Pokemon Cafe in Osaka!

There's finally a Pokemon Cafe in Osaka!!  Of course, I made a reservation as soon as they started taking them in August!  I thought I might be a bit weird being a party of one...but there were quite a few others like me (though I think most of them didn't revert to about 5 years old and start squealing when Pikachu came out).


The Cafe and the new Pokemon Center DX (deluxe) just opened yesterday (along with the entire rebuilt Daimaru department store building), so it was pretty crowded.  I had to stand in line for just the elevator to get up to the 9th floor!  Then I had to line up just to shop in the DX store.  And, of course, the line to check out with my purchases.  But it wasn't too bad, really.  And I think I was reasonable with my shopping!  LOL  I got some nice freebies too.


On to the Cafe! 

The woman next to me came ready for Instagram!  She brought her own plushies to help with the photography!

The tablet on the table in the above photo is the menu and is also how you order your food.  Of course, staff is on hand to help out and answer any questions.  The tablet has settings for multiple languages, so non-Japanese speaking tourists will be able to order smoothly. 

The Gengar grape smoothie has a "mysterious" glow...which the server will warn you to be careful not to swallow!

Sorry I ate your cookie ears, Gengar!  They were yummy!  Your grape flavor was super delicious too!  I guess that brain freeze I got was your revenge!

The Halloween special Pikachu meal plate!  This was kinda 50-50 for me.  Some parts of it were alot more tasty than I was expecting, while others were a bit average.  I wasn't sure if the hat was edible, so I had to ask the Instagram lady sitting next to me (she'd ordered the same thing)!  Edible, but an awful flavor, to be honest...

But then...the highlight of the visit...  An appearance by Chef Pikachu himself!!

We couldn't take individual photos with Pikachu, due to time and space contraints.  We just had to take photos/videos and shake his hand.  I wanted to hug him, but I managed to hold myself back...  He moved to various areas of the cafe, shook hands, did a little dance.  When he walked, we all chanted in rhythm with his steps.  Pi - ka - pi - ka...  In the background, some kind of Pikachu song played (all the lyrics being just Pika Pika).  

 

Oh, the cuteness!!

Unfortunately, my visit ended a bit badly.  The staff at the register had a hard time, for some reason, and it took about 10 minutes.  I don't think she knew how to run a credit card.  I offered to pay in cash, but she was like "No, it's OK!"  But it clearly wasn't!  Or maybe it was because I ordered the meal that comes with the souvenier plate and I wanted to substitute the Halloween Pikachu plate for the regular Pikachu face plate.  The 3rd staff person finally got it sorted out!  3rd!! 


I had finished eating quickly because I knew at 3pm, there would be another Pikachu appearance - this time at the DX store.  And it would be a RARE one... the suit-wearing comedy team twin Pikachus.  They came out while I was still waiting at the Cafe register...and by the time I was FINALLY done, they were gone.  I was sad...  This is all I could capture.

Pikachu....THE ICE CREAM

"Welcome to Baskin Robbins.  May I take your order, pika?"

I know alot of people have been blogging about the special new flavor of ice cream at Baskin Robbins.  I've been on a diet for the past few months (with decent results!), so I finally decided today was the day to get some ice cream.  And what better to break my ice cream fast than with the new Pikachu Thunderbolt Fruit Mix flavor!  Plus, you get cute cup and spoon thrown in to sweeten the deal, as it were.

To get the cup, you have to order a double scoop.  In addition to the Pikachu flavor, I decided on Banana and Strawberry.  Unfortunately, they put that one on top, so it was hard to get a photo of just the Pikachu ice cream. 



Other people's blogs/news sites will have much better photos!  But it's yellow with little red chunks of candy to represent Pikachu's red cheeks.  In the official photos, there were also little chocolate Pikachu faces...where's mine?? 

One.  I got ONE little chocolate Pikachu.  And at the very bottom of the cup, no less.  I actually thought a little about complaining...LOL


So, how does Pikachu ice cream taste?  Well....the ice cream part was really good.  I was worried it might be a bit tangy or something, but it was a nice smooth fruity flavor.  I didn't like the red candy bits though.  Mixed into ice cream, they were sticky like hard candy that's been sitting around during the summer.  Maybe if they changed the hard candy to fruit bits instead?  Though, to keep with the red cheeks theme, it'd have to be cherry and I hate cherry so...

Wild boars & monkeys, oh my!

About a month ago, I went to what you might call a state park for a short hike.  I came upon this on the notice board near the entrance.

As if the picture and the red exclaiming-type image weren't enough to figure it out, it says to watch out for wild boars.  There is also advice for if you do happen to run into one.  Put any food you might have into your backpack.  Definitely don't feed it!  Back away slowly.

I guess it depends on where you live, but although there was a wide variety of wildlife where I came from, we didn't have wild boars.  Or monkeys.  But sometimes there are monkey warnings in Japan too! 

This is a monkey warning sign along a highway in Aichi Prefecture.  Those monkeys are no joke!  Check out that over-turned truck!! 

 

Unfortunately, I have never seen a wild boar or a monkey in a public place.  I have been to Arashiyama in Kyoto, where you can climb a small mountain and go visit some monkeys.  You can feed them apple slices from inside a building (through a fence-type window).  Photos from Arashiyama below:

"You're almost at the top.  The monkeys are waiting for you!"

"What is the meaning of life?  Oh wait, I'm just a monkey.  Bananas!"

Movies!

Being a single mother is tough.  Being a single mother of a special needs kid is even tougher.  BUT, I'm fortunate enough to have access to special daycare services that are open on weekends/national holidays so I can have some time off.  Sometimes I just get some extra sleep.  Usually I run errands.  But sometimes I get to go out and see a movie!  During this holiday time, I saw two movies - Avengers Endgame and Detective Pikachu. 

Thanos says "No spoilers!"

Japanese movie audiences are usually pretty quiet.  On one hand, you don't have the kind of loud, annoying people you might find in a theater back in the old country (what I call my birthplace).  On the other hand, it feels weird when people don't laugh or react to anything.  When I went to see Deadpool 2, the most anyone did was a light snort.  Endgame was different.  I don't know why, but people reacted.  There was some limited laughter, but at one point (no spoilers!) I think almost everyone gasped.

I can't recommend Detective Pikachu enough!  Good for kids, but with a suspenseful storyline that will draw in the grown-ups too.  I'll admit, I cried. 

Next movie I'm looking forward to is this guy:

Not Godzilla's actual size

At the movies!

I have some free time this week before the new school year starts, so yesterday I went to see a movie (Captain Marvel).


I'm not sure if this is how all movie theaters work here, but the one I go to (109 Cinemas) allows me to make a reservation online and pay by credit card.  I can even choose my own seat!  I don't have to arrive early at the theater to stake out a good seat.  Just go in, enter my reservation number and phone number into the machine, and my ticket pops out.


On the way out, I found this guy...

"Pikachu's Hollywood Debut!

Cute on the outside, but inside...a middle-aged man!?

And he can speak like a human."

I couldnt get a picture without glare...  Anyway, I'm not an otaku.  I very rarely watch any anime.  BUT Pikachu is my hero.  And I'm a huge fan of Deadpool and Ryan Reynolds.  Even so, when I first heard about this movie, I wasn't sure how it would work.  After seeing the previews, I'm super excited!

The best part about this promo stand?  The TOUCH part!!!  Holy crap, it felt just like I imagined this movie version of Pikachu would!

Can't....stop...touching...the softness....

Japan release date is May 3rd, right during the extended Golden Week/new emperor enthronement holiday.  See you there!