Oh-Saka

Our modern ryokan hybrid included western breakfast, but for a supplement, we decided to have Japanese breakfast which was brought to our awesome room:



After driving through the Gion district, so my mom could see the historical area, we headed to Arashiyama which is known for its famous bamboo forest. There was limited parking and my skills were challenged, but we have become pros at the parking lot system and tail-lights backed in parking. Some photos of our walk through the bamboo forest which was more crowded than December 2017:











The weather was beautiful and after meandering and Justin continuously offering to take photos for other Korean families but then making me do it, we returned to the car. We drove about 70 minutes southwest to Osaka where I had spent just a night in 2017 (http://leadingalifeofcyn.blogspot.com/2017/12/osaka.html) Since it was end of year when I visited, many sites were closed including Osaka Castle, so I decided that would be our first stop.

The castle is one of Japan’s most famous landmarks and is located in a park. As it’s Saturday and peak cherry blossoms, folks were out enjoying hanami and picnicking in Nishino Maru Garden which we decided to enter rather than the castle:









As we were hungry seeing the picnickers and not excited about the food cart options, we drove down to Shinsekai Market. This was not on my radar, but had been included in top sites in Osaka per Instagram posts. I have now learned it used to be way seedier and less safe, but they are trying to popularize it with some investment in the area and other sights. For snacks, we ate karaage or fried chicken and yaki-udon with pork belly with a side of kimchi:





Then we headed to our hotel, Mercure Tokyu Stay Osaka Namba which is close to Dotonbori which I liken to Times Square with the lights and action. We enjoyed a welcome drink before heading out. We walked through Shinsaibashi, a famous shopping arcade, and down to Dontonbori. On the Ebisubashi bridge, we saw the iconic Glico Running Man sign:



We then walked down to a popular tatoyaki restaurant and stood in line for their octopus fried balls famous in Osaka:





We walked up and down Dotonbori and took a photo in front of the second iconic sign and symbol of Osaka, Kuidaore Taro, the mechanical drum-playing clown:



We noshed on Yakitori and had some dumplings covered with scallions and mayonnaise while standing on the busy street. The restaurants have over the top signs along the street. Here’s the big gyoza or dumplings on the building and what we ate:



After observing the “eat til you drop” culture of Osaka, we were full from our varied street dishes and popped into a Family Mart convenience store to pick up a Choco Monako Jumbo (our second ice cream wafer treat of the day) and returned to our hotel. Our hotel room, unbeknownst to me, had a washer / dryer combo, so we took advantage as Oh-Saka (as Justin called it all day) partied on!