Who loves Ferris wheels??? This post is for you!

I think one of the first things that really struck my eye during my first visit to Umeda (kind of the heart of the hustle and bustle of Osaka) is the Ferris Wheel perched atop HEP Five building (Well yea, all the other tall structures naturally stood out as well, but no sea of grey is going to beat out a bright red amusement park attraction - at least not in my eyes :P). And for the longest time (well, 4 months at most really) I’ve been wanting to get on it because… like I need to justify why I feel the need to get on a freakin Ferris wheel - those who can’t understand can go shake their heads in some fun sucked corner or something *sticks tongue out at yous*

Well I finally got the chance last Sunday (technically I had the same chance all the while, it’s just the first time I was there with friends who were willing to get on the damned thing with me!). Basically you go up to the 7th (or was it 8th?) floor of HEP Five, pay 500yen for the admission fee (cheaper than I expected :D) and up to 4 people can get into one gondola. One revolution is about 15 minutes I think. And the view of Osaka is just awesome - something the following random pictures fail to exhibit well (as usual):

“Puny mortals…” (I’m pretty sure I cross that same crossing every time I visit Umeda)

Any relation?

As for what’s in HEP Five… Well it’s basically your typical mall for the spendthrift-y and fashion-forward(?) youth of Japan… which put that way is definitely not my kind of place. I’m not exactly fond of the place ever since the one time I happened to visit it during the last day of a certain big sale… and well, duh the crowd was expected, but the screaming store clerks and their continuous (and mostly misdirected) screeching of time sales and limited bargains… For anyone who’s been to one, imagine those night street markets common in Asia, only trapped in a modern indoor setting and the vendors are all dressed up as (shrieking) dolls. Yea, pretty much my impression at that time.Thankfully this time it was much more civilized and we headed straight for the Ferris wheel anyways *phew*

To give the place the bizzaro ‘hip’ factor, there’s two humongous figures whales hanging above the lobby of the place… Okay I made up that reason for them being there because I have no idea what they’re doing there or what they’re trying to symbolize. All I know is hat they’re huge (the larger one spans what, 3, 4 floors in length/height?), blood red (which, given Japan’s reputation as not exactly a whale-friendly nation, seems to be in rather bad taste now that I think about it), and I sure as hell do not want to be standing under them during an earthquake…

Like many malls around here, the top floors is where you’ll find the food and entertainment outlets. No I didn’t try out for a Moyashimon plushie in the end because I have bad enough luck with gachapon machines where all that’s involved is putting coins in the machine and turning the dial (with the optional prayer), so anything that involves me exercising my non-existant motor skills is out of the question.

Anyways, what I really wanted to blab about is…

CAKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*excuses self to be incoherent for a while*

*ahem* So we found this place with an all you can eat dessert menu (for 70 minutes and nearly 1400yen) and well… If you’ve been reading this blog this season (in which I’ve posted unfortunately little due to excursions like these), you’d know there’s no way I could resist.

To be completely honest, it’d probably be preferable for me not to recall those 70 minutes because I could literally feel the humanity seep out of me and I went on this cake eating rampage to the horror of everyone around me who was trying their best to eat in a genuinely civilized manner…

I kid. =P Okay perhaps I did go a wee bit overboard with the food piling on my plates, but I did try my best to emulate generally acceptably human eating habits when I finally sat down to gorge on as much as I could stuff in my mouth at a go feasibly try. (Which probably explains the half hearted photos I eventually snapped between the mouthfuls, sorry!)

Oh there was pasta and salads and stuff, which I only ate to convince myself this was dinner we were having…

There was generally a good spread of food - mostly of the sweet variety - served up in small portions to allow for more sampling and slowing down the stomach filling process. Most of it was pretty good, with a few standouts like the cheesecake and the blueberry one and the mini crepe and the peach jelly and the pannacota and *mind goes out of control*

Make your own shaved ice! (my friend’s doing. If you think it looks on  the unappatezing side thanks to the bonanza of colours, be thankful you dont get to see the ice cream parfait disaster I made - but as fasr as taste goes, appearances can be deceiving :P)

Needless to say, I’ve partially satisfied my cake cravings ever since Antique Bakery has been airing =P

Or so I thought, until we spotted another shop which also served a similar buffet like spread - only has less of a focus on desserts. On the flip side, it’s cheaper, you’re given a longer time to eat - and it has a freakin chocolate fountain and serves Italian style gelato (Await my report on the place next month. Or if I disappear from blogging again, you know where I’m at…)

Okay, finally finishing this post has made me absurdly hungry…

(Irrelevant and Unnecessarily Drawn-Out)

Epilogue:

Oh remember the Macross F gachapon machine? Well stopped by Yodobashi Camera again… and it was gone.

And I was actually thinking of putting in 200yen after all after reading usagijen’s comment XD

But on the way back, at the train station, in a secluded corner with many a forgotten gachapon machine… There I found it again…

My rational side was reminding me already that it’s stupid to invest in character merchandise just because the show has been a sweeping craze with just about everyone but myself, but heck, it may ujst make good blogging material since I’ such a sellout anyways

But I had already dropped the coins in. And my hand was already at the dial.

*Twist*

*Twist*

…

..

.

*thinks to self: “So what will it be?

Sheryl?

Alto?

Ranka?

???

*addictive new OP of the show plays in head*

And the result….

*Drumroll…*

*snaps open the capsule…

…to reveal…

…

..

.

show

(And if any of you wants it, send me your address, 200yen + the eventual postage fee, and it’s yours. Quick, before I start watching the show, find out what it is, and grow attached to it! =P)