I arrive in Osaka with most of the afternoon already gone and the fortress of Osaka-jo will be the likely casualty of my extended stay in Kyoto. Since Osaka will be my base for a few days, I take the time to unpack and unwind with a cold beer, somewhat shocked by the realisation that - much as I liked the ryokan of Hakone and Kyoto - I'm glad to be back in a hotel and close to such amenities as beer-vending machines.
I’m staying in Umeda, so decide to explore the local area. It’s strange to be in such a modern city considering that just a few hours ago I was surrounded by eight hundred year-old temples, and while Osaka is ancient, it’s hard to appreciate that when looking at it today. The contrast is amplified considerably when I find myself at the base of the Umeda Sky building [pictured]. I decide to ascend to the Floating Gardens observatory, where - 170m above the ground - I get an excellent bird’s-eye view of the city, not to mention a fantastic sunset. It seems like Osaka goes on forever and I fancy that in the distance I am looking at Kobe and other towns that have been swallowed-up by the sprawling Osaka, so that they have now become suburbs. I start to think of Osaka as a massive octopus, sitting in the Kansai plains and reaching out to swallow up its neighbours.
With the sun duly set, I return to ground level. I’m carrying a significant amount of photos now and think it’s time I found somewhere where I can upload them. Wandering around Umeda I find the excellent Multimedia Café. A few minutes later, I’m settled in a comfy leather armchair uploading several GBs of images and taking the opportunity to review my trip so far and share it with friends. If I had time to kill, this café would be an excellent place to do so. It’s sort of a DVD-library/video game arcade/internet café. Basically, if you can do it with a computer, you can do it here and in very comfortable surroundings - even a private booth, if you so desire. But, with my photos now stored online, I head out into the Osaka night in search of food - specifically okonomiyaki, which is one of Osaka’s specialties.
My early efforts are frustrated and in one food court I’m told that “No, we only have Japanese food here,” but, about to give up, I stumble upon Fugetsu in the upper levels of a mall. Initial signs are good; it's very busy and - with the description of "it's a sort of pancake, pizza thing" as my only reference - the food being prepared here could be feasibly be the elusive, fabled okonomiyaki. I sit down at a grill-table and wonder how much of the preparation of this meal will fall to me; am up to the challenge? Luckily, I just have to sit back and enjoy the sizzling as I opt for a squid okonomiyaki (mainly because it’s the only set of characters I recognize in an all-Japanese menu).
The final product - made from an omelette-like mixture of shredded cabbage, egg and squid - is delicious and goes extremely well with the Japanese malt lager that I've grown rather partial to. It’s been a fabulous day, what with the successful Kinkaku run this morning, great views of Osaka at sunset and then okonomiyaki for dinner. I go to bed eager to wake and find out what else this octopus has to offer.
I’m staying in Umeda, so decide to explore the local area. It’s strange to be in such a modern city considering that just a few hours ago I was surrounded by eight hundred year-old temples, and while Osaka is ancient, it’s hard to appreciate that when looking at it today. The contrast is amplified considerably when I find myself at the base of the Umeda Sky building [pictured]. I decide to ascend to the Floating Gardens observatory, where - 170m above the ground - I get an excellent bird’s-eye view of the city, not to mention a fantastic sunset. It seems like Osaka goes on forever and I fancy that in the distance I am looking at Kobe and other towns that have been swallowed-up by the sprawling Osaka, so that they have now become suburbs. I start to think of Osaka as a massive octopus, sitting in the Kansai plains and reaching out to swallow up its neighbours.
With the sun duly set, I return to ground level. I’m carrying a significant amount of photos now and think it’s time I found somewhere where I can upload them. Wandering around Umeda I find the excellent Multimedia Café. A few minutes later, I’m settled in a comfy leather armchair uploading several GBs of images and taking the opportunity to review my trip so far and share it with friends. If I had time to kill, this café would be an excellent place to do so. It’s sort of a DVD-library/video game arcade/internet café. Basically, if you can do it with a computer, you can do it here and in very comfortable surroundings - even a private booth, if you so desire. But, with my photos now stored online, I head out into the Osaka night in search of food - specifically okonomiyaki, which is one of Osaka’s specialties.
My early efforts are frustrated and in one food court I’m told that “No, we only have Japanese food here,” but, about to give up, I stumble upon Fugetsu in the upper levels of a mall. Initial signs are good; it's very busy and - with the description of "it's a sort of pancake, pizza thing" as my only reference - the food being prepared here could be feasibly be the elusive, fabled okonomiyaki. I sit down at a grill-table and wonder how much of the preparation of this meal will fall to me; am up to the challenge? Luckily, I just have to sit back and enjoy the sizzling as I opt for a squid okonomiyaki (mainly because it’s the only set of characters I recognize in an all-Japanese menu).
The final product - made from an omelette-like mixture of shredded cabbage, egg and squid - is delicious and goes extremely well with the Japanese malt lager that I've grown rather partial to. It’s been a fabulous day, what with the successful Kinkaku run this morning, great views of Osaka at sunset and then okonomiyaki for dinner. I go to bed eager to wake and find out what else this octopus has to offer.
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