MShades

Okay, that’s not much of a selling point. But Hartford has a good music and arts scene, from what I recall – the Wadsworth Atheneum, the Hartford Symphony, and a whole host of small clubs and bars where you can hear live music. On the outskirts of the city, there’s tons of places of historical interest….

Near Shinsekai, and attached to Tennoji Garden, the Zoo is a large, diverse zoo in the heart of Osaka. It has a lot of animals – the nocturnal house is recommended, and see if you can catch the hyenas sizing up small children.

Like all zoos, there’s a certain element of sadness in this place. You really don’t like to see the tigers pacing up and down in their cages, or the elephant rocking back and forth like it’s having a nervous breakdown, or the orangutang staring at you like it’s wondering why you’re on the other side of the bars. But that’s every zoo, I think….

The first thing you smell is grease. Heavy, deep frying grease. That’s because you’re in Shinsekai, where the most popular food is “kushikatsu” – deep fried stuff on a stick. If you can put it on a stick and deep-fry it, you can make it into kushikatsu.

There are a lot of stores selling suspiciously low-priced merchandise, game parlors, and the famous Tsutenkaku tower – make sure to rub Billiken’s feet for luck!