Osaka

Today we visited Osaka, Japan's kitchen.

Stop 1
Osaka Castle and gardens
Here we visited the grounds of the historic Osaka castle, first built in the 1580s, burnt down and attacked, and rebuilt several times, most recently in 1965. It was instrumental in the unification of Japan, just before the Tokugawa/ Edo period starting in the early 1600s.
The grounds included a moat, (surprise! another shrine), and plum garden. Unfortunately the plum trees were not in bloom so the garden was a bit bare.

We also saw students celebrating their graduation around here, which was nice to see.

Stop 2
Nembu shrine
This shrine is in the shape of a dragon head. We don't know anything else about except that Thai people seem to love it.

Stop 3
Dotonburi and Shinsekai
A foodie's paradise with local and national eats. All of high quality!
It is also a carnival looking area, made to look like Coney Island, New York. Funny to see the Japanese interpretation of this including Billiken, an American football mascot of a happy baby turned Shinto god once imported to Japan.

Stop 4
Food Tour in Shinsekai
Our tour guide was a jack of all trades - amateur motorcycle racer, 'Back to the Future' Doc impressionist, voice over artist, guitar player, and food tour guide.
He showed us the best food spots in Shinsekai.
We had udon noodles in dashi broth with tofu, takoyaki which are little pancakes with squid, katsu on a stick, beef tendon stew, Osaka style chicken wings. After food, we drank highball (whisky and soda) and warm sake along with some typical bar snacks (lotus, pickles and okra).

On the train back to Kyoto, happy with our little day trip.Read more