated myself to a kibago (axew) plush while I was there as well. Before I checked out or even went in, though, I headed to the customer service counter for the store and told them it was my birthday. I had to present photo ID, but was rewarded with a birthday download for the game, a coupon, a special gold seal from the center itself and a Birthday Pikachu card. That was all pretty exciting, especially considering how much larger the card is compared to the normal sized versions.

They actually changed the design of the card a month later.

We were all being a little silly that day.

After that we headed to Shinsaibashi, which was an adventure in and of itself as our one friend apparently didn't realize why we were rushing and got caught between the train doors of the subway. The attendant and some passengers were nice enough to shove him into the train and get the doors closed though. A few stops later we were striding off to the department building that held Sweets Paradise, an all-you-can-eat restaurant that specializes in sweets and, oddly enough, pasta. With it being the Osaka branch there was of course also takoyaki, though it wasn't especially good takoyaki. The cakes, though, were delicious.

When we got back I also got a pleasant surprise from my friend Yo who had gotten a strawberry cake and some goods from his hometown in Mie. I found out later that they had actually thought it was the week before and gotten it then, but ate that piece out of embarrassment.

My friend also had her birthday the day after mine, so it was time to head out for a second party the day after mine, this time, though, we were heading to Kyoto. Not only that, but we were heading there with one of our friends that was from Kyoto, so we got to see some parts of Gion (which were closer to Kiyomizu-dera then I knew at the time) that we hadn't seen before. Sometimes it seemed like it was a scene straight out of a Studio Ghibli movie.

One of several entrances we passed.

This trip could also be summed up in: How I learned to love borscht

The whole reason we set off on this particular quest was because our reservation at the restaurant we were going to wasn't for an hour and we were all a little hungry already. Luckily we grabbed some tasty mezarashi dango on the way before heading back to the mainstreet of Gion Shijo. The restaurant we were going to was so our friend could get a taste of home at pretty famous Russian restaurant, which made some of us feel a little underdressed (okay, maybe it was just me). The restaurant itself, Kiev, was located on the top floor of a building which provided an excellent view and made the western-style furniture feel even cozier. Coupled with some delicious Russian food, everyone left satisfied.

Given all the traveling I did, I was a little surprised that I fit in time to study, though they also managed to catch me either hitting the flashcards or a book for class several times throughout the weekend. That isn't too surprising as the spring semester caught a lot of me reading, with a new 300 page novel due to be read each week.

Until next post!
-Zenko-