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7.31.2003 10:36 AM \| Link	We walk to the Osamu Tezuka museum, our first attraction of the day. Tezuka is the Japanese equivalent of Walt Disney - his cartoon characters are seen everywhere and known by everyone. The museum has a kind of Hollywood feel to it, with cement footprints and handprints of all of Tezuka's characters outside. The displays inside are really great, and we watch a funny movie in the theater, play some video games, and shop in the gift shop (which is full of special "birthday" merchandise, since Tezuka's most popular character, Astro Boy, was "born" on April 7th, 2003). Next we make a quick stop at the Takarazuka Review gift shop, in search of photos of women with mustaches! The Takarazuka Review is an extremely popular theater show where all parts are played by women, including male roles. The gift shop was full of posters, including a "Gone with the Wind" scene that was pretty funny. I noticed advertisements for the Review on nearly every train for the rest of the trip. We take a train back to Osaka and have fun in Umeda Station, where I spent a lot of time during my 2000 Japan trip, so I recognized lots of things like "Big Man" (a jumbo television playing ads and music videos) and the excellent Miyazaki store. We have ramen and gyoza for lunch, then shop at Kiddieland, a huge collection of toy stores full of wonderful stuff, including many Disney toys not available in the US! There's so many toys that I'm overwhelmed and can't decide what to buy, but I end up with a set of small Mickey and Minnie robots. Labels: japan, tezuka, trips


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