R told me that the Rubber Duckie has been moved to Nakano-shima near the Rose Garden so on my home from the meeting yesterday I passed there yesterday to see the yellow rubber duckie.
Up Close and Personal
And I noticed as I was walking towards the garden they have some lights on the bridge and it looks mystical.
The roses were also in bloom
the garden lights also have rose pattern on it.
For the past 6 months, I kept passing this pastry shop and though I was intrigue I did not have the chance to taste their product till last week. H came for a short visit and when we passed the shop, she immediately recommended it and got me two of their cakes.
Introducing Chat Noir’s Pumpkin Cake and Yam Cake
Pumpkin
It looks very simple but wait till you get in the middle. A nice chunk of pumpkin and cream is hidden beneath. I really love it. It is not too sweet and it really goes well with black coffee or green tea.
Yam
There is also a nice surprise once you get to the middle.
So if you ever pass by any of Chat Noir shop be sure to check some of their cakes.
North of Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture Japan. Entrance to the field was 200 yen and you can cut and buy as much as you for 50yen per stalk. I really don’t like cutting flowers but I do love to take picture of them. Unfortunately, I was not able to take as much as I want this time because I run out of battery 
Jankara ( ジャンカラ) is a chain of Karaoke all over Japan. In Umeda/Osaka alone you can almost find them in every corner BUT did you know that you can also wear cosplay costumes while singing your heart out ?
Ohatsu Tenjin Branch ( お初天神店 ) in Osaka have this option. Cosplay costumes are free though they are not exactly clean, there are also some wigs available.
Oh and sizes are a bit small too ..
We celebrated R’s birthday last weekend. He took us to this cozy restaurant underneath the JR railroad in Osaka – Barbara Market. Though the food was not really to die for, the ambiance of the restaurant was really nice.
Front View : Entrance
you can also have your lunch or dinner outside
the ceiling
my lunch : curry
R's mini cake courtesy of the restaurant
they don’t have much variety for lunch but all lunch meal includes eat all you can bread and salad and drink all you can .
if your ever in JR Osaka Station, don’t miss this water clock located just outside South Central Exit.
I found this in the convenience store.
Unfortunately I left it in A’s house so I don’t really know how it taste like
Danjiri , according to my Japanese dictionary, is a decorative portable shrine, float used in festivals in Kansai. The most famous one is in Kishiwada City but the one in Izumi Fuchu claims to be the oldest.
I have never been to this of festival here in Osaka before so when L invited me , I said yes. We stayed in L’s friend in Izumi so that we can watch the festival at night.
I was amazed at the dedication of the local who participated in the festival. There were men and women in all types of ages who joined in. They had their hair done and they have their cute festival customs on.
The float covered in all paper lantern. If you watch it at night, the paper lanterns is night too look at but you can’t really see the details on the float.
This float is getting ready to join the procession. I think they were doing a ceremony or something to it.
The Back View
Pulling the Shrine
The Shrine
Dancing on Top
It seems that this festival is dangerous. Last year there was only one casualty, a girl got trampled when the shrine passed by. Lamp post all over the route have a protective covering on it and it seems that mattresses were positioned at some corners to prevent the participants from heading straight in the pavement.
The work on the float were just amazing. You can just see how much work was put in making those carvings.
If you ever watch this festival you might want to keep a little distance 
3 day weekend again, the only one for the month of October. Festival are still going on. As always you can find more events and festival listed in Kansai Scene( October ).
A friend found this event in Uji , Kyoto. It looks very interesting . The site is in Japanese though.
The festival is form October 8 -10, 2011.
Schedule, Access and Actual Event Location.
