Kyoto: Osaka
This is the ninth recap for LOHOjapan, my 3 week trip to Japan with my boyfriend. After traveling to Kyoto and exploring the Gion area, we head off to explore Osaka!
Gion
We start off our day in the Gion area and look for where to eat for lunch.
Lunch: Nishiki market
Nishiki market is a marketplace in downtown Kyoto where you can get tons of fresh food and gifts. Think of it like Kyoto’s version of the Tsujiri fish market except with less focus on fish.
We walk there from our hotel and eat a variety of items for our lunch:
Chicken karaage ($5)
Cute little cup of fried chicken with a sweet honey sauce.
Corn croquette ($2.50)
Not sure why we really chose this corn croquette – it tastes just like a normal potato croquette except with corn inside.
Seafood combo ($18)
At one of the fish stalls, they have a seafood combo – we can choose 3 plates of anything they have on display for $18 USD. We choose the sweet prawns, scallops and tai snapper sashimi.
The scallops are big and juicy and the sweet prawns are so light and tasty. The seafood is fresh in general.
Small octopus ($3)
This little baby is a small octopus with a quail egg stuffed in its head! It’s an interesting thing to try but you better watch out for the juice that squirts out when you bite on it.
I am not careful so it ends up getting on my white shirt and I have to go purchase a new T-shirt lol.
Dango ($4)
We also try some dango, which is a Japanese dumpling sort of dessert. Similar to a mochi texture, we add a sweet soy sauce glaze on top.
Green tea gelato ($4)
We choose to try a level 2 matcha, which is their most popular level. The highest level is a 5 and apparently it is very strong, almost bitter. It is definitely interesting to try all the different levels, but our stomachs simply cannot handle it.
Osaka
Osaka is a large port city and an urban center known for hearty street food and modern architecture. One historical landmark that we did not visit (lol) is Osaka Castle, a 16th century shogunate building.
Traveling to Osaka
We take a local train to Osaka from the closest train station near Nishiki Market. It takes us around 50 minutes to get to Osaka station.
Things to do: shopping in Namba
Right as we get off the Osaka station at Namba, we are in the middle of what seems to be a shopping mall. Every train station basically has a mall, it seems like. We look at different clothing stores and arcades but do not purchase anything. We don’t see anything that is too different from the malls we see in Tokyo.
Snack: Takoyaki from Kukuru
Osaka is known for takoyaki, which are octopus balls. All along Dotonbori street you will see different takoyaki stands. Some of them are the same franchise only 1 block apart!
We purchase some takoyaki from a chain called Kukuru because again, it was featured on Youtube. The line only take us around 10 minutes and we select the “big cut” takoyaki ($8). If you choose to eat inside, you get to sit at a table but each person needs to order at least 1 set of takoyaki.
We find a little ledge to sit on as we wait for these babies to cool down. Pro tip: poke a hole in your takoyaki or wait for it to cool down before you put it in your mouth. If you just eat it right away, it will actually burn your whole inside and you will become nothing.
Things to do: Explore Dotonbori
Dotonbori is a popular area for film, food and entertainment. I find the river canal in between their buildings very peaceful and beautiful. Again, there are many shops everywhere and cool cafes and stores to check out.
Dinner: Ajinoya
Osaka is a foodie paradise so we look up restaurants to decide on where to eat for dinner. We choose an okonomiyaki restaurant called Ajinya with 5 stars even though we just ate okonomiyaki yesterday in Gion. An okonomiyaki is like a savoury Japanese pancake.
We actually have to wait in line for 1 hour to eat in Ajinoya and my verdict is that it is worth it! It tastes much better than the okonomiyaki we tried the day before and seems more authentic.
We are seated right in front of the chefs and grills, making our clothes smell like BBQ. But even more awesome is that we get to see the chefs in action and their hands never stop moving. They are quick, nimble and it’s exciting to see them make multiple items at once.
We order the Combo B set ($30-40) which includes 2 types of okomoiyakis – one with original batter and egg and meat, the second with thinner batter and green onions. The combo also includes a yakisoba, stir-fried noodles.
The yakisoba is served first and it is probably the best yakisoba I have ever tasted. The yakisoba in Vancouver I find is a bit watered down in a way – the flavour is not very strong. I always feel like it needs more sauce or more of a smoky flavour/needs to be cooked on a grill for longer. The yakisoba here is perfect. Just perfect.
The okonomiyaki is loaded with filling. We eat it with little okomoyaki knives and cut it up ourselves. The thinner okonomiyaki with green onions tastes just as good as the original one.
We are very full from this combo – I feel like this can feed a family of 4.
Final thoughts on day nine
Osaka is very cute and I love all the crazy store signs on the streets – things like a giant moving crab display. I feel like there are a lot of great restaurants in this area but alas we could only try a few places. Definitely takoyaki and okonomiyaki seem to be exceptionally better in Osaka.
One big difference between Kyoto and Tokyo seems to be their markets are definitely more tea-focused. Even at Nishiki market, they had lots of gift stalls with beautifully packaged sweets and matcha goodies.
Really enjoying my time in Kyoto so far even though my feet are still dying from all the walking.
Stay tuned for my next post and follow along with the other recaps!
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Sincerely, Loewe
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