SNAPSHOTS | JAPAN + KOREA 2017 | OSAKA | DAY 8

On one of our last few days in Japan, we decided to take a day trip out to Osaka! After Tokyo, Osaka is considered Japan's second largest city. Comparing the city to Kyoto, which had a more traditional feel, Osaka definitely takes after Tokyo, based on its modern architecture and bustling nightlife.

Before we reserved our shinkansen tickets, we grabbed some donuts and breakfast pastries at Mister Donut located on the second floor of Kyoto station.

Think of Mister Donut as your Japanese Dunkin' Donuts. They serve coffee, muffins, pastries, and of course, donuts. It's the largest donut franchise in Japan that actually originated in the States. Their most popular item is the "Pon de Ring," a unique donut-mochi hybrid.

The Pon de Ring comes in a variety of different flavours but I just stuck with the regular glaze. Seriously one of the best donuts I've ever had! The texture is very interesting as it's both fluffy and chewy at the same time. The glaze also had just the right amount of sweetness. Wish I was able to try more! 

Attached to the Mister Donuts was a Cafe du Monde. For those out of the food circuit loop, Cafe du Monde is a renowned coffee shop from New Orleans known for its beignets and cafe au lait. I thought it was interesting that they had a location all the way out in Japan, but apparently it's the only country with franchises outside of the city of New Orleans itself.

Sadly they didn't serve beignets -- only coffee and drinks -- so LT got an iced coffee while my mom got an iced matcha latte. 

Once we got our tickets from the JR office, we headed out to the platform to wait for the shinkansen. From Kyoto station to Shin-Osaka station, the entire trip takes less than 30 minutes! It seriously takes me 30 minutes to drive from north to south Edmonton so imagine being in a completely different city in that time!

When we arrived in Osaka, we transferred trains and headed to our first sight of the day -- Osaka Castle, arguably Osaka's most famous tourist attraction. The original castle was built in 1583 but today's castle is a complete reconstruction of it, as it had been attacked and destroyed several times throughout history.

You can enter the castle which houses a museum for ¥600 but we were content with just walking around the castle grounds and admiring its exterior.

Since we were getting a pit peckish, we decided to check out some of the food trucks situated on the castle grounds. A french fry truck caught my eye first simply because they were the longest french fries I've ever seen! Before you think they grow humongous potatoes in Japan, they're actually mashed potatoes extruded into long strands before being deep fried. You had a choice of different seasonings and sauces (including chocolate!) but we just stuck with the classic ketchup. 

We also got a beef skewer from another food truck for ¥800. I have no idea what type or cut of beef it was but the beef was seriously amazing. Tender beyond belief and melt-in-your-mouth. We quickly ordered two more.

We also capped off our street food snack with some orange kakigori, which tasted more like a snowcone due to the crunchy ice. Super refreshing in the heat.

Once we were finished at the castle, we headed out to Dotonbori, another famous Osaka attraction. Dotonbori is an entertainment district filled with neon lights, a ton of shopping, and hundreds of restaurants and street food stands.

Before we reached the main Dotonbori area, we found Rikuro Ojisan, a famous bakery known for its fluffy Japanese cheesecake. Luck was on our side as there was literally nobody in line and they were just hauling out a fresh tray. I purchased a whole cake for only ¥675 and they packaged it piping hot. When we left, a line had formed behind me at least ten people deep.

We ate the cheesecake later that night. Japanese cheesecakes are unlike traditional North American cheesecakes. They're more of a sponge cake if anything. Uncle Rikuro's cheesecake had an amazing texture. Super soft and fluffy, almost cloud-like, with a bottom studded with raisins. Although the texture was great, I didn't find the taste anything too special. Although it might've tasted better hot, I found it a bit bland.  

Another must-see in Dotonbori is the Glico running man! This sign is an iconic symbol of Dotonbori, and here you'll find many tourists imitating the pose for pictures.

Dotonbori canal. They have boat tours that go along the river every hour or so. I think it'd be an amazing sight to see in the evening when all the signs and lights are lit up.

The ferris wheel you see in the background is part of the Don Quijote store there, although it's no longer in function.  

One of the things I loved about Dotonbori was the extravagant 3D signs. So easy to see and check out what a restaurant serves. Craving gyoza? Come here!

Takoyaki and sushi. I'm seriously regretting that we didn't save enough stomach space to eat takoyaki while in Osaka! Something to look forward to next time I guess.

You'll find a lot of souvenir shops in Dotonbori. Understandable since it's filled with tourists. Takoyaki branded everything and the PPAP man! *I have a pen, I have an apple. Uh, apple pen.* If you have no idea what I'm talking about, just search it on Youtube. Japanese humour is something else.

Pretty realistic food model keychains.

For an early dinner (does 3:00 count?), we decided on having okonomiyaki. There's a ton of famous okonomiyaki restaurants on the strip but we settled on one called Chibo. Unlike some other restaurants, they don't make the okonomiyaki in front of you but they do serve it on a flat griddle so that the food stays nice and hot. We ordered a yakisoba with pork, squid, and shrimp and added on a fried egg.

We also ordered two okonomiyaki's for the table, with pork, squid, and shrimp as well. The okonomiyaki comes pre-sauced, but the server does a cool tableside show by squirting the mayonaisse super fast. Additional toppings such as bonito flakes and seaweed are self-serve at the table. I've made okonomiyaki at home before but this was 100x better. To me, okonomiyaki is almost like a thicker, pancake version of takoyaki. And you know how I feel about takoyaki...

This type of okonomiyaki is Osaka-style, meaning that it's more of a pancake with all of the ingredients mixed into a single batter. Another version is the Hiroshima style, where ingredients are layered on top of each other. I don't know many restaurants in Edmonton that serve okonomiyaki (only Seorak comes to mind) but I wish more did!

The only thing that brought down our experience a bit was the table who came in beside us and started smoking. It's a bit of a culture shock to me that people are still allowed to smoke indoors.

After we finished eating, we continued to stroll down Shinsaibashi shopping arcade. We were getting pretty tired though so we decided to head back home to Kyoto after it got dark. This is Kyoto Tower, located right across from Kyoto station.

Since we ate in the late afternoon, we were getting a bit hungry when we finally got back to the apartment. Unfortunately a lot of restaurants in Kyoto close pretty early unlike Tokyo or Osaka. Our mission was to walk to a conveyor belt sushi restaurant before they closed but we got lost along the way. When we finally found the restaurant, they were just flipping over the closed sign. Sad times. Oh well, 24h convenience stores to the rescue! Tuna mayo onigiri ♥.

- CT