Osaka

The city of food.  I didn’t understand that saying till I came here.  Soo many places to eat… and such good food, but a person can only eat so much.  My guide tells me in Kyoto they say… Kuidaore which means “eat till you drop” or eat and buy so much food till you have no more money left.  There is a saying that goes, “Spend Your Money on Fashion in Kyoto, eat till you’re broke in Osaka”.  Now I know why.  Walking through the streets there are tons of eating places! 

On my walking tour we went to Dotonburi, the well known street near a canal known for food, entertainment, bright lights and the famous “Running Man” sign. I never knew about this either till I saw it.  This is the famed giant billboard installed in 1935 as an advertisement for the Glico confectionery company.  The Glico candy company founder Ri-ichi Ezaki created a snack in 1922 as an energy product, a type of candy caramel, by adding glycogen from oysters to the snack. It was said each treat could give you energy to run 300 metres, so a running man has been used to this day as the companies mascot and logo.  They now make the popular pokey sticks, which I am more familiar with.  People come from all over to take a picture by the running man doing the same pose.  Silly, but fun! 

Kuidaore Taro came to Osaka in 1950 as a mascot of a restaurant called Cuidaore, banging on his drums in front of the restaurant every day to attract and welcome guests to the business. The resturant closed, but due to requests he came back to welcome customers and is now a symbol of Dotonburi and there are a ton of merchandise featuring him. Very silly!

… but holy cow the food… the best takoyaki, octopus dumpling, I ever ate was on Osaka, especially at Kukuru.  It is a franchise throughout Osaka.  If you go there try it. Very yummy!

On my first night in Osaka, I went to find someplace to eat and settled on this seafood restaurant.   I ordered crab miso and noodles cuz it looked good in the pictures.  When it was served I figured out what it was cuz they cooked it at my table.  The crab “miso” is the brains and guts of the crab.  My dad use to eat it.  I never tried it till now and have to say it was good.  My dad would be happy. 

At Kuromon market the sushi was delicious as was the mochi and ice cream.

We went to see Osaka Castle.  There is a double moat protecting the castle.  The walls look impermeable.  We were able to walk inside of the castle and up to the top.  The view of Osaka was impressive. 

Then we walked over to the Tsutenkaku which is a tower 108 meters tall. The designer was Tachu Naito, who was also the designer of Tokyo Tower which was being built during the same period.  Today the tower has a special outdoor observation platform and the Tower Slider, where you can slide down – very popular.  Inside and at the top you can see the “Billiken” statue that is said to bring good fortune to those who touch the soles of his feet.

Shitinoji temple is one of the oldest Buddhist temple in Japan built in 1400.   It has been reconstructed a number of times due to typhoon as well as fire damages. 

It was a great walking tour and my guide suggested I don’t miss going on a night cruise down the Dotonburi.  So I made my way back to the Dotonburi and hopped on the boat ride.  Indeed it was a festival for the eyes. 

I just had to go to a hair salon and get my hair colored and cut. I heard Japan hair salons are the best. Wanted to try it out Have to say the staff all kept bowing when I left.