When you think Osaka, what kind of an impression do you get?
Honestly, I kind of thought this would be more of an “in between” destination for a couple of days until we reach the islands or a “smaller Tokyo”. I was wrong, it made quite an impression. But at first, when you arrive in Osaka it gives kind of a “smaller, somehow dirtier and older Tokyo” vibe. Or at least it seemed that way to me.
We got ourselves a very cool Bed&Bike Charin Hostel, where free bike rental is included in the price and they serve the best coffee I’ve tasted since Hong Kong. We were staying in a mixed dorm, which for me basically meant a male dorm with me included. Nothing I am not used to, fortunately. But something that is maybe worth mentioning, if you are planning on booking mixed dorms in Japan. Also – a bike is a great and easy way to explore this city and easy on the feet since sights are scattered around different neighborhoods. So its either a bike or metro + lots of walking.
In two days, we managed to take a look around Den Den Town – Osaka’s own Akihabara, where we almost bought a Gameboy (childhood dream still lives and can be bought here in the original black and white version). There are surprisingly tons of CD and DVD stores, which we probably overlooked in Tokyo. Also quite a few geeky cosplay stores – I tried a really cool green wig (no pics allowed, unfortunately). 🙁
We biked around the city, which is full of skyscrapers, weird, interesting architecture and tons of restaurants and cool vibe cafes. Osaka is definitely a foodie city. The term “kuidaore” (“eat until you drop”) gets pretty real here. We indulged in Osaka’s version of okonomiyaki and it is to die for (even so greasy). You could easily spend months or years just exploring food here.
We biked through Nakanoshima, a little green island in the middle of downtown, saw the Star-wars like Umeda building and freaked out a bit going up with its elevator. We took a quick pic with Osaka Castle and the famous red HEP5 Ferris wheel.
In the evening Dotonbori swallowed us in and spit us out dead tired. There is just so much of everything. It’s Osaka’s version of Shinjuku. It’s glowing and shining and loud and crazy. There are things hanging off of buildings – moving plastic crabs, cows, sushi. There is food everywhere and people, sounds, smells, and lights, of course. And shopping, so much shopping. I’ve never seen so many different and funky Kit Kat’s before as they sell in Don Quijote store in Dotonbori – they even have one tasting of wasabi. And lots of versions of green tea ones. I couldn’t believe it. But at this point, I really shouldn’t be surprised. Unfortunately, we missed the old-school Don Quijote’s Ferris wheel, because it was closed for maintenance, but we managed to take a pic with Glico man sign – the sign that has lasted the longest, for over 70 years.
We also went to Namba Parks, the most amazing shopping center ever with a really beautiful garden on top, combining concrete and nature into something lovely. There is also a movie-scene rooftop BBQ restaurant on the top, where every table gets its own BBQ. I would come back here just to eat there because it looks fabulous.
While in Namba, we also managed to take a quick pic of the lion (whose mouth swallows evil spirits and brings good luck) in front of Namba Yasaka Shrine across the fence since the shrine was already closed. Žiga had to lift me up for that one, so I could wave directly into the security camera. 😀
After my initial thoughts that Osaka might not be all that interesting, I would actually love to come back to explore it some more. The foodie city made a cool impression – I can imagine myself spending months exploring its cafes and restaurants. There is definitely more to see in Osaka, but our tempo is currently high enough as it is, so this is what we managed to squeeze in two days of sightseeing.
Our next stop was a bit more relaxing and zen, as we both needed some rest. We booked a temple-stay in Koya-San.
PS: As this is amazing Japan, we actually got fully refunded for our Kinosaki ryokan booking we had to cancel since we got stuck in Kyoto. You gotta love Japan. Without that refund our temple-stay would probably not happen. So, you really do win some and lose some. 🙂
