• O-Snaka time!

    May 16 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Today we said goodbye to Hiroshima. We checked out of our accommodation, took the bus, then waited for our faithful Shinkansen with a coffee (and Bec's first matcha drink!) After a mostly uneventful hour we found ourselves in the beautiful city of Osaka. We grabbed a connecting train to the district of Namba and dropped our suitcases off at the hotel as it was too early for check in.

    At this point it was lunch time so we went on the hunt! There were a few good contenders but we found ourselves at a nice looking seafood restaurant. Phill got himself a set menu with a main of grilled mackerel and Bec got herself one with mixed tempura. Both were great! Afterwards we spent a bit of time wandering around the area before finally checking in.

    After a rest stop it was time for our main activity of the day, a food tour of Nanyo-dori. A shopping street known for a delicious variety of food! This tour lasted 3 hours and had us eating from 5 different places! And while most of the Japanese names went in one ear and out the other, we will do our best to describe them.

    The first stop was another Izakaya, where we had some delicious sushi of various types, including salmon, pickled sardine, and clam. Along with that we also had pork in a delicious teriyaki and ginger sauce.

    The next stop was a tiny standing-only udon noodle shop where 6-10 people gathered around the chef who was dishing out the meals. Our udon was served with a deliciously sweet and chewy fried tofu which was a perfect pairing with the broth. Definitely not a place we would have even noticed as we walked past!

    The third stop was for some Takoyaki, which are savoury fried balls with a similar consistency to pancake with an inside of octopus and garnished with a variety of toppings. We tried two and by far the best was the one with crispy garlic on top!

    The second to last stop was actually at a whisky bar, where Phill got a highball (whisky and soda water - a very popular drink in Japan) and Bec got the first Sake of the trip. Along with this we had a small set of various nibbles to go along with the drinks. It contained a potato salad like food, some pickled thinly sliced vegetables, some lotus root in soy sauce, and okra with some kind of seasoning. All of it was quite nice and paired nicely with our drinks!

    The final stop was exciting as it was for a beef hotpot! It was absolutely delicious, especially the broth. And towards the end the guides plopped rice and an egg in the pot and stirred it into a rice porridge which was an incredible end as the rice soaked up all the remains of the broth.

    After this we said goodbye and to the guides to the people we were doing the tour with, and walked back to the accommodation. Well, we headed in the direction of the accommodation, we did get distracted and detoured through Dotonbori, stopping for icecream and photos

    Step count: 15.6k
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