Find beauty not only in the thing itself but in the pattern of the shadows, the light and dark which that thing provides.
Junichiro Tanizaki
The hotel in Osaka had a buffet breakfast as well. Served in a restaurant, there a variety of foods, both Western and traditional Japanese.
The hotel in Osaka had a buffet breakfast as well. Served in a restaurant, there a variety of foods, both Western and traditional Japanese.
They served takoyaki, mackeral, miso soup, and okonomiyaki. There were a lot more options and I filled myself up, returning to the buffet again and again.
After breakfast, I headed to the Shinsaibashi Shopping Street. It was a long street that sold a variety of items, from clothing to accessories to snacks. I went wild, I bought bags of socks, weird snacks, miscellaneous household items, etc. I can’t even remember what really happened. It took me more than an hour to reach the end of the street — I just couldn’t stop entering each and every store because they sold the most interesting things. There were pencil cases that came in different shapes and sizes, a store that sold only lace wallets and outrageous purses. It was like a fever dream.
I then headed to an owl cafe to freshen up and meet some night babies. There were a few different species and I kind of felt bad the longer I stayed there. I don’t think the owls liked being pet or around people too much. But they were taken care of nicely and they were so cute. There were a few big ones that were terrifying, especially the Great Grey Owl. The small ones were full of energy and snapped at anyone who tried to pet them. The one below is an older and larger one and let me pet her for a bit:
Moving along, with a loud stomach, I headed to the Kuromon Ichiba Market. It was filled with street foods like all kinds of fried potatoes, eels, crab, grilled imitation crab, oysters… it was a foodie’s heaven. A lot of booths also sold kobe or wagyu beef (A5 or some prestige like that). I ate some freshly grilled beef at a stall, and it was overwhelmingly good, I’ve never had anything like it before.
Afterwards, I’m not sure where we walked. There was a walkway connecting out of Kuromon that was lined with stores. Among those stores was Rikuro Ojisan Cheesecakes, a place famous for their fluffy, jiggly cheesecakes. There was a long line and the seating inside was filled. We got our cake though — absolutely worth it. I love cheesecake, it’s my specialty when baking. This cheesecake blew it out of the water. It didn’t focus on the soft cheese part, it focused on the fluffy egg whites, which was a different concept to me. Here’s a short video of how spectacularly fluffy the cake is:
At night, I headed to Dotonrobi, where I saw the Glico Running Man sign and walked the streets of food, arcades and crazy designs. I walked along the Tobbori River, it was really serene despite the crowds of people milling around. The buildings were so tall it was almost suffocating. I like the feeling of being protected by the buildings and lanterns hanging next to the river. I’m somewhere no one else can find me, where I can be in my own world.
We got to this Chinese restaurant called Chinese 8 Cafe. I know, stupid me, going to a Chinese restaurant in Japan? But it’s really popular among not only the locals, but the tourists as well for it’s tacky decorations and good food. The Peking Duck combo was pretty cheap considering there is a whole duck and a few side dishes. It was a flavoured and cooked differently than in Toronto, my mom disliked it, but I liked the change. It was still Peking Duck, just differently prepared. We also ordered soup dumplings, which shall not be critiqued as the effort was there.
And in a traditional fashion, the chef cut up the duck in front of us:
After dinner, I was looking for a more quiet atmosphere to settle down. I walked the Hozenji Yokocho, a shabby-looking alley, especially compared to the dazzling Dotonrobi right next to it. Although I felt serene in Dotonrobi, the silence and emptiness of the alleyway solidified the “away from the world” feeling. I walked past all the food places to get to the Hozenji Temple. I was feeling settled and calm when I arrived at the empty temple. The temple was beautiful — unlike the other temples that I have visited on my trip, the Hozenji Temple was simple. There was one shrine and just a few garlands of lanterns hanging from the roof. And best of all… there were cats. So many stray cats roamed around or just laid there. Some came up and let me pet them but most avoided me and ran away. I have never seen so many stray cats in an area before, I would have stayed there for the entire night if I could. I avoided going into the main area though, I didn’t want to provoke any cats or scare them away.
Here is my activity chart for the day:
Ivy In Japan 