Journey to Japan: Slow day around Umeda

Day 13

After a string of busy outings, we gave ourselves permission to go slow again. Sleeping in, no alarms, no schedule. Just some aimless wandering, some shopping, and a bit of upward motion, literally.

Our first destination was the Umeda Sky Building, one of Osaka’s best-known landmarks. It’s a striking pair of towers connected at the top by an observation deck, and some slightly unsettling elevators that offer views to the outside as they rise. I’m still firmly in favor of elevators that don’t make you aware of how far off the ground you are.

From the observatory, the view stretched out in every direction, still bathed in late afternoon daylight. Osaka’s sprawling geometry unfolded below us: railways, rivers, rooftops, and the distant haze of city life humming along. It's a city without a single obvious center, more like a network of small, tangled worlds sharing the same airspace.

Afterward, we descended back into the world of retail and bright lights. We made a detour into a few electronics and lifestyle shops, and I finally picked up something I’d had my eye on: a Shokz headset. Technically, that made it my third souvenir of the trip, after the race shirt from Sendai and that retro video game cartridge from Akihabara. The headset felt like the most “me” item so far, a little practical, a little nerdy, and immediately useful.

Later that evening, we circled back to Umeda once more, this time to explore the basement level of the Sky Building, which we’d heard about only after our first visit. Down there, the atmosphere shifted: lantern-lit alleys, wooden storefronts, and vintage signage made it feel like a stroll through Osaka in the 1980s. It’s part of a themed dining area meant to evoke a nostalgic version of the city, but unfortunately, most of the food stalls had already closed by the time we arrived. Still, the setting was wonderfully atmospheric, a quiet pocket of time tucked beneath the skyscrapers.

For dinner, we had okonomiyaki, again. But this time, it wasn’t quite the experience we’d had in Higobashi. Still good, just a little more average. It made us appreciate the last one even more.

Back at the hotel, we got into packing mode. Some things went into the suitcase. Others, like postcards to my friends’ kids back home, went into the mail pile. I always like writing those. There's something satisfying about knowing they’ll arrive long after I’m back, carrying a piece of this trip in slow motion across the world.