Osaka

Osaka is not too far from Kyoto so we took a local train from near our hotel. It was more like a subway train. We're renting an apartment for the first time and it's nice to have a little more space and a kitchen.

There's a convenience store on almost every corner here. Between 7- 11, Family Mart, and Lawson's, you are want for nothing: hot meals, snacks, cold drinks, a bathroom, coffee etc. After we checked in we tried to go to a local restaurant but they were full so we decided to just grab food at a Family Mart and eat in a park where we watched a youth baseball team practice.

Then it was off to Japan's most visited tourist site, the Osaka Castle. It's a beautiful and impressive building that is built up on high ground surrounded by moats. The castle has burned and been rebuilt several times. This latest version is from the 1930s but was damaged and restored after World War II bombing. It was a beautiful weekend day and the line was only about 15 minutes long.

We're trying new foods, so for dinner we went to an Unagi (eel) restaurant. They opened at 5:00 and we were the first ones in the door and within 12 minutes the place was sold out. We got lucky on that one because it was delicious.

After dark we headed to the Dotonbori nightlife area. Wow. Imagine about five or six Las Vegas strips crossing each other. There's bright neon lights and animatronic displays that restaurants have above their door showing what food they sell. Thousands and thousands of people of all ages and nationalities are milling around, walking along the canal, drinking, eating, and having fun. Pachinko parlors are seemingly everywhere. Think 10 Bourbon Streets without drunks and puke.

Host shows are popular here. These are bars where pretty boys in makeup are paid to flirt with women and they're incredibly popular. There's no sex involved but women of all ages pay to drink and have the company of a young man who pays attention to them. That speaks volumes.

On Sunday we went to the Osaka aquarium. It was highly recommended by our friend Jo, who lived in Japan for 3 years. It was huge and pretty incredible, probably the best aquarium I've been to.

We had lunch at Tempozan mall next door. Our guide book recommended eating at one of the many restaurants inside. We tried a Tonkatsu restaurant again for the pork cutlet set meal. Lucky for us it's oyster season and we got pork cutlet and 3 fried oysters, miso soup and rice for about $11 each. Incredible. When you enter a restaurant in Japan, at least one of the staff yells "Irasshaimase!" which is akin to "welcome" or "come on in." And when you leave, more times than not, someone will escort you to the door smiling all the way. Probably the best service we've ever had and it's interesting to note that tipping is not a thing here.

I was skeptical of using the IC card for everything but it really is convenient. You don't have to buy tickets for any transportation, except a bullet train. You just tap your card on and tap off when you leave a station. They work in every city we've been to so far, so no need to get a new card for each city. We've been running all over town.

We saw a poster in the subway for a Mucha museum. He's the Czech artist who kick-started the Art Nouveau movement, one of our favorites. The museum was great. They have a lot of his original work. They are doing a comparison to a Japanese artist, Takehisa Yumeji.

We explored the shopping district in the Namba neighborhood and went to the lion headed temple of Namba Yasaka Jinja. After that, it was just exploring neighborhoods and streets including the Kuroman market.

That night we tried an Okanimiyaki restaurant. It's an Osaka favorite. It's kind of like a big omelette with cabbage and seafood and meat inside. There's a grill in front of everyone. The chef grills it on the main grill and then puts it on the warmer grills in front of everyone. It's fun to watch and eat.

On Monday, our last day, we didn't really have anything planned. In the morning we took in a housing museum which sounds odd. It is an 18th century recreation of an Edo era village on the 7th and 8th floor of a building. Deanne rented a kimono for the occasion. It was very informative and fun.

Lunch was shabu-shabu, another first for us. It's a hot pot where you cook your own food in front of you. The owner couldn't have been nicer and taught us how to do it and when we were leaving, it started raining and he even offered to give us an umbrella. The rain stopped and we didn't need to take it, but what a kind gesture. We're seeing a lot of that.

We had no agenda so we just wandered around different shopping streets, and there are a lot of them. There's a high-end street with a super expensive stores. They were mostly full. The Japanese are really fashion conscious and seem to spend an exorbitant amount of money on clothes. We went to the American trendy district called America Mura. Baggy jeans and baggy gray sweatpants are in. They are not cheap. And anything with English writing and especially an American University on it is pretty popular. What's cheaper are nonsensical words that are not copyrighted.

We love the vibe of Osaka. They seem a bit more carefree and fun loving then in Tokyo, less business like. But talk about crass commercialism! These people spend money like it's going out of style on clothes and odd collectibles.

Once again we could have used more time here. But tomorrow we check out and head to Kobe, just down Osaka bay.

More photos and videos are here.

Main Osaka album
https://photos.app.goo.gl/H5ko8H2E5LpTkLvf8

Osaka aquarium
https://photos.app.goo.gl/DaGL6mfYM7is9SHG8

Unagi Eel restaurant
https://photos.app.goo.gl/nMTeMn3W4XNq1gT26Read more