Osaka, Japan
The streets of Dotonbori
Our impressions of Osaka
Sensory overload: For many people, the image of nighttime Osaka is what they conjure when they think of Japan – crazy lights, neon Japanese signs, larger-than-life replicas of food, and people everywhere. Though totally overwhelming at times, we embraced the craziness of Dotonbori (Osaka’s main nightlife and touristic district) and loved walking down the uncrowded alleys with red Japanese lanterns. The crowdedness of the city surprised us both, but it should’t have given Osaka’s population of 2.6 million people
Street eats capital of Japan: Osaka wasn’t our favorite place to eat in Japan, but it undeniably has the most active street food culture in the country. At night, the city comes alive with okonomiyaki, yakitori, takoyaki, and melon bread (our personal favorite) vendors lining the buzzing streets of Dotonbori. Beyond street food, every street is packed with places to eat that specialize in different dishes. Though we didn’t have much time in Osaka, we enjoyed melon bread from the street (twice), had an Osaka-style okonomiyaki at a Michelin-recommended restaurant, and tried two different hole in the wall ramen places
Flooded with tourists: Coming from Fukuoka where we didn’t see any tourists, Osaka was a shock to the system. The main walking streets of the city were crowded with tourists, to the point where we felt like we saw more tourists than locals. When we left the main area, we saw far fewer tourists and were able to explore a few residential areas with more character than Dotonbori. Osaka was in the top five most touristy cities that we’ve traveled to on our trip, but we took it for what it was and had fun with the hustle and bustle
What we saw in Osaka
Walking around the city: Osaka was a quick stop for us on the way to Fukuoka solo and on the way back to Tokyo with the elder Smarts. We spent the majority of our short time in the city walking around for hours and eating (what we do best). The first time we were in Osaka, we stayed in the quieter Hommachi district which was a calm and interesting place to explore with office buildings and temples side-by-side. With the elder Smarts, we spent time in an awesome residential area called Uemachi, including walking through a covered market with no other tourists in sight. Though overwhelming at times, we had fun experiencing the craziness of Dotonbori and Namba with their crazy lights and long walking streets on our own and again with the Smarts. In general, we found Osaka to be much more commercial and not as interesting as some of the other cities we visited in Japan
Doug’s haircut: It had been a few months, so it was time for Doug to clean up his mop. Getting haircuts on our travels has always been an experience and Japan was no exception. We scoped out a few places with solid reviews, walked into one that was open late night, and crossed our fingers. Though the edgy hairdresser didn’t speak any English, she couldn’t have been nicer. Hairstyles in Japan are very different from those in the US, so she tried to be conservative and didn’t chop off too much hair. Doug ended up with Japanese sideburns for a few weeks which was a fun change of pace for him
Udon cooking class: One of our favorite things we did in Japan with the elder Smarts was learn how to make udon in Osaka. After eating many, many bowls of udon in the previous two weeks, we were excited to try our hand at making it from scratch. We met the chef, Kenji-san, in a cute, residential neighborhood that felt a world away from Dotonbori. The recipe was simple, but very precise (down to the gram on flour, water, and salt) which isn’t our (Jessie’s) strong suit at home. One of our favorite parts of the class was stomping on the dough – a centuries’ old tradition to make it stretchy and airy. We loved both the cold dipping udon and the hot kake udon and decided we would have to make them when we’re all back together in the US. We also enjoyed chatting with Kenji and learning about his life and his family in Osaka
Where we ate and drank
Mizuno: One of our favorite restaurants in Chicago is Gaijin, an okonomiyaki (Japanese cabbage-based pancake) joint, so we were very excited to have it straight from the source in Osaka. After scouting out a few different places, we settled on Mizuno, a popular Michelin Bib Gourmand spot that serves Osaka-style okonomiyaki. We waited in line for ~30 minutes before getting seated at a small table with a grill. We ordered two different okonomiyaki – one with yam (Mizuno’s specialty) and another traditional pancake with noodles and shrimp. The chef fired up the grill and cooked the okonomiyaki in front of us, dousing each pancake with soy sauce, mayo, and bonito flakes. Though they were good, we unanimously (and somewhat shamefully) agreed that we liked Gaijin better, making us excited to return when we’re back in Chicago
Ramen Shitenno Dotonbori: Ramen joints are ubiquitous in Osaka, but vegetarian ramen is not. We were lucky to find this place in Dotonbori that offered a vegetarian option with stir fried vegetables and plenty of meat options for Doug. We happily slurped up our steaming bowls of ramen and gulped down two cold draft beers to soak up the salt and spice
Melon bread: Neither of us are big melon fans, so melon bread didn’t sound appetizing in the slightest. Luckily, we learned that it had absolutely nothing to do with melon, outside of the shape of the bread. It was one of the most delicious desserts we’ve eaten – sweet, sugary, fluffy dough with ice cream in the middle. Like a bready ice cream sandwich. We liked it so much that we went back to the same stand with the elder Smarts
Family Mart: Convenience stores in Japan, known as combini, are one of the best places to get a cheap, nutritious, and delicious meal. We frequented kombini during our trip to Tokyo in 2019 and were very excited to be back. We had our inaugural meal of chicken katsu and udon at Family Mart in Osaka before getting on the Shinkansen to Matsumoto
Ek Chuah: Kenji, our udon guide, recommended that we check out this cafe after our class. It was an awesome recommendation! We sat in an old lofted building with ceilings that resembled our apartment on Sangamon while enjoying a sampling of different chocolates and coffee
Where we stayed
Cordia Hommachi: The Cordia was one of the most comfortable and best value places that we stayed in Japan. The hotel felt and looked new, the bed was insanely comfortable, and the shower pressure was memorable. The room was cozy and the best possible use of space we could envision. We wish we had more than a night here!
Swissotel Osaka: The Swissotel was conveniently located in Osaka station and a very quick walk from the main nightlife area which was great for our short stay. Though it wasn’t the most comfortable, the bed was the biggest bed we’ve ever seen or slept in (almost like 2x the size of a king). We played cards and had a nightcap at the bar which gave us a great view of the city
