Adventures in Osaka

OSAKA is the fun city, a local tells me. It’s the “Vegas” of Japan where people break the rules.  Wide-eyed, I gasp to myself because I had been witnessing some rule breaking. 

To be clear, when locals break rules here, I mean they will walk against a red light in the quietest corners of the city. However, at busy intersections, folks will stay put on the sidewalks until the light changes. They speed (few, not all) and they ride their bicycles on the sidewalks even when they have a bike lane on the street.  Perhaps the rule breaking induces a sense of mischief and rebellion, taking some life pressures off Osakans, thereby claiming they're not as tightly wound up and more fun than their Tokyo counterparts. 

Long dubbed as the Ugly City, it's image has changed over the decades. It transformed itself to the world as the Kitchen of Japan with neighborhoods filled with eateries and gaudy but fun three dimensional signs. Don't be fooled by the bright lights and in-your-face facades though. The best foods can be found in those eateries as well as in the humble looking, undressed izakayas with no English menus, no name in front of the store, but the owners still greet you like you're returning there for the 100th time.

The iconic Dotonbori with eateries to keep you filled for years to come. Don't worry if you don't make it here, you will not starve in Japan

Made some fake food - it was so cool and so much fun. The lettuce and tempura are made with wax. Taste with your eyes.

This might look fake, but it isn't. It looks sickeningly sweet too, but it isn't. Sweet strawberries coated with a not too sweet sugar glaze (like a candied apple)

Some izakayas have no English menus, which can be pretty intimidating for non Japanese speakers. While Google translate is a god send, it doesn't translate hand written characters well at all. The owner here speaks some English and he's a fan of theater arts. You can't see all the posters on the wall, but most of them are of performing arts.

Example of many three dimensional restaurant signs.

Shinsekai neighborhood. It feels very retro; when it was conceived at the turn of the century, it was inspired by Coney Island and Paris. Post war, the neighborhood declined and became a rough area, but is now revived by tourism.

This blem-free canteloupe costs $57 USD. It's not unusual to see perfect fruits like this at the supermarket selling for that kind of money. Not intended to buy for yourself, but as a gift, such as an appreciation to a business client for example.

Wandered into Nakazakicho, a retro neighborhood in Osaka with many boutique stores, coffee shops, snack shops and bars.

The lanes and alleys in Nakazakicho are so atmospheric and inviting to just wander

Himeji Castle (about an hour by bullet train out of Osaka). Osaka has it's own castle, a beautiful one too. But like thousands of castles throughout Japan, they’ve been reconstructed to it's original design. Himeji, on the other hand is one of only twelve original castles in Japan that had not been burned down, ripped apart and plundered. The original keep is also intact. It's the most beautiful castle I've ever seen. However, I was disappointed. While the interior was intact and design formidable, it was void of artifacts or items of day to day life in the castle. I had hoped to see displays of samurai suits, swords and such.

Fortunes from shrines and temples are not meant to be taken with you. You leave them there. (this was not my fortune on the tree).