FML.1 - Exploring Osaka and Dotonbori

Hey Steemits,

Carl here with my very first blog about my three-week journey through Japan. Japan is without a doubt one of the happiest places I’ve visited in the world and a must for travellers looking for adventure, culture, history and weird wonderful fun. Situated less than 200km off the Coast of South Korea, Japan is the home of manga & anime, geisha, sumo wrestling and some amazing food.

My three-week journey around Japan covered some interesting places including Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Kobe, Hiroshima, Matsumoto, Hakuba and Nagano before our final leg of the trip to Tokyo.

If you’re worried about not being able to speak the language don’t be. As I understand it English is a compulsory language in Japanese education so most Japanese can at least understand some of what you are saying. It always helps however to know a few words of Japanese. Below are some of the more common words you will find extremely useful.

Japanese                        English Translation

Kon'nichiwa                  Hello
Arigatou                         Thank you
Sayounara                      Good bye
Sumimasen                   Excuse me
Hai                                   Yes
Iie                                     No
Doko Desuka                Where is?
Ikura desuka                How much?

Touching down in Osaka, Japan
After a 15-hour commute we finally touched down in Osaka Japan. Unfortunately, due to some bad planning our flight arrived in Osaka close to 11pm which led to a very entertaining evening of high pressure charades with a couple late night train station platform workers. It took a while but I finally got through the language barrier by speaking some English mixed with a bunch of Japanese words until things clicked. I imagine the poor chap assisting me was probably glad to end the conversation after multiple repeats of the same set of instructions. As it turns out a lot of the subways between the Kansai International Aiport and Namba Station close at 10pm. Fortunately, we managed to catch one of the last trains for the night from the airport to Namba Station before trains resumed the next morning.

Travel Tip: Arriving earlier in the night may save you from thinking you may have to spend your first night in Japan sleeping at the train station, an unplanned motel or catching an expensive taxi ride.

Thankfully we reached our accommodation near Hommachi Station around 1am and was up surprisingly early the next day bubbling with excitement.

Exploring Namba Station and Den Den Town
After a quick breakfast at Tully’s Coffee which became a morning breakfast staple we spent the majority of first day wondering around Namba Station and the shopping district next to Dotonbori. There is so much to see here and we spent many hours that day exploring endless anime stores and gaming arcades like Namco and Taito Station. If you love anime, manga, cosplay and games I’d highly recommend a stroll around Den Den Town which is a 10 minute walk from Nipponbashi Station.

The game arcades in Japan are typically large buildings spread over 6-10 stories. The sheer size of these places will amaze you as you travel through level after level of gaming machines and comic book style shops. Check out my photos below.

 

 

 

 

By lunch I had developed quite an appetite and decided to try out Tokisushi, an excellent sushi restaurant adjacent to Namba Station. The plate featured below will set you back approximately ¥900 but features a variety of nigiri sushi including tuna, squid, salmon, octopus, prawn, mackerel and other fish which was incredibly delicious. I’d probably compare the quality of sushi at Tokisushi to the sushi you’d have at Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo.

The rice was perfectly seasoned and expertly formed making it easy to handle but delicate enough to breakdown in your mouth. The fish was another standout and practically melts on your tongue…. except for the squid which was chewy raw.

After many “FML” moments whilst exploring local novelty shops around Namba Station and a giant electronic department store called “BIC Camera” we headed to Dotonbori for dinner which is incredible at night.

Travel Tip: If you arrive in Osaka in time for dinner I strongly recommend you drop your bags and head to Dotonbori as there is no better place to visit than the upbeat night life of Dotonbori. It will have you buzzing from your very first night in Japan.

Maybe it’s the smell of all the delicious foods vying for your attention, the bright lights or the fact that everyone is smiling and having a good time but Dotonbori at night has a fantastic vibe that I’m sure you will enjoy. Check out some of my photos below:

 

 

 

Whilst at Dotonbori we stopped on one side of the river (near Ebisubashi) to watch a live performance. One of the performances was a J-pop girl band who I was unable to catch the name of but loved! I clearly wasn’t the only fan girl, have a listen to some of their fans in the video below.

Great live performances and bright lights isn’t the only thing Dotonbori has to offer though as the area is famous for serving up delicious food. I’m not joking this place is food heaven and if you’re not careful you might end up with a food baby by the end of the night.

If you visit Dotonbori I’m sure that many places you eat at will be top notch, however places with queues are generally a good indicator of the restaurants food. Alternatively, you can look up places on TripAdvisor. We decided to eat at 金久右衛門 道頓堀店 which is a ramen shop in Dotonbori. Noticing a regular queue outside, I thought it would be a great way to end the night.

I should take this opportunity to apologies to my friends for some very loud expressive noises I made during that meal. I certainly attracted some looks of amazement as a slurped down bowls of ramen …. but apparently, it’s considered good table manners to express your enjoyment when eating ramen. The restaurants Pork Ramen (Osaka Black - #4 on the vending machine ~ ¥850) pictured below was particularly superb. The Chashu Pork was extremely tender with just the right amount of fat to melt in your mouth. The broth was rich and flavourful without being too indulgent and made it a great meal to end the night.

After dinner, we waddled back to the apartment all the while pondering the amazing things we had seen and the amazing adventures we’d share tomorrow. Below is some of the footage I captured whilst exploring the streets of Osaka which includes footage from Dotonbori.

I hope you enjoyed reading about this travel blog. If you want to hear more about my adventures please feel free to upvote this post and share with friends. Additionally, please follow me to hear more about my latest adventures. ✌️