Umeda Shopping: Nintendo Store, Loft, and Tsutaya

Photo info: Apple iPhone 15 Pro, 6.7649998656528mm, f/1.8, 1/120 sec, ISO80
“Inkling” Osaka, 2026

We spent the day shopping in Umeda, Osaka, and it was a really good time. 🛍️

First stop was the Nintendo Store. We were in there for a while, just soaking it all in. I’m a big Splatoon fan, so I picked up a keychain and a notebook. I had my eye on a mini skateboard too, but no luck on that front.

From there we headed to Loft, where I found exactly what I was looking for: the Tomie A6 Hobonichi cover! Just the cover by itself, which was perfect since I can swap it right onto my current setup. Yatta! I also grabbed a Tomie Weeks (March start), which is super cool. I’ll use it for Japanese vocabulary notes. I still need a pencil board and an A5 cover to complete my Tomie Hobonichi collection, so the hunt continues. 👀

The last stop was Tsutaya Books, and wow, what a place. The layout is circular, so you just browse in one direction and loop back to where you started. They had an amazing wall of fancy fountain pens, a solid selection of more affordable pens, and even a camera section where I checked out the latest Fujifilm and Sony gear. Highly recommend if you ever find yourself in Umeda.

Photo info: Apple iPhone 15 Pro, 6.7649998656528mm, f/1.8, 1/160 sec, ISO64
“Nintendo Characters” Osaka, 2026
Photo info: Apple iPhone 15 Pro, 6.7649998656528mm, f/1.8, 1/120 sec, ISO100
“Splatoon Things” Osaka, 2026
Photo info: Apple iPhone 15 Pro, 6.7649998656528mm, f/1.8, 1/120 sec, ISO100
“Tomie Cover” Osaka, 2026
Photo info: Apple iPhone 15 Pro, 6.7649998656528mm, f/1.8, 1/60 sec, ISO200
“Fancy Fountain Pens” Osaka, 2026
Photo info: Apple iPhone 15 Pro, 6.7649998656528mm, f/1.8, 1/60 sec, ISO250
“Pretty Kakunos” Osaka, 2026

Splatfest

Photo info: Apple iPhone 15 Pro, 6.7649998656528mm, f/1.8, 1/120 sec, ISO125
“Splatfest” Cedar Park, 2024

I’m really enjoying this Splatfest! I’ve been having a blast using my Undercover Brella and the Custom Wellstring V — they’re so much fun! There’s been a lot of buzz about Splatoon 4, but no official word from Nintendo yet. Personally, I think Splatoon 3 still has a lot to offer!

Splatoon 2 & 3 Art Books

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 27mm, f/2.8, 1/160 sec, ISO2500
“Splatoon Art Books” Cedar Park, 2024

I finally own the Splatoon 2 & 3 art books! Long ago I saw them at Kinokuniya and didn’t buy them, and kind of regretted it. This last holiday, I saw them in the store again and was about to buy them but Mariko said that she could order them for about half the price from Japan. Sure enough, they were only 2,000 yen each, vs $45 US. It just took a few weeks to arrive, but I am very happy! The art is so cool. I love the Splatoon aesthetic so much!

Splatoon Kit

Photo info: Apple iPhone 12 mini, 4.2mm, f/1.6, 1/60 sec, ISO160
“Splatoon Kit” Cedar Park, 2024

My new favorite weapon in Splatoon 3 is the Tri-Stringer and Inkline Tri-Stringer. I find it so fun to play a backline support weapon! And with the Toxic Mist sub-weapon, it’s really satisfying to shut down the enemy’s forward progress. I hope my team appreciates it. The kill count may not be very high, but it’s a decent inker and effective way crowd control weapon to help get the win. Plus I think it looks pretty cool.

Splatfest T-Shirt

Photo info: Apple iPhone 12 mini, 2.71mm, f/2.2, 1/60 sec, ISO400
“Splatfest Shirt” Cedar Park, 2023

My Splatoon splatfest t-shirt arrived! This splatfest’s theme is “Legend of Zelda” to celebrate the release of “Tears of the Kingdom”. I chose Team Wisdom (Zelda), and now have the official shirt. I am matching my squidling now!

“Splatfest Shirt” Splatsville, 2023
“Splatfest Shirt” Splatsville, 2023

I think it’s cool that the real shirt and in-game shirts are exactly the same, including the Squidforce brand logo. It’s awesome!

Photo info: Apple iPhone 12 mini, 4.2mm, f/1.6, 1/60 sec, ISO500
“Squidforce” Splatsville, 2023