Osaka, Japan

ccw824
Jul 21, 2024
14 min read

July 15, 2024

Team Keep Calm and Carry On arrives at the Denpasar airport! Dmitri, Jack, and I are pleased that we actually will be getting to carry all of our bags on the flight with us! Yay. Transit is pretty seamless, at least as far as international transit and long flights can go. We fly from Bali to Kuala Lumpur and go in search of a place to crash out for our 5 hour layover. As a part of our lounge access pass, we are allotted 3 hours in capsule sleep pods. Score! We find them, each settle down in our single pods, and try to get some sleep.

I listen to a HeadSpace (great app, highly recommend) and toss and turn and think there's no way I can fall asleep. And yet, I do, and dream about not being able to sleep. We are up around midnight and off to find another lounge for some food. We find a lounge but the food in the middle of the night is slim pickings. Oh well. Beggars and choosers and all. It's off to board our flight.

All 3 of us have varying degrees of poor airplane seat sleep. Typical international flight stuff. It's about a 7 hour flight in the middle of the night, with a morning arrival and having to deal with lack of sleep and (in this case) a minor time difference and staying occupied until check in time and then trying to stay awake until a decent bedtime that won't throw you off for future days.

For some reason in the last 2 hours of the flight there are many, many, many announcements. With 2 hours to go, they tell us there are 2 hours to go. And then something about landing cards. And a few other announcements. Clearly they are trying to keep us all awake for the remaining few hours of the flight. Also, they seems to be playing the sounds of birds chirping. I don't even know what to do with that but it's a bit disconcerting to be on a plane and hearing birds chirp.

It's pretty easy going through customs and immigration. We navigate to the train, and get on a comfy-looking one with big seats headed to Namba station. Oh, wait. You need tickets and assigned seats to be on this one--not just the swiped fare on the way into the station. We hop off, get the tickets for $3 USD each, and hop back on. We are on an express train to Namba and it will take about an hour to get to Namba. It's very clean and announcements are made in Japanese and English. We are feeling pretty good about things.

We have been told the airbnb isn't ready but we can drop our bags off nearby. There are several lockers in train stations and other various locations around Osaka. We find our designated one and follow the directions and are successful after some fumbling and bumbling. We are hot and sweaty and hungry, but are free of bags.

We go in search of food and find this little place. And realize we are NOT in Bali any more. It's considerably more expensive. Ah, Japan. However, it is worth pointing out that because of exchange rates and international economics, we are in Japan when the US dollar is the strongest it's been in 30 years. It is not an accident that we are here now. There are few things Dmitri enjoys more than a good deal!

Then we get strawberry yummies and a smoothie with a heart-shaped straw. Oh, Japan.

Mango and peach mochi

First impressions of Japan--it's not a real country! It's like a fever dream or hallucination. Like Vegas, but not like Vegas.

I hope I'm able to better describe it over the next couple of weeks we are here. Dmitri says Japan is like one big escape room that you have to figure out! He's not wrong.

A series of escape room tasks

Our little Osakan airbnb for the next 3 nights is tiny but perfect for the 3 of us. It's got sliding Japanese doors, tatami mats to sleep on, and blissfully strong air con. It's in a great location, Dotonburi. And it has this on top of it:

Jack heads off to explore on his own and Dmitri and I research walking tours. Our first day in a new city, we like to get some local help with what to see and do. We also like to orient ourselves and find it's the best way.

I meet up with Jack at an owl cafe while Dmitri goes to check out tour guides. An owl cafe is.....interesting. There are a number of owls sitting on perches and we walk around and pet them--only on their heads with the backs of our fingers. Some of the owls have signs that say they are resting so we leave them be. I can't tell if an owl cafe is an ethical place or not. I also can't tell if the owls are ok to have us there, peering at them and petting them. They don't look happy or unhappy. Then again, how could you tell? I'll have to do some looking into this. Jack wants to visit other animal cafes and Japan is well-known for cat cafes, hedgehog cafes, otter cafes. Having been to cat cafes in the US, Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore and seeing in person that most of them are well-run, caring for the cats, and have some sort of adoption function related to finding homes for cats, I am ok in principle with cat cafes. The others, I'm just not sure about.

Hey, Jack feels the same as the owl!

After the owl cafe we buy a fan for Jack. MANY of the local people walking around the Dotonburi carry fans in their hands and aim them at their faces. When in Rome...

Dmitri has scoped out a walking tour and we are going to start on it NOW.

We have our first matcha latte in Japan and it's deeeeeelish.

We are introduced to taiyaki. If we had seen these on the streets on our own, we might have thought this was some sort of savory food as it looks like fish pie. Nope, it's a sweet and it's delicious. We get a custard one. YUM.

Our tour guides point out her favorite daifuku shop and we are excited to return the following day to try it out. We walk through the Kurumon Market and it's almost closing time (close to 6 pm) but various locations are pointed out.

The Japanese are obsessed with Kit Kats!

Nope!

So, this is funny because of a series of Japanese ads. For a real treat, watch allllll the way to the end.

Dmitri, with an assist from our tour guide, picks out local snacks

We also walk through Doguyasuji, where all (and I do mean ALL) kitchen utensils are sold. As Osaka is known as a foodie haven, there are lots and lots of fun and unusual cooking goodies, along with the more common everyday ones we find at home.

By the way, Japanese people LOVE taking photos. This is one place where we don't have to be chagrined to pull out our phones and snap a quick photo. Our tour guides are particularly happy to take photos of us touring Osaka--and with them!

All throughout Dotonburi, there are vending machines for drinks and snacks and also machines with prizes in them. Jack has tried a few and now has several little cat trinkets. We come across a shooting game and so of course Jack tries it out! And he wins!

Our tour guide takes us to a stall that sells takoyaki, this octopus dumpling. She decides we need to get the kind that Japanese people get--the entire (tiny) octopus in a dumpling. They are piping hot so we wait and then try them. And, well....they are very very chewy. It's not a pleasant experience. Dmitri and I force ours down but Jack has to discreetly spit his out into a napkin so the tour guide doesn't see. Luckily, we are near one of the few public trash cans in Dotonburi. Japan is very odd in that trash cans and bathrooms aren't as plentiful as they are in other countries. Most of the day, we have been balling trash up and putting in into the bottom of our carry bag to be thrown away back at the airbnb.

Next we try a crab cake which is pretty good, especially after the octopus.

We are super duper hot and sweaty but having a good time. One of our tour guides goes off duty, so it's a good thing we started with two! Maa is left with us and she's great. She takes us to a temple and explains the washing of the hands and then how on the third washing you tip the ladle so water runs down it to clean it for the next person. She also explains about making a monetary offering and then throwing water onto these grass statues and I think something is lost in translation because I don't fully understand.

Jack sees some cats and is very happy.

Maa has pointed out these little pancakes things called okonomiyaki she wants us to try and so we are off to a place to eat them.

She wants to take us to where we can make our own and we are game. This is why we wanted a local--we NEVER would have found this place on our own. It's up on the second floor and there are renovations being made and so we go down this hallway and around a corner and then there are all these little curtained off rooms with heated tables. (Like an escape room!)

Seriously! We walked by this to get to the restaurant!

On the wall, in Japanese, are the steps to make the pancakes. And let's just say without Maa we would have been TOTALLY lost. Also, she places our orders on a phone (that we didn't even notice on entering the room) in the corner of the room.

First we cook the meat. I mix the vegetables and other ingredients in a bowl, mix the cooked meat in, and then we cook it all. There is a second okonomiyaki that has noodles as part of it. They are both yummy. A wonderful experience and one we never in a million years would have come across on our own. And, it's $18. For the two okonomiyaki that we split amongst the four of us and one large Japanese beer that Dmitri and I split.

It's time to say goodbye to Maa and on the way back to our airbnb we get more taiyaki. We get another custard and also one red bean taiyaki to try. Group consensus is that the custard one is the winner.

Time to head back home for the night and get cleaned up and get some rest. The shower in our place is this weird little shower stall but it's got great water pressure and it's so nice to rinse off a travel day combined with a sweaty walking around day.

July 16

Dmitri has gone in search of some breakfast foods for the gang. First he heads to Don Quijote and then on to another market. I will attempt to explain Don Don Don Donki, but it's really one of those things you need to experience on your own. We first encountered Donki in Singapore and the song they play on continuous loop has been an earworm ever since. If you click the link, you are welcome. (Heavily implied sarcasm.) Anyway, Donki. It's, just, wow. Instead of trying to use my own meager words, I'll take excerpts from the website to describe:

Don Quijote provides everything, from household goods to brand name products, as well as exciting and thrilling experiences! The group operates more than 630 stores around the world, serving customers both internationally, and domestically in Japan.

We have an overwhelming array of products, from toilet paper to high-end brand products!

We are pleased with the support of our customers both in Japan and overseas for our stores' presentation, which gives a feeling of thrill and excitement, as if you have just wandered into a jungle!

At any rate, let's just say that the 6 story Osaka Donki is on our list to visit!

Dmitri comes back with the fixins for oatmeal and some cereal for Jack. And I'm pretty impressed. It's not easy to find oatmeal out in the world, in Asia especially. We have breakfast and Mia calls and we have a proper catch up with her. She's at home working hard and very busy taking over the music industry but we miss her and wish she could have joined us for the Japan portion of the trip!

A table for a gnome

Dmitri is off to the gym nearby and I catch up on some core exercises and do some stretching. I have a feeling there will be A LOT of walking in Japan. Dmitri reports that the gym is GREAT. It's like a 2 minute walk to the gym and it's got all the machines and whatnot that he likes and it's cool and modern and all the things that the gyms he went to in Bali are not.

My "home gym" and my room with Dmitri

Jack's room, which is right next to the small gnome-like table

Did I mention how small this place is? Btw, loving the Chip and Dale floor mat.

Jack and I each use one tatami mat to sleep on at night. Mr. Princess and the Pea uses FOUR. Hahahahahahahaha.....

We head out to Kurumon Market for sushi and go to a place our tour guide from yesterday recommended. Yum yum yum, we all three decide. Solid rec!

We order on this tablet and the food comes sliding right to us when it's prepared. So fun!

I make green tea right at the table. I also order roasted iced green tea, which is very different and I'm not sure but I think I kind of like it.

FINALLY a place that gives me plenty of ginger!!!

I love this way of dispensing soy sauce. It really is the little things...

A little bit of wisdom with our sushi

After sushi, we go to the recommended daifuku shop for Japanese sweets.

We try a few and agree that the chocolate orange peel is the best. I don't finish my green tea one and Jack doesn't finish his sakura one. Dmitri is the big winner. I think the texture and consistency of daifuku are not for me. I'll be having other Japanese sweets in the future.

There are vending machines ALL over Osaka

It's off to Doguyasuji to get Mia a matcha whisk and bowl and we spend quite a bit of time browsing the area and walking in and out of shops. Jack loses interest pretty quickly in our slow pace and heads off on his own.

Jack and a large duck

***Jack--I ended up walking around Nipponbashi, it's a place with a lot of arcades and capsule machines, capsule machines are these little machines where you pay about 500 yen (3$) and receive a capsule of a random prize. I tried a few cat related capsule machines and got some small cat keychains. I also tried some VERY rigged claw machines but was able to win a small keychain for my mom :).

Dmitri and I wander and meander and get some Japanese sweets and visit the Dotonburi Donki.

Some lemon type cake things and matcha soft serve. And my wild, bushy hair from the heat and humidity.

A whole entire WALL of masks in a pharmacy

Japan is just not made for tall people

We find the Amerika Mura part of Osaka interesting and fun and funny. There are LOTS of great t shirts we see along the way. Amerika Mura is the hipster youth culture area. There are lots of clothing stores and a lot of them seem to be surf or USA themed.

Love these colorful and creative street lamps

Fashion in Osaka

The t-shirt game is strong in Japan

Whaaaat? A Redondo shirt all the way across the world in Osaka!!!!

Very angry octopus!

More animal cafes

There seem to be lots of androgynous young men in Japan these days

We walk back through Shinsaibashi-suji and meet back up with Jack at the airbnb. Then it's back to Dotonburi for dinner. We eat fried skewers of beef, garlic, green pepper, potato, onion, and octopus (takoyaki--but MUCH better this time!), along with a beer. We also get some sushi and udon noodles.

I also get myself some cucumber but I don't find that it is addictive

Today is a much cooler day, weather-wise. It's actually been quite manageable all day and we are pleasantly surprised.

July 17

After breakfast, we walk to Namba station and make our way to the Osaka Aquarium. It takes us about 30 minutes to get there and is pretty easy to find our way.

Japan's train stations are very orderly

This way to whale sharks

The main draw of this aquarium is that they have whale sharks. Dmitri is obsessed with whale sharks and we have tried several times to swim/dive/snorkel with them but have been unlucky at spotting them/thwarted in trying to reach places to swim with them.

We go not expecting to be as completely wow'd by the aquarium as we all are. It's, without exaggeration, the BEST aquarium I've ever been to. And I've recently been to Aquarium by the Bay in Monterey, which sets a very high bar. This place is AMAZING. The layout of the building and exhibits is fantastic. The main tank is the biggest tank we have ever seen and it's centrally located in the building and is about 4-5 stories high. The route through the aquarium spirals you down so the main tank has several vantage points and it's fun to see the whale sharks, rays, hammerheads, mola mola, and other fish from different levels. We are newly delighted at each level to spot different things in the tank and are awestruck nearly every time the whale sharks pass in front of us. If there is a better aquarium in the world, I don't know about it and I can't imagine it bettering this one!!

Dmitir's hand for size comparison. That's one GIANT crab!

We are hungry so we go to the Ring of Fire cafe and get fun, quirky themed goodies. I had to get the whale shark latte. Dmitri is thrilled at the prices. Even with the favorable exchange rate, he figures at most museums/aquariums/or similar the prices would easily be much higher.

Btw I LOVE the icons for the bathroom:

After fun with fish, we head back to the train station and part ways--with Dmitri and me off to see Osaka Station and Jack heading back to chill at the airbnb. D and I are starvin Marvin so we quickly find a little place in the station and we luck into some really delicious food. Fried rice, probably the best I have ever had. I feel like I'm giving everything glowing reviews, but Dmitri can back me up on this. It's really really THAT good. As are the gyozas and a pretty darn good ramen. Dmitri is also thrilled with the price of lunch--$10 USD. We wander around the station and visit Hankyu department store and make our way to Mister Donut for mochi donuts. Feet tired and bellies full, we head back for some down time before heading back out into Osaka when the sun goes down.

Dmitri, Jack, and I hop on the train and go one stop to walk around Shinsekai.

We had a walking tour planned, but got an email that it was canceled. Too bad! As we walk around, we see that a lot of the shops are closed. We saw this in the morning in Namba Station and googled to see if it was a holiday today or something but we weren't able to figure out why things were closed. At any rate, I think Shinsekai would normally be very bustling and busy. Oh well. We are here and there are some places open so we walk around and go in some of the shops that are open, including a Pringles shop. I mean....?????

We turn a corner and there is a MEGA Donki!!! Well, we have to go in! However, it's not long until we have to leave. Too much stimuli in there. It's like a Walmart on steroids and acid with loud music and bright lights.

Back to the Dotonburi for a sushi dinner. Dmitri orders fish and they bring it to him raw to cook himself on a table top grill thing. He is not pleased.

We should have known this place was too touristy!!!!

But cook it he does and it's actually not bad at all! Another inexpensive meal for the three of us. Score! And another taiyaki on the way back to the airbnb.

Additional observations:

I took this photo because for the 3 days we were in Osaka, the only pet animals we saw on the street were a few cats we saw at a temple, this dog, and one other dog a woman was carrying in a basket. That's it! I now understand why the culture of cat/animal cafes is so popular.

The Japanese trains are ridiculously easy to use. Before we came to Japan, we put these cards on our phones in Apple wallet. When we enter and leave the stations, we just tap them. Easy peasy.

File under Japan is fun and quirky: