Osaka Japanese Steakhouse in Mesa, Arizona!

 

When celebrating a birthday, it is exciting to be able to find a fun spot for dinner that not only has delicious food, but fun entertainment as well. We recently had the pleasure of stopping by Osaka Japanese steakhouse in Mesa, Arizona to celebrate my husbands birthday. A few of our family members live over in the area, so they invited us out to dinner to celebrate and spend some time together. Osaka offers a regular service style section where you can order dishes like sushi, and appetizers or you can request a teppanyaki table & order a dish to be grilled right in front of you. Quite a few restaurants that have this style of seating will often sit smaller groups together at one large table, but lucky for us the table we were sat at fit seven people which was perfect for our party, so we didn't have any strangers at our table. 

Depending on the day & time you want to visit for a meal, I highly recommend calling ahead of time to make a reservation. The restaurant was absolutely packed when we arrived & if we hadn't called earlier in the week to make a reservation we would have been waiting around for quite a while for a table to open up. 

Every teppanyaki plate comes with rice, some veggies, two shrimp plus your choice of meats along with a small salad and soup. I am not a huge fan of the dressing they use, so I didn't eat the salad but the soup was good despite being just a broth with two small mushrooms floating in it.

My teppanyaki dish was delicious, the meat was cooked just right and I enjoy the sauce they serve with it. I do wish that the veggies had been cooked slightly more and they could use slightly bigger portions for the meats with how much each dish is. While I do understand that part of the cost of the meal is the entertainment from watching the chef cook, a bigger protein portion I think would help balance out the cost. Especially since most parties will typically type the chef as well before he leaves the table.

Our table also had some of their sushi, spicy edamame and dumpling. All three dishes were enjoyable and I didn't have any issue with them. A family member of ours treated us to a dinner here for my husbands birthday & had mentioned to the staff that it was his birthday. At the end of our meal they brought over some small cakes, a big candle & a fun mask for my husband to wear while they played some loud drums and a happy birthday song. You'll frequently hear this through out your dinner as almost every table there had someone celebrating either a birthday or another event. The chef who did our teppanyaki had also made my husband a balloon headband to wear because it was his birthday & the chef liked his hair style. This spot is a little pricey per person for a meal, but to visit for a celebration or a once in a while thing I think it is worth it for the experience! 

This specific location is located at 6730 E. Superstition Springs Blvd Mesa, Arizona 85206 and they have a secondary location in Gilbert.  

🌵 If you live in Arizona check out the "Things to do in Arizona" section of my blog to find entertainment, restaurants, vacation spots & more. (Click on the name or locate it on the right-hand side of my page).

🟊 This is not a sponsored post, we paid for this ourselves. I just enjoy sharing awesome spots with my readers. 

Check out the Spaltter room at Pinspiration!

 

The best kind of mess, is the mess that you don't have to personally clean up! If you are looking for a way to unwind a bit, make a mess and then leave with a souvenir of your time then you should check out the splatter rooms at Pinspiration in Mesa,AZ. Pinspiration is a craft store that has a wide range of crafting supplies & craft kits set up to where you can pick out a project, & then complete it in store. You can craft without having to worry about running out of supplies or not having something on hand that you need. One of the biggest draws for me is their Splatter room, where you can hang up a canvas or even a shirt on the wall then use paint & paint brushes to splatter, flick and splash paint onto your project. The store was packed full of fun projects to work on & they even had a small food area where you can order items such as DIY cupcakes, smores, and drinks to upgrade your experience. 

The cost of your experience will depend on the size or type of canvas you would like along with the type of paint used. Regular experiences with a 12x12 canvas + protective gear & one hour in the splatter room start at $35 per person. Regular paints are cheaper than if you were to do a glow paint or fabric paint. While we were leaving, I saw a girl prepping a canvas bag to use in the splatter room which sounds like a fantastic idea as well. How are you & your clothing protected? You will be provided with a poncho, a pair of gloves, shoe booties to cover your feet and are provided with protective eyewear if you choose to wear them. I opted not to wear the googles, they started fogging up a little & I knew I wasn't going to go overly crazy to where I would be splashing paint back into my own face. For our experience we each received a 12x9 canvas along with some glow paint to use with the black lights on. For my canvas I requested one that had already been painted black, they also have white which you can use as is or use a solid color to paint the base then splatter over that. 

It takes only a few minutes to store your personal belongings then get into your protective gear, everything else will already be set up in the room for you. You & your group will be in the splatter room by yourselves so you can shut the door & turn the black light on and off as you please. Inside of the room you'll also find a wash station for when you need it, tape so you can tape off areas of your canvas you wish to leave unpainted, extra brushes along with a fan to help keep you cool plus an Alexa you can request to play music for you. We did the splatter room as part of our staycation girls weekend my mom, my daughter & I did together. We found the experience to be a lot of fun, we enjoyed the paint colors they had to choose from and each one of us left with a unique piece that fit our personal colors and preferences. I also really enjoyed having the Alexa in the room, it was a blast playing some of our favorite songs while we splattered away. 

Depending on the weather & how much paint you add to the canvas your drying time will vary. I didn't put nearly as much paint on mine as my daughter did so mine only took a few hours to dry, but her painting took a bit longer. So keep this in mind & be prepared to carry the wet canvases home in your vehicle, they will provide you with a sheet of brown paper to place under your canvas to help protect yourself & your car a little more. When we got home my son enjoyed using his black light spy pen on the paintings to see the black light paints shine. I need to get a small black light to hang above these in the hallway so we can light them up at night when it is dark out. 

Does this sound like an experience you would enjoy? Would you prefer to do a canvas, or something else?

🌵 If you live in Arizona check out the "Things to do in Arizona" section of my blog to find entertainment, restaurants, vacation spots & more. 

Disclaimer- The experience mentioned above was provided by Pinspiration for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Tyrannostorus - Visit the dinosaur themed store in Mesa,AZ!

 

We recently had a dinosaur filled afternoon when we went to Jurassic Quest live, but that wasn't the only dinosaur themed stop we made that day. We have a dinosaur themed store in Mesa that I've been wanting to check out, so while we were in the area we stopped by on our way home. I also love the dinosaur pun name the store has, it is called Tyrannostorus and it is located at 1816 W Baseline Road Mesa,AZ 85202 it is located near where the loop 101 & US 60 meet. This store has a lot to offer, even if you just go to look you'll see a ton of awesome products & I could honestly spend a fortune here given the chance. Not only is Tyrannostorus a store, but it also feels like a mini museum. I do enjoy dinosaurs, but I originally wanted to stop here because I saw online that they have a selection of framed butterflies & insects, so being a collector I wanted to see what they had to offer & I was pretty happy with their selection.

This store is packed! Everything is well organized and has it's own section that it is sorted into. They have framed butterflies and critters as mentioned above, fossils, mine your own gem bags, replicas, stuffed plushies, purses, local treats, and more. There wasn't a section of the store where I didn't spot something I would want to buy. One of my favorite parts is for gem collectors & small children who like hands on activities, you can purchase a bag of sand which contains gems and use their mining station located in the middle of the store to see which gems you ended up with. While we were in the store there was a family who had purchased a bag & there was a friendly and knowledgeable staff member assisting them & telling them all about the gems in their bag. They also have a fossil dig inside of the store that kids can do. Depending on your budget they have small bags starting at $4.99 all the way up to a 25lb kit that cost $79.99. Price wise it depends on what you are shopping for, some products are average/normal and some products I found to be a big higher than other spots I visit for similar items. The store also offers birthday party packages & private party events that come with a number of take home products. 

When you check out you can also be added to a mailing list to receive future discounts/coupons to use in the store & the staff were great. The store has an open layout so it makes it easy to browse without running into other customers. We got lucky when we stopped by & there were only four other guests in the store, you can check them out on google to find when their slower times are if you don't want to deal with a larger crowd.  The giant dinosaur skulls they have on display in the middle of the store are also pretty cool to see. I did not work together with this store on a review, this is just a spot we visited & wanted to share with my readers as we all enjoyed our visit. If you live in Arizona or plan on visiting, feel free to check out my "Things to do in Arizona" section by clicking on the link in this post or the link on the right hand side of my blog to find more cool stores, restaurants, activities & more! 

Pogo Pass - Family fun this summer in AZ without breaking the bank.

Summer is here which means that the kids are out of school & you are looking for activities to do with your kids that won't break the bank. With how expensive gas is at the moment mixed with how much it cost for admission & drinks/snacks when you are out it can really add up which means you'll likely cut back on the amount of things you'll be able to do this summer. Pogo Pass can come in handy to help you cut back on some of those costs allowing you to still get the most out of the summer. Pogo Passes are available in five different cities (in four different states), the promotional code above will work on all of the different passes, however I will be focusing on the Phoenix Pogo Pass as that is where we are located. Passes are normally $119.98 each, but if you use the code on the banner above (6c8d10a3) you can get your pass for only $59.99. You might be thinking "Okay Luna, I can get the pass for half off, but then what do I do with it?"

Pogo Pass works along side a number of local business which allow you a certain amount of visits to each location for free using your Pogo Pass. A large majority of the attractions are located between Phoenix,Gilbert/Chandler & Mesa along with one in Scottsdale plus a few in Tucson. I put together a quick map showing where a large majority of the locations are found.

Is the pass worth purchasing? In my opinion the pass more than pays for itself, if you are an adult without children there are a few things on the pass that are for small children but there is a ton of activities for teens & adults so you'll still get your moneys worth out of the pass. 

Here are just some of the things that come included with your pass & this also only shows the cost of visiting each location for ONE adult and the list below does not show everything that is included in the pass! 

Gravity Extreme Zone - $17.99
Phoenix Zoo - $37.95
Golfland Sunsplash - $49.87
810 Billards - $10
AZ Ice skating - $10
Enchanted Island - $23.75
Fat Cats (Bowling + Mini Golf) - $18
Pangea Land of the Dinosaurs - $19.95
Paradox Escape Room - $25
Phoenix Rock Gym - $15
VIP Airsoft - $23.80
Total: $251.31 

Using the Pogo Pass app on your phone you'll be able to keep track of which attractions you've already claimed uses for and what you have left along with a list of what comes included & what days/times you'll be able to use your pass. Some of the attractions will allow you to visit more than once for free using your pogo pass, for example you'll get one visit to the Phoenix Zoo and you can get one free round of bowling + a round of mini golf once a WEEK at Fat Cats. So even if you were to only visit the locations listed above one time, after paying for the pass itself you'll have saved yourself $194. 

Are there any extra fees? One or two places offer you the chance to upgrade from the basic package that comes with the Pogo Pass to a larger package or for a longer session, & one or two places will require a small fee such as the rental cost of bowling shoes so your costs may vary slightly. You'll also notice discount at some of the locations for food, you are not required to use the codes or upgrade to larger packages if you do not want to! You can stick with just what is included in your pass for free.

You can visit each attraction on a different day or you can work out a plan to have fun all day long visiting multiple locations in a single day. Most of these locations are a 30-45 minute drive for us & with the crazy prices at the gas pumps right now we decided it would work out best for us to group some of the locations that are near each other into a day of fun. We spent one whole day out of the house having fun, we stopped at Gravity Extreme Zone, Uptown Jungle, a mini golf spot we enjoy, & Fat Cats, we had planned on stopping at Pangea as well, but we wouldn't have made it in time before they closed. Later in the summer we will have another day where we visit several other attractions as well & we will still have vouchers left over for the outdoor activities (Enchanted Island + Phoenix Zoo) left for when the weather cools down again. Pogo Passes are good for 1 year from date of purchase so don't feel pressured into using all of your attraction visits at once. 

The Pogo Pass app is easy to navigate & simple to use, all of the locations also make it easy for you to use your pass to get entry without any issues! We haven't run into any issues with our Pogo Passes yet. 

USE CODE 6c8d10a3 to get your Pogo Pass for only $59.99

Disclaimer- Pogo Pass provided two of our passes in exchange for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. With the use of the affiliation code above I will earn a small commission on each pass sold. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.