Osu, Nagoya, Japan

The Osu Shopping District has many
blocks of storefronts with
clean, paved walkways
and overhead roofs providing
protection from the weather.

We discovered that many small shops and restaurants only took cash, no credit cards, so we decided to spend the next day in downtown Nagoya.  It would be a big change of pace from small town Seto and would give Murph a chance to withdraw cash using his Amex Checking account & card.

All the best photos were taken by Jada.

In the center with the big red sign
is an entrance to the Osu Shopping District.
There were crowds everywhere in
the covered shopping area.

The machines outside let you know
what you'll find inside the shop.
Gotchas!

The entire shop was filled with
rows and rows of Gotchas!

No ceramics, but still fun!

Pink for Avery!

Blue for Jesse!

Anime characters were common.
We stopped at many interesting shops,
looked at several yukatas as
we liked the idea of owning them
for use back home.  While we didn't
find a yukata to buy, Jada
bought an expandable travel bag.
Wisely, she understood that we would
need an extra bag for our return trip. 😃

The character for our lunch spot was
a chubby, happy pig wearing
a large Japanese towel around his waist.

We found we liked this vegetable
and it was easy to eat with chopsticks.

This large Buddhist temple was
a neighbor to the Osu Shopping District.

We understand that good luck comes
to those who waft the incense
smoke over the face, head and body.

These are "emas", wooden tablets found in the temples.

After seeing the Zodiac signs on the Seto bridge art
yesterday, we were pleased to find this
list of the 12 zodiac animals.

Inside the temple.

Inside the temple.

Inside the temple.

Inside the temple.

A short walk took us to the Nagoya City Science Museum.

One of the exhibits was a Deep Freezing Lab.
Donning warm coats provided by the museum,
we entered a chamber with a temperature
at Minus 30 degrees Celsius (-22F).

Unlike the 6 feet tall tornado in
Pittsburgh's Carnegie Science Center,
this tornado is three stories tall!

It formed the same as the
one in Pittsburgh, just larger.

The fascinating element here was the item in
the far lower right.  Jada and her son, James,
are expert at landing the ball on the three
"cups" at the left, right & bottom
of the device.

A fountain in the Shirakawa Park, by the Science Museum.

Also in Shirakawa Park.

As we walked back to the train station.

The train was much busier than
midmorning as we were traveling
near rush hour.

In an effort to enjoy a dinner with
ingredients more like meat and potatoes,
we discovered a Bronco Billy Steakhouse.

With a salad bar and a variety of steaks ad burgers,
this place hit the spot!

The cast iron plates kept our steaks warm
and our interest intrigued by
the fascinating images.

These silver certificates
were displayed on the wall 
at Bronco Billy's.