A charming cafe, replete with candle gifts, hemp tshirts and peace and love music offers coffees and vegetarian food all powered by the rays of the sun.

The solar cafe is filled with mementos of world peace and offers a serene atmosphere to kick back and relax.

However there is also a small gallery for artists in the area to showcase their works and you can see an ever changing selection of pictures and installations.

Some English is spoken, and there are also a few English books in the cafe library for you to read while you enjoy your organic soy cafe latte.

An English map is here

tel：06-6131-1553
open daily 12-1900 except Monday and Tuesday.

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The answer is not Golloyds!

This service is widely promoted throughout Japan and while it is easy to use the exchange rates they offer will actually cost you a lot of money.

For example the exchange rate fro Golloyds today is GBP / JPY 143. However the spot rate on the forex markets is 139. That’s a difference of 4 yen per pound.

Now I’m crap at maths but even I can see that over a transfer of 300,000 yen you will lose money:

golloyds
300000 / 143 GBP2,097

forex market
300000 / 139 GBP2,158

That’s a GBP60 difference.

There are two methods.

The first is to open a Citibank account in Japan. They have a multicurrency account option that enables you to keep cash in Yen, then transfer it into a range of currencies at a more competitive rate than Golloyds. Once the cash is in the foreign currency you can either put it in a term deposit to gain interest (e.g. Australian $ has a good rate at the moment compared to the rest of the world!), or transfer it via an electronic fund transfer to your bank back home.

The other way is to open an account with any of the numerous forex trade website (e.g. Onanda or World First).

These sites offer great forex rates as they rely on volume of transactions to make a profit. After you open an account you can wire the money to their local bank account (e.g. their account in Tokyo) and the money is then routed into your online account. Once there you can choose your currency exchange and transfer the cash into your account back home.

There are a couple more charges to pay this way (for example the furikomi fee from your JPY account to the forex trader’s JPY account, and then maybe a charge for the wire transfer from the trading account to your home account), but in the end you will end up saving more cash due to the better exchange rates.

World First has a case study which shows the savings possible.

In short, Golloyds charges you a significant chuck of change for the convenience of sending your cash back home. Better deals are available and don’t take much extra effort.

Good luck with your forex transactions.

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So, Bistro Mishole (home page here)offers a good range of French / Italian menus at reasonable prices. A meal for two which couldn’t be finished cost Y5,000 and included drinks, three mains and two sides!

It’s a little out of the way – from Umeda you’ll need to take the 34 or 57 bus from the JR station and get off at the big Life supermarket stop (Daitocho 2 chome – be carefull there are 2 Lifes, you want the second). You’ll practically walk into the door once you step off the bus. Journey is about 20 minutes.

Map and contact details

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When does Shin-Osaka shine?

When it’s Shine-Osaka, that’s when.

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That’s nothing.

There’ve been recent sightings of Michael Jackson, adding weight to the conspiracy theory that his death was in fact staged just so that he could fulfill his lifelong ambition of working in Umeda’s Loft department store.

See, photographic evidence. Would someone please call OK! Magazine?

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OK, then.

Delicacies are supposed to be, er, delicious, but does the price warrant a loan for a Mercedes?

Take this little beauty, for example.

A mushroom. Yes, a mushroom.

Tastfully boxed in a nice little cardboard box. It might not be made of gold or even goldleafed, but it does have a whole bunch of chopped up fern around it for maximum ‘just-been-plucked -from-the-woods’ effect.

We think you might like it. Enough to tickle your purchase fancy.

A mere snip at 3,500 yen. Oh, and it’s on special today, 30% off. Quick, make a beeline before they all sell out.

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As if being blinded with science wasn’t enough, the world’s biggest electrical goods department store can bedazzle you with  the latest range of innovations, inventions and contraptions. A tasty trap to fall into, mind.

Why? Because you can now gorge your technological appetite on sushi USBs. Oh, a word of warning, though. Watch your laptop’s waistline with the fried shrimps, and watch your fingers while you’re at it. Look carefully at the piccy below and you’ll see one all nicely chopped off and ready for some PC action. Finger-lickin’ good.

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Yes, the most blush-inducingly named cafe in Japan. Oopsy, what a boob.

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“lived & worked in the heart of NYC for 20 years. As owners of “K studio NY” on 54th and Madison, they used their hairdressing skills for numerous famous clientele including, Madonna, Sara Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick, Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss and many others.

In 2007 Keiko & Hiroshi relocated back to KSNY in Osaka. K studio NY provides a professional salon service which incorporates & reflects their overseas experience.”

A little treasure in the heart of Osaka. What’s more you get a 20% discount for the first time!

Check their website here.

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