Oishii! – Japan Day 01

After a long year behind us, it was time for the highlight of the year, a trip to Japan! This would be Ashley’s first time going to Japan and my second trip. We haven’t visited the Land of the Rising Sun in over five years, so we were eagerly anticipating the trip ahead. We had a quick dinner at Pastamania, as well as stopping by the SIA Lounge to get some rest as well as some light refreshments before the flight to Kansai Airport, a flight that would take nearly eight hours.

 

One uneventful flight later, we landed in Kansai airport, and we wasted no time in getting our bearings around the area, immediately scouting out our Hotel, Karaksa, as well as the nearby Konbini stores, fully immersing us into the weird and wonderful world of Japanese snacks. We purchased “Coca Cola Plus” – A derivative of the normal Coke we drink, with added fibers and vitamins, and “Premium Morning Tea” – A milk tea that was completely transparent! Although well known in Singapore now, this was one of the exciting drinks that I could not help but try back then, and it certainly weirded us out when the taste was nothing like its appearance!

As the book-in time of the hotel was nowhere close to the time we arrived, we left our baggage at the hotel and decided to be typical tourists in Osaka, to head over to Dotonbori, Osaka’s very famous Food Street, and take in the sights, smells and of course, tastes of the city! On the way there, we met some old sights and were immediately impressed with the wacky decorations and huge advertisements near Dotonbori – a true testament to the wacky nature of Japanese advertising.

Of course, while we were here, we tried out the Kobe beef stands that were all around the area. Although we knew that this might not be the full experience, it was a good insight into how good even “normal” Kobe beef was, although tough, it was full of flavor and fully salivating our taste buds. With some hunger taking over us, we decided to walk on.

 

Heading to the market near Dotonbori, we were hunting down a stall that SF had researched about online, one which sold huge scallops which were flame torched and sold to be eaten. On the way there, we took int the atmosphere and were simply flabbergasted at the amount of selection of fresh seafood and sushi that you could just buy. We lamented that this could be the best sashimi we’ve ever eaten, and they would taste absolutely normal to the locals in the area.

Soon after, we found the store that sold scallop, and I could not resist myself grabbing some freshly made takoyaki from the same stall.

Soon, it was time for our actual lunch, and we headed back to one of our favourite stalls from my own trip to Japan many years ago, a stall that sold huge(!) rice bowls that included the use of Italian Black Pig meat, which was super nice back then. However, we found that the quality dropped a little from our second trip there, however this did not stop me enjoying the huge rice bowl! It was still a delight to see the same stall here after so many years.

After lunch, we could finally book into our hotel, which was quite a respite for all of us, as we were all feeling a little tired after our flight into Kansai.

We headed into our room (we had two of them) for the first time, and we were superbly impressed by the quality of the rooms. It was clean, the beds were big (for Japan standards) and there was a cute toilet bowl that opened and close automatically! (Of course  there would be such a thing, we are in Japan after all!)

After our nap, it was time for dinner, and we headed back out into the cool weather. This was Ashley’s perfect time to use her jacket, and we purchased even more drinks from the vending machines on the way there, this time taking the time to try out the transparent Lemon Tea (are we still surprised?).

For dinner, we reserved a table at Kani Doraku, Osaka’s most famous Crab restaurant. However, when we arrived we were still early for our reservation, so we headed to one of the most famous franchises in Osaka, Osaka Ohsho, with their famous fast-food style Gyozas. This was an instant hit for both Ashley and myself.

 

Afterwards, we headed to Kani Doraku, where we were given a table on the second floor of the restaurant. It was a spectacular view, and what was more spectacular was the food quality. Although I was not one who can fully appreciate the quality of the crabs on offer, I could still tell the difference in taste and texture of the crabs that were served. They were extremely fresh and bursting with flavour, something everyone appreciated. At the end of the meal, we were also served crab porridge (zosui), made by the staff with the crab broth that was brought in a kettle, it was also extremely delicious. We decided that if we ever were to return to Osaka that this would be one of the places we will revisit.

 

 

Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel, stopping by to get another one of the famous snacks that we have also heard about online. It was called a Pablo Cheesecake, and it was simply delicious. The taste of the cheese was mild, however the texture of the cake was simply addictive, and we were all craving for more, even though it was barely after our dinner. This had been an exciting first day in Japan, and we could not wait to continue the trip on the second day.