Ohayo!
The past three days have been spent lavishing in bowls of caramelized yams, the gooey insides of octopus dumplings, sizzling stacks of fried cabbage, egg and flour doused in sweet sauce (they call it...Okonamyaki, and it's God-sent) and drinking good beer. We visited Osaka, Japan's renowned food capital whose delicious waftings will make you salivate immediately upon stepping off the train.
Literally, we hopped off the train and our noses were struck instantly. "What is that SMELL?!" We spent the majority of our trip eating (good and cheap). The streets of Osaka are lined with vendors- these conspicuous food stops are usually surrounded by herds of spectators waiting patiently to devour their Takoyaki at the standing table two feet away. After our three hour venture from Nagoya (requiring multiple transfers) we were ready for culinary dominance. We checked into our hostel and hopped to the famous Dotonbori district where we promptly bought beer and strolled the streets trying anything that looked good. Over the course of the evening I think we skipped through five or six different bars, restaurants, and vendors.
Daigakuimo, or caramelized sweet potatoes, are rock-solid until your teeth crack the shell to experience the potato and caramelized-insanity. Osaka's Takoyaki surpasses anything I've tasted in Nagoya, and the Ikonomiyaki prepared on a steaming frier before you late at night is exclusively Osaka's. The layers of cabbage, flour, beef and egg are blended by the swift hand of a Japanese chef and topped with nari (seaweed) and red ginger. The fish flakes added in the process are so amazing, they dance. Note: they aren't actually alive (we thought they were the first time we tried Tacoyaki in Nagoya). No, really, they aren't. Stop videotaping the fish flakes.
Between eating, we also saw a lot of cool places. We visited Osaka's Aquarium, Kaiyukan (via boat that transported us across the river) and saw ridiculous squirrel-monkeys and massive whale-sharks. The aquarium comprises five stories that you explore through a spiraled route. The aquarium features sea-life from 15 regions, including Japan's Forest, the Tasman Sea, the Gulf of Panama, Ecuador's Rain Forest, and the Aleutian Islands. It's one of the biggest in the world and even has a "touching" room where you can pet small sharks. They were slimy and one flapped his fins angrily at me. We concluded that these creatures have the crappiest lives of all the museum-bound sea folk, being fondled by humans all day (mostly unruly children), but Stephen reasoned that the sad touch-me prostitutes are rotated.
We also visited Osaka Castle, the Hokoku Shrine, the Umeda sky-building that offers amazing panoramas, and moseyed through bustling street markets and famous neighborhood districts. Our trip was all the more amazing because we were able to meet up with a friend from our Toronto trip along with his Japanese girlfriend and friends. Dining with our boisterous band of Japanese/British/Canadians/Americans was a lot of fun. Good people always know other good people.
Ps: In Japanese, the Italian translation of "Cheers!" (cin cin) refers, in Japanese, to the male genitalia. Our friends gladly taught us many useful Japanese phrases, such as "Two more beers, please," among others. On our second night we all went for Nomihodai at 1200 yen a piece. Nomihodai means "all you can drink," and in this case we had two hours. We also shared nabe (a hot pot), gyoza (Japanese dumplings), karaage (fried chicken bits), and classic fried potatoes. Oishi!
Our Osaka trip a success, now we have five more days of laziness before winter vacation ends and work begins. The first week and a half of teaching went great for Stephen and I both. In the few days before break, our kids lessons were solely Christmas-centered, and we crafted countless hand and feet reindeer, pop-up Christmas cards, felt stockings, and sang Christmas songs until I lost my voice (luckily this pinnacled in the last two hours of my base-shift, during which I never taught).
New Years plans are yet to be decided, but a shrine-visit on the 1st is a definite must. I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and plans to bring in 2011 with friends and family. Happy Holidays, loves! We're living fat and happy. Thanks for reading.
:)
Claire