I lived in Osaka after I graduated from MIT for about five years and I liked it here. At the time I thought it was time to move back home, and it probably was, but I miss it too. I do remember always being broke when I lived here but somehow I managed to save about $12,000US which I immediately blew on trying to get into medical school. That was a bit of a mistake. I should have had more fun while I was here and I shouldn’t have wasted my timeAnyway, we’re staying at the “Hearton Hotel” which is a reputable hotel with a questionable name. This is not to be confused with the “Heart-In” which is a chain of convenience stores that are usually located in JR train stations.

One thing I’m going to miss when I get back is all the salad for breakfast. We pre-bought a bunch of breakfast tickets where I get all-I-can-eat breakfast buffet for ¥1000. Too bad I haven’t been that hungry in the morning for the past few days.

My aunt (my mom’s older sister) is out from Yamaguchi Prefecture and we were also joined by Mrs. Takanaka, my sort-of-aunt, (my aunt’s late husband’s younger sister) and we had a traditional Japanese lunch at the 16th floor of the Daimaru department store. Here’s the plastic display outside of the restaurant.

And here’s my lunch.

And here’s my mom’s lunch.

We went to Yodobashi Camera again to do some shopping for my mom and everyone else (not for my sister this time) and I thought I’d get a picture of the sign in one of the elevators:

Oh, and before I forget, my mom and I decided to kill some time by having a cup of coffee. A tiny cup of coffee. A tiny $7 cup of coffee.

I spent the rest of the afternoon getting to Maeda Cycle, where I spent a few hours talking with Kozou Maeda who runs the shop. It doesn’t sound like the financial situation in Japan is all that much better than it is in the states. I got back and had dinner with my mom and my aunt and there’s my 12th day here.