Japan: Osaka Adventures

Will and I originally started this blog when we first got married.  Our first adventure abroad as a married couple (besides a quick little trip to Mexico) was our honeymoon and we went to Japan and Korea.  Needless to say, anyone who knows us IRL knows that Will is kind of obsessed with Japan.  He LOVED our trip there and has been wanting to go back ever since.  While I loved it as well, I've always preferred to go somewhere new but this year, Will finally had his dream come true and we are back in Japan!  However, on this trip, we were just too busy and I could not keep up with the blogging.  We crammed in so much each day and I was just passed out whenever we came back to our AirBnb.  So.... no daily posts in Japan.  Just quick rundowns of all the fun that we had.  First up, Osaka!

I really liked Osaka.  I mean, look at that picture above.  Doesn't it look like a stock photo??  Osaka is a smaller, condensed version of Tokyo but still lots to do it and a more laid back feeling to it.  It also felt less business-y and corporate which I liked.  It was awesome too because our AirBnb was literally right in the middle of  Kuromon Ichiba Market where they sold sooo many kinds of delicious food.  

  

We had delicious ramen at this restaurant that had regular table seating and then this "booth" seating.  The booth seating was basically maximizing efficiency and convenience.  You didn't even need to speak to anyone (good or bad? not sure).  You paid for your food by buying a ticket from a machine, saw booth availability from a lit up board, sat down and ordered from a sheet of paper, and slipped it to a person behind a screen who brought you your food without any interaction.  You could even fill up your own water at your seat.  The ramen was SO good and the experience was fun and wacky.

 

This is an area called Shinsekai which is an old neighborhood that was built in 1912.  It's funky and kind of feels like the remnants of a Epcot Center or something from back in the day.  Something about it feels old and nostalgic but too planned.  It's famous for Fugu (super deadly poisonous fish that we passed on) and kushi-katsu restaurants.  A lot of the kushi-katsu restaurants allowed smoking and the one that we went to had a mandatory drink order even though Will doesn't drink.  

While leaving this area, Will ran into some of the fun and games that Japanese people are known for and love.  First, he finds a "gumball machine" type thing that had X-rated (hence the black plastic containers) junk in it.  He HAD to buy one even though it was like $4.  It was a squeezy boob type thing, nipple and all.  (facepalm)  And then there was a random game where you could shoot little corks at candy and snack boxes and if you knocked them down, you got to keep them.  And since it's Will, of course he was able to knock them down and win some Japanese snacks.

And now... this is one of the top 5 meals of my entire life.  Coming to Japan, Will and I wanted to try some kind of wagyu beef which is popular in Osaka (and we didn't try in Tokyo last time we came).  Wagyu is basically any of four types of Japanese cattle.  They get their name from the region in Japan that they are raised (ex: kobe, matsusaka, etc.) but are essentially cattle that are predisposed to having a higher fat content that is well marbled throughout.  While there are rumors that they are massaged to get their fat evenly dispersed, it's not actually true.  Either way, we wanted to try it.  I found a restaurant called Matsusakagyu Yakinuku because it specialized in this type of beef, had amazing reviews, but wasn't insanely expensive ($70/person, not cheap but not crazy compared to other places).  To be honest, I had pretty low expectations.  I thought it would be good but not blow me away.  But... IT BLEW US AWAY.  It was so so good.  The meat didn't feel fatty but it basically melted in our mouths, like we didn't even need teeth!  

And that was about it for Osaka!  Sure there were neighborhoods that we went to and funny things we saw or noticed but at this point, I can't remember.  This stuff was the core stuff that made it into my iPhone photos and into the blog! :)