Eating At The Food Kitchen Capital Of Japan – Osaka
As part of my stay in Kyoto, I took a day trip into Osaka which was only 30 minutes by regular (non bullet) train. The primary attraction in Osaka for me was Dotonbori which is the food district. Dotonbori is like an Asian Disneyland of food which gives Osaka the reputation of being the food kitchen capital of Japan. At nighttime, everything is lit up by neon signs much like Shinjuku in Tokyo except in this case everything is about food. There’s even a canal with tourist boats that runs right through Dotonbori so yes this is quite a touristy area but still fun as heck.
I had to try one of the main food attractions of Osaka which is octopus balls known as takoyaki. The video below shows my taste tests of takoyaki as well as a few other food items in Osaka. The prices were reasonable and Osaka was most definitely worth visiting for the overall experience in Dotonbori.
However when compared to street food markets in southeast Asia like those in Thailand and Vietnam, I still prefer those in southeast Asia since they are more compact and at least half the price. Still, Dotonbori was fun.
Japanese Convenience Stores
Continuing on the food scene, I must mention the Japanese convenience stores especially 7/11 and Family Mart chains which seem like they are located on every street corner in Japan. The Japanese versions of 7/11 are not like their counterparts elsewhere in the world where convenience stores are just a place to get cheap snacks, cigarettes and lottery tickets. Instead, the 7/11 and Family Mart stores in Japan are larger with extensive stock of prepared meals, interesting snacks and produce. The prepared meals in particular are actually quite decent and cheap. The staff even heated a few of the ones I bought in the store’s microwave for me to take back to my hotel. The odd store location even has a sit down area to eat these quick meals right on site. North American 7/11 stores are currently trying to find a way to bring some of the Japanese food items over to the western market including the famous Japanese 7/11 egg salad sandwich (which is one of the items I taste tested on video).
Giant Lion Head Shrine
Since my time in Osaka was limited, I really only had enough time in this city to check out one other main attraction which was a neat looking temple called Namba Yasaka which is inside a giant lion head. The lion head reminded me of my Lhasa Apso dogs since this dog breed is known as the little lion dog of Tibet.
Since Osaka and Kyoto are only 30 minutes apart by train, it was quite easy to combine them while using just one of these cities as my base. I chose Kyoto since I figure it had more attractions there I wanted to take in compared to Osaka and some of the Kyoto sights required early mornings to avoid the tourist crowds.
Although I spend only a week in Japan covering Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo, I’m still glad that I did spend time in all three cities. Yes it was a bit rushed given there’s so much to see and do in Japan as I barely scratched the surface. In hindsight, one week certainly wasn’t enough but I was already in my 4th week overseas after spending the first three weeks in Indonesia. I will most certainly return to Japan hoping for a future winter trip to ski in Hokkaido in the north island.
Electronic Toilets In Japan
I’ll leave you all as far as my chronicles of my trip to Japan with this final video short which is my reaction while pushing buttons on an electronic toilet which has become the standard throughout Japan. I have no shame!
