This day we decided to have a Japanese-style breakfast: rice mixed with raw egg (tamago gohan) and miso soup. Jerry also had some fried salmon and I tried nattō (fermented soybeans), which was a huge mistake, because the beans are covered in some slime which gets stringy when you try to pick them up and is impossible to get rid of.
After breakfast we took a train to Osaka Castle (Osaka-jo) which is packed with tourists, since it is apparently the most visited sight in Japan! The castle is not original, but rather a modern concrete reconstruction, but it is still surrounded by impressive walls, impressive moat and an impressive number of blossoming sakura trees! The main tower is a beautiful building, so we walked around it twice and took photos from every possible angle
. We also saw a lot of people having lively hanami (flower viewing) parties under sakura trees.
After the castle we started walking towards the northern city centre Kita (a.k.a. Umeda) and on the way there ended up in the middle of a local festival, complete with fried food stalls, goldfish scooping games and endless hanami parties. We bought some taiyaki there, a traditional Japanese fish-shaped cake filled with read bean paste, it was great.
After leaving the festival, we crossed a bridge to small island called Nakanoshima in Kyū-Yodo river, which contained a very neat rose garden and the city hall (among other things).
Finally we made our way to an old district near Osaka station called Kitashinchi. It was filled with bars, restaurants and night clubs (still closed at the time). There we had some "surprise flavor" ramen, because none of the stuff spoke English well and we just pointed at random items on the menu (it was still good though). After the late lunch we walked to the massive building of Osaka Station City, which houses both the main train station and an entire shopping and entertainment district
. As if that was not enough, the station is surrounded by several huge department stores (one of which has an entire Ferris wheel on the roof). We have experienced dizzying chaos inside of one of them: Yodobashi Camera Umeda, a giant electronics retailer. We checked out cameras, lenses, watches, models of giant fighting robots from a variety of anime and got out exhausted. I doubt that any electronics store in Canada can compete with the variety of goods presented on a single floor of Yodobashi Camera.
Weary from the shopping experience, we headed to Grand Front Osaka, yet another massive shopping district which just opened last year right behind the train station. Much like Canadian malls, that place was 90% women's apparel shops, but it also had a number of interesting cafes and restaurants.
We took a break at a cafe called Nana's Green Tea, where we had green tea (obviously) and Japanese desserts. Interestingly enough, cafes are probably the most expensive source of food for us here: we managed to have $5 breakfasts and lunches from $5 to $10, the cafes are always around $10-$12 for a cup of tea and a dessert
. After chilling at the cool cafe (the decor was simply amazing and food pretty good), we went to find a place that serves okonomiyaki, the specialty of Kansai region. Luckily, a good restaurant was found in the same building, so we didn't even have to go out in the rain. There was a fairly long line outside, it seems that the place is pretty popular. The okonomi were extremely tasty: I ordered a simple one with just veggies and pork and Jerry had the number 1 bestseller with pork, squid and shrimp.
After a nice filling dinner (only ~$12) we went to check out the last destination of the day: Umeda Sky Building. The 173 meter tall building consists of 2 towers that support a circular "Floating Garden Observatory" on the top. The night view was spoiled by the rain, but we still went out for a walk outside on the roof of the observatory before heading back to the hotel.
Osaka day 2: castle and sakura blossoms
Saturday, April 05, 2014
Osaka, Kinki, Japan
Other Entries
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1Arrival to Osaka
Apr 032 days priorOsaka, Japanphoto_camera0videocam 0comment 4 -
2Osaka day 1: quiet temples and shopping bustle
Apr 041 day priorOsaka, Japanphoto_camera12videocam 0comment 17 -
3Osaka day 2: castle and sakura blossoms
Apr 05Osaka, Japanphoto_camera15videocam 0comment 7 -
4Kyoto day 1: temples and geishas
Apr 061 day laterKyoto, Japanphoto_camera5videocam 0comment 5 -
5Kyoto day 2: temples, sakura and more temples
Apr 072 days laterKyoto, Japanphoto_camera16videocam 0comment 12 -
6Kyoto day 3: temples, temples and more temples
Apr 083 days laterKyoto, Japanphoto_camera7videocam 0comment 3 -
7Kyoto day 4: the regular Japan
Apr 094 days laterKyoto, Japanphoto_camera7videocam 0comment 0 -
8Kyoto day 5: high culture day
Apr 105 days laterKyoto, Japanphoto_camera12videocam 0comment 1 -
9Nara: deer and mystic forest
Apr 116 days laterNara, Japanphoto_camera10videocam 0comment 1 -
10Kanazawa: city of the park
Apr 127 days laterKanazawa, Japanphoto_camera11videocam 0comment 7 -
11Gero: onsen town
Apr 138 days laterGero, Japanphoto_camera7videocam 0comment 3 -
12Takayama festival
Apr 149 days laterTakayama, Japanphoto_camera0videocam 0comment 0 -
13Tokyo day 0: Shinjuku
Apr 1510 days laterTokyo, Japanphoto_camera6videocam 0comment 0 -
14Tokyo day 1: from fish market to electric street
Apr 1611 days laterTokyo, Japanphoto_camera11videocam 0comment 2 -
15Tokyo day 2: Skytree and entertainment districts
Apr 1712 days laterTokyo, Japanphoto_camera10videocam 0comment 2 -
16Tokyo day 3: museum day
Apr 1813 days laterTokyo, Japanphoto_camera0videocam 0comment 0 -
17Tokyo day 4: Harajuku
Apr 1914 days laterTokyo, Japanphoto_camera0videocam 0comment 0
Comments

2025-02-11
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juliettka
2014-04-12
Lunches from $5 to $10?? Don't eat junk food there (instant noodles & stuff)!
juliettka
2014-04-12
Do they add a tax to food prices there?