Sunday 22 June 2014

JOYPOLIS, OSAKA, JAPAN

セガジョイポリス . 조이 폴리스

We said bye bye to Nagoya today, and took the afternoon Kodama Shinkansen こだま号 to Osaka. It took about 1 hour and 11 mins to go to Osaka.
 
Getting our ekiben for lunch onboard the train
There's our green train car No. 8 at Platform 17

Mom had planned to buy this special bento produced for
the 50th Anniversary of the Tokaido Shinkansen
Came with a commemorative picture card; 1000円

After checking into the hotel in Osaka, we took a train to Umeda Station and walked to the HEP FIVE mall.
 
Spotted the red ferris wheel
Follow the large crowd



Greet the large sperm whale inside
Catch the view of the tracks from the mall

 
And finally, on Level 8, I spotted the entrance to Joypolis ジョイポリス.
Mom did not want to tell me what this place was... and when I went in, I was very very very happy!
 


There was the game machines and medal square area ゲーム機・メダルスクエアー which Mom did not allow me to play. 
 


Change monies into tokens here
 
The other section was the UFO Catcher corner セガのぬいぐるみ屋さん, and I won a small keychain.
 



Pick up a free plastic to keep your wins
 
We took the escalator upstairs to the P+ Closet and there was nothing for me here. Mom said girls liked to come here and put on different costumes and take neo-print photos.
 


 
There was a haunted house attraction which is ticketed, but I did not want to see it. We went back down, and Mom finally said ok to play some games in this section.
 


 
We spent more than 1 hour here, and then we left for dinner.
I wished I could spend more time here, but Mom said the games were expensive to play and that we should save some money for food.
 
 
Mom's Notes
  • The Puratto Kodama ぷらっとこだま pass was comparatively cheaper than a regular shinkansen ticket, plus it includes one free soft drink/ beer per pass. However, some things to note that I've gathered:
       - pass can only be bought from any JR Tokai Tour Agency JR東海ツアーズ 支店 1 day before intended travel
           date (the online and phone purchase options offer more advanced booking)
         - cheaper category passes sell out fast, so go early to get them
         - good to consider an upgrade to the plusher, spacious and quieter green car with a fare top-up as the seats
           are allocated and guaranteed; seats in the regular section are free-seating on a first-come-first-served basis
         - the limited number of green car passes means that only a few seats are offered at this discounted price,
           and it does not mean that the green car will be packed or crowded
         - only valid for the Kodama line こだま号, which has a variety of train timings and destinations (see website)
         - the drink coupon has to be exchanged at the convenience store or kiosks located in the train station, and
           it can be redeemed before or after the train ride
         - selected date and time of travel, and the boarding and disembarkation points are fixed and cannot be
           modified; any changes = a new train pass purchase
         - must only enter via the shinkansen gantries/ gates
         - check on the seat vacancies here
 
  • Parental supervision required here, else the younger kids would be donating their entire savings to this place!
  • The place was noisy, dark, and the machines were brightly lit... I read somewhere that these joints used lighting and sound to create the illusion of excitement and suspension of time, and it certainly felt that way
  • Note that they are very strict about the entry restrictions on minors so take that into consideration when planning a visit here
  • Most of the game machines take cash/coins, and we had mistakenly changed a bucket of 1000円 worth of tokens before we found out. Just approach the staff and explain the problem, and they will issue these cards in return
 
  • The tricky bit is every time you want to play a game, you will need to locate a staff, hand them the card equivalent to the amount required to play, and they will activate the game for you. However, when it gets busy, it can be challenging trying to catch the attention of the staff

 
     Address:    大阪市北区角田町5-15「HEP FIVE」8F・9F
     Tel:           06-6366-3647
     Directions: Click here
     Opening Hours: 11am - 11pm
                             No entry to aged 16 and below after 7pm
                                  No entry to aged 18 and below after 10pm
    
  

1 comment:

  1. Hi there Marcus, and Mum,

    Good day!

    Thanks for sharing so many travel stories, and to mum too, the travel tips on many of the places you have visited.

    I started a travel site last yeAr; apart from sharing my own travel stories with my kids, i am very happy to share that we now have over 50 other parents sharing over 200 travel stories and reviews with us. Our "mission" would be to gather as many travel stories as we can, so parents researching their trip can have a central reference... Some of the stories we have shared are originally from other parent bloggers, and in that instance we always share upfront where it was from, and link back to the source. Have a look for example at this article: http://kidsonboard.net/blog/photo-essay/hokkaido-in-autumn-koto-season/

    Could I share your travel stories on our site too? How we suggest working, is to create a summary of each trip (for example Osaka 2014) and link back to your posts on each of the attraction you covered. Think if us as an additional avenue to share your travel stories!

    Please do drop me a mail at admin@kidsonboard.net; very much looking forward to hearing back from you!

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