Overwhelming Osaka [Japan]
Osaka represented the tail-end of my Asia grad trip with Jenny, and we were TIRED by this point. We faced a series of unfortunate events trying to take the train to get to Osaka, followed by more transit and a lengthy walk to our Airbnb in the boiling hot sun with our heavy luggage. In hindsight, we should've just ubered once we made it into the city.
On our walk into town (post-dropping off the luggage), we noticed bicycles everywhere and got greeted by the imposing Namba Yasaka Shrine. What an intimidating welcome into the city. Then we strolled through the Kuromon food market, where I finally got to try one of those little red octopus snacks on a stick! It turns out that the little octopus head is filled with a boiled egg. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't that!
Afterwards, we made it to Nipponbashi, which didn't scream "otaku" as much as I expected. It's supposed to be famous for anime paraphernalia! We then tried Rikuro's Cheesecake, but it tasted like egg soufflé and had raisins at the bottom — I'm still an Uncle Tetsu loyalist. In the evening, we walked through America-Mura. I'm SO not up-to-date and didn't even know that Stussy was a hypebeast brand. Eventually, we settled on eating takoyaki in Sankaku Park, where we also saw a bunch of people go-karting around the city in Mario Kart cosplay outfits. I think the drivers were other North American tourists who had Airbnb vouchers to burn.
Finally, we walked around Dotonburi. This area was WILD. Every place had a giant sign of the food they served, such as a giant 3D pufferfish, takoyaki, crab, and so on. I ended up eating my requisite black garlic ramen and a piece of torched kobe beef sushi as consolation for not visiting Kobe and eating the real deal. It was delicious. Osaka vibes are definitely lively — we'd even seen people bboying in the subway station! It felt like such an epicenter for culture.
How to spend a rainy day in Osaka
The next day surprisingly ended up being my favourite day in Osaka! We booked an Airbnb experience to make homemade udon soup with wagyu beef. It was delicious and quite different from the udon I'm used to buying — the noodles were chewier, and it was fun to stomp on the dough to make it. I also enjoyed watching our instructor explain how he made the broth overnight using dashi and bonito flakes (aka it was packed with umami). He also prepared a sweet potato jelly dessert for us, which was surprisingly tasty too!
Despite the filling udon, we proceeded to stop for a rice cake — which tasted exactly like those crunchy seaweed rice crackers — and a creamy kobe cheesecake. I've never been a big cheesecake person, but Japanese cheesecake might've made me a convert.
Self-promotion is a way of life.
The next stop was Osaka's ramen museum! Tokyo has one of these too. The ramen museum has an adorable baby chick as its mascot, and it was plastered everywhere. The highlight, of course, was making our own instant ramen and customizing the cup afterwards.
Next, we had plans to visit Minoo Falls. However, the weather was looking ominous, so we turned back. Five minutes after making that decision, it started pouring (great call)! Instead, we waited out the rain by eating delicious katsu (seriously, I don't understand how Japan can make fried food still taste clean somehow) and then watching Maze Runner: Death Cure at Toho Cinemas. I'd never watched other Maze Runner movies, but it was still easy enough to follow (and Dylan O'Brien remained easy on the eyes). I guess this behaviour is in line with watching solely the last Batman movie, Avengers: Endgame, How to Train Your Dragon 2, and a variety of other sequels without watching the preceding movies). I weirdly love watching movies abroad and getting a peek into their unique theatre-going cultures. In Japan, this cinema was super small! People also looked at me strangely for getting a large bucket of popcorn — I guess locals typically share one of those. The previews were super cute, and everyone stayed all the way until the credits were done! So polite.
Last day in Japan
The next morning, we slept in a little and planned out activities for the upcoming Hawaiian leg of the trip. We ended up going to Mio Mall on a hunt for my elusive 1-line-a-day notebook. To this day, Jenny still remembers my particular specifications, although I've since gone digital with the effort. Despite all the browsing, I didn't end up buying anything other than food. Namely, I tried an interesting Moomin-themed bubble tea, complete with a little character perched on the straw. I also ate a Sallisbury-style hamburger steak and chicken cutlet with thousand island dressing. The dishes here felt a bit more western-styled in that sense. Finally, I capped it off with a matcha/vanilla ice cream dessert that came with glutinous jelly chunks. I somewhat regret not trying okonomiyaki in Osaka (and trust me, the options were plentiful at this mall), but the ingredients still don't seem appetizing to me!
Finally, we camped out at the airport ahead of three consecutive nights of flying (aka one of the most insane travel routes I've ever booked). Stay tuned to find out whether the layovers were worthwhile.