Admittedly, I haven’t thought of this analogy format since the SAT but it seemed appropriate for this blog entry’s title. We heard a couple times that Osaka would be nothing special compared to the other cities we’ve seen in Japan but Sarah and I both enjoyed our time there a lot. It’s true that there aren’t nearly as many historic sites, temples, shrines, etc. as you would see in Kyoto (or Tokyo, for that matter) but Osaka has a clean, new feel we haven’t come across so far in Japan. It is also regarded by many as the culinary center of Japan. Finally, there are a bunch of rivers that run through the city giving it a decidedly Chicago-like resemblance. Our expectations were set low before we got here (and coming from Nara anything can be considered an upgrade) but we had a fun day and a half here.
We arrived from Nara around mid-day - as always, the trains were very easy to navigate and exactly on time. Check in wasn’t for a few hours so we grabbed a leisurely lunch nearby and strolled around the city for a few hours.
These rivers throughout the city reminded us of Chicago.
Once we were checked in Sarah and I decided to go for a run - the weather is warmer here and the scenery along the water is hard to beat.
Sarah snapped this picture of a garden along the way.
For dinner we headed to the famous Okonomiyaki Kiji. Okonomiyaki is a Japanese dish based around a scallion pancake (sort of) that has eggs, meat, vegetables and sometimes noodles mixed in. (Trust me, it’s delicious.) We waited for over an hour to sit down at the bar but it was worth the wait. The owner spoke good English, though he didn’t have any English menus so we just let him order for us. We split two okonomiaki dishes - one “traditional” and one that was more like lo mein. Overall it was a fun (and tasty!) experience and we’d highly recommend a stop here if you ever find yourself in Osaka!
On the way to dinner.
Action shot. Ours is on the right (and yes, it is covered in bacon).
Some of the lo mein-like dishes. Different, but equally as delicious as the “traditional.”
The owner and his staff let us take a picture with them on our way out – great start to our stay in Osaka! (And yes, I'm easily over a foot taller than the owner...)
Okonomiyaki Kiji happens to be in the basement of the Umeda Sky Building, home to the Floating Garden Observatory. We headed up to the top floor to check out the panoramic views of the city – as expected, it was spectacular.
Nighttime in Osaka.
We woke up today ready to see more of Osaka on foot. We grabbed a coffee and walked over to the Osaka Castle, which seems to be the city’s most important historic landmark. The weather was a little cloudy but at least there wasn’t any rain!
On our way to the castle. Like others in Europe, this castle had a moat.
The Osaka Castle.
Looking back at the city and the colorful leaves.
Another shot of the Osaka Castle on our way out.
Having checked the box on historical landmarks in Osaka we took the subway down to Kuromon Market in the Nipponbashi neighborhood. Definitely much more low-key than Tsukiji Market in Tokyo, though there is still plenty of fresh fish around…so we decided to have sushi for lunch. We stopped at one of the small stands to get bowls of rice and sushi: I had tuna, Sarah had eel.
Slightly different style than the other sushi we've had, but equally delicious.
Full from lunch, we spent the afternoon wandering around the streets of Shinsaibashi, perusing the shops and taking in the sights.
A river runs right through the mall-like streets of Shinsaibashi, making it quite a scenic shopping experience.
We opted for casual ramen for dinner. We thought we’d found a new ramen place, but once we got inside (there was a 20-minute line) we realized it was the same as the ramen place we went to in Tokyo! Guess they have a couple locations. In any case, it was the perfect way to end the day. We headed home on the subway afterwards to get some rest before heading to Hiroshima tomorrow.
Not a bad view at night either!