4 M's: Movie, Mall, Matsuri, and Kaiten Zushi...wait...

I had today off school so we filled it up to the brim with other activities. First, Me and Shizumi went to a Matsuri (or festival) for the upcoming Children's Day, which is on May 5. It was very similar to the usual little festivals in America yet at the same time it was COMPLETELY different. The games were different and the food was different. My cultural snack of the day was Taki (or, squid) on a stick. It was actually pretty tasty although hard to chew. There was also an absolutely awe-inspiring Taiko performance. A Taiko is a tradition Japanese drum and it was a high school club that performed for us. Apparently this club is very well known for being amazing and I can certainly see why. They were fabulous! My pictures just can't do justice to how awesome the performance was!

After the Matsuri we all went to go see a movie and geez was it crowded! Yeah, that picture of all the people...those are the people waiting in the huge winding line in front of us! When we got to the front they had 4 seats left (just barely enough) but I find it interesting that in that movie theater there are assigned seats. You don't come early to get a good seat. You buy your ticket early to get a good seat. We saw Alice In Wonderland and yes, that IS the American Alice in Wonderland but there were subtitles. It seems that unlike America, Japan is actually open minded enough to accept media from other countries.

The Mall...or was it a department store...hmmm...oh well. The vastly enormous building that sells everything and anything had 4 floors! the 4th floor was an arcade and movie theater and all the other ones had absolutely everything you can think of for sale. It wasn't like the Provo Mall either. This thing was so complex I easily would have gotten lost had it not been for the map which Shizumi picked up. Also in this "mall" was something I have never heard of before. A little lounge for which I assume you need a membership to enter. Here they have drinks and comfy chairs so you can sit and rest before continuing your shopping spree. It was quite refreshing

It was in this maze of a building that we ate lunch and dinner. Dinner was okonomiyaki which was absolutely delicious. This is another Osakan favorite apparently. As you can see, the waiters cook it right on your table!
Lunch however was even more memorable. We had kaiten-zushi (you told me to try it and I did Mrs. Fullmer!) this little restaurant consists of a little conveyed belt which goes all the way around the store and you just pick up whatever sushi you want off of it. Then, when you are done they charge you for all the empty plates you have. Each plate is color coded and there is a little key on the table so you can see how much it will cost. That beloved little conveyor belt brought us some freaking TASTY sushi! Although, every once in a while something really odd would make it's way around. like, for example, a little bowl of fries! Don't ask me why, Airi didn't know either.