Day 17: First Look at Japan's Kitchen

Osaka is the food capital of Japan, hence its nickname in the title of this blog. Although I knew we would be a bit tired from traveling from Takamatsu to Osaka today, there were two things I really wanted to do: See Osaka Castle, and eat okonomiyaki in Dotonbori, Osaka's famous restaurant district. And do those things we did!

Osaka Castle is a long walk (~15 min) from the nearest station and has been reconstructed several times. The inside is simply a modernized museum, so mom and I decided to just walk until we could get close enough to take pictures. The castle was breathtakingly beautiful... The roofs are light green, the walls white, and golden tigers & fish adorn the outside. I've always loved pictures of Osaka Castle, so even though we didn't go inside, I'm really glad we took the time to walk over and see it in person. It was definitely worth fighting the humidity and crowded trains.

Osaka is the third busiest city in Japan. I personally found it just as busy as Tokyo, at least tonight. Mom and I took a subway to Namba station where we walked a couple blocks to Dotonbori. Dotonbori is easy to describe: Lights, food, people. I wanted to eat okonomiyaki (likened to pancakes, but so much better) here because this is the birthplace of the dish. We finally found a cute restaurant, albeit a bit smokey, which had good prices and an English menu. We ordered two different types of okonomiyaki to try and discussed the griddle in the middle of the table. Turns out they make it in their kitchen and then set it on the table's griddle to keep it hot and fresh. It. Was. AMAZING. Oh my goodness. Cannot describe... The first one had the normal ingredients (cabbage, batter, sauce) plus egg and soft noodles; the second was similar but with pork on top that had been lightly scorched. Mmm... I couldn't decide which was my favorite. So glad we went, even though the crowds were intense. We even rode in a "women only" car on the local train to our hotel. Never seen so many women in my life, haha. :P

Today was great, albeit tiring, but tomorrow is going to be long as well. We're making a day trip to Hiroshima. I should have some great pics to show for it. ;)