Back to Japan - Day 2: Osaka

I hadn't visited Osaka on either of my two previous trips, but hubby had heard that there was a good craft beer scene there, not to mention some excellent food, so we scheduled a night there. We took a subway up to Hiroshima's main train station and activated our JR Rail Passes and booked seats on the next Shinkansen (bullet train).

It was a quick journey from Hiroshima, leaving on the dot, getting a brief glimpse of the castle at Himeji, before arriving at Osaka Shin less than two hours later, from where we then took a subway trip down to Namba, where I'd booked us a hotel near the Dotonbori restaurant area.

It was a sweltering humid day, drizzling a little too, but luckily we only had to walk for five minutes with our backpacks to get to our hotel, the Grand Vista. The room was a little disappointing, especially compared with the previous day - the "grand vista" was looking out over a derelict building - not quite what I'd had in mind. It was still pretty cheap and quite spacious at least.

Once we'd dropped our bags off in the room we headed out to find our second dose of okonomiyaki (this time the Osaka-style one like we'd tried in Abeno in London). I was armed with my 50mm f/1.2 lens, thinking it would be good to capture some of the street atmosphere.

Dotonbori is quite a scene - heaving with people, the streets lined with takoyaki stalls, often surrounded by an audience watching the little octopus balls being prepared (it's quite a fascinating process!). We wandered around through an arcade, watched people playing pachinko through the window, and meandered down some little back streets, before deciding to find somewhere to eat.

A lot of the restaurants were now closed, but we stumbled upon Chibo, along the main street, a busy okonomiyaki restaurant which was still serving food after 3pm.

We sat at a table with its own grill; the okonomiyaki were prepared on one big hot plate away from us (the grill was just to keep it hot once it was cooked). We could see a number being prepared, Osaka and Hiroshima-style, by a female chef (the staff took it in turns to cook and serve). Eventually the food arrived, smothered in teriyaki sauce and decorated with Japanese mayonnaise and we covered the things with dried bonito flakes and watched them fluttering strangely in the heat. Unlike the Hiroshima one it's much flatter and more pancake-like, with all the ingredients mixed up together before being cooked. As a result it was also far easier to eat. We'd picked the perfect place - they were absolutely delicious, the atmosphere was great and we definitely preferred them to the Hiroshima-style ones.

Feeling suitably full we headed back out into the heat and wandered around the area a little more. The street was generally non-smoking (there were some tiles saying "don't smoke in the street") but people congregated in "smoking areas" which seemed like quite a good idea (smoking is clearly a big deal in Japan - everywhere seems to have a smoking room or smoking is just still allowed). The place was also crawling with mainly-Japanese tourists taking photos.

We stopped for a while with a small crowd of other tourists to watch the making of the takoyaki - pouring the batter into the pans and then moving the balls around with fine chopsticks.

We headed north across the river and up through the Shin Sai Bashi-Suji shopping arcade for a bit, marvelling at the vending machines, bizarre shops and game arcades.

We headed back to the hotel to rest for a bit before heading out again, this time on our little craft beer crawl. Hubby had been doing his research and marked a few on the map, most of which were fairly close to each other, although a little north of where we were staying. We started off taking the metro up to Osaka central station in search of a little bar at the top of a skyscraper; I left the big camera at home - didn't think a beer crawl and expensive gear would necessarily be conducive. We found it quite difficult to get our bearings, coming out of an exit of the enormous station, with Google Maps placing us in the wrong place and moving in the wrong direction. Eventually we found our way to the right building (Hankyu Grand) and up to the 31st floor to the Craft Beer House Molto bar. The view was definitely better than from our hotel room in Osaka, although it's not the prettiest of city skylines. I took a few iPhone shots as we watched the skies darken, and we tried a couple of different small beers. The place had a cover charge, but they at least gave a pot of snacks for that, and after a few minutes we were moved to a window seat. We tried some tuna ceviche too, which was delicious.

After trying a couple of beers we paid and left and headed down to their sister bar, Beer Stand Molto - a tiny little bar in the station, hidden away down a little corridor (we found a great blog with detailed directions so found it easily). It was packed with after-work drinkers huddled around tiny tables. The beer list was the same, but slightly cheaper, and with no cover charge, as well as some different beers in the fridge.

From there we headed south-east a little way by subway to Yellow Ape Craft (no cover charge), where again we stood against a narrow bar (there might have been sitting room upstairs but the atmosphere was nice downstairs). We just missed a massive downpour which drove a few additional people into the bar for shelter. There we picked up an Osaka Craft Beer Map, which had a few additional pubs that we weren't aware of (for another trip, since we were leaving in the morning). We tried a couple of interesting ones, including a cabernet beer by Minoh (one of the popular craft breweries that we came across a lot).

From there we walked a few streets away to Garage 39, only to find it shut - the garage door firmly shut. Not far from there, though, was the World Beer & Cafe QBrick bar, where we had a another couple of beers (another place with an annoying service charge). After a couple of beers there we realised that we needed to make a move to get the last subway back to Namba. We just made the last train, which was remarkably quiet (compared with London, for example, and - it turns out - Tokyo).

We hadn't had much to eat, apart from the ceviche and some nuts and rice crackers, so before heading home we decided to try out the takoyaki (one place was still open). We were quite disappointed, as they were much runnier inside than we'd hoped, too piping hot and a bit tasteless. Not quite hitting the spot we then headed to another café that was still open, ordered some gyozas from a machine, then sat watching them being grilled in front of us.

In spite of being dirt-cheap and ordered via a machine, they were a delicious end to our stay in Osaka. We bought what we thought was some sake at the 7-11 beneath the hotel to have a little nightcap back in the room, but it tasted like paint thinner, so ended up down the drain. After a rather boozy night it was probably just as well, and our trip to Kyoto the following day was easier as a result!

Click here for blog on Day 1 - Hiroshima & Miyajima
Click here for blog on Day 3 - Kyoto & The Philosopher's Path

Back to Japan - Day 1: Hiroshima & Miyajima

When an emergency holiday was required (prior to starting a new "proper" job), my husband and I decided it was time to return to Japan. We went there together just after we'd met, in August 2007, and I'd been once before in 2004, and it was a place that both of us instantly agreed we should revisit when the other suggested it. I found out that it was the "rainy season" and we could expect lots of drizzle, but we booked it anyway - there's enough to see, eat and drink in any weather. On my first trip it had rained pretty much constantly for 10 out of the 12 days I'd been there, and I'd still loved it.

We flew into Hiroshima, via Tokyo, having found a cheaper deal including the onward internal flight than a direct one would have cost, and it saved us a one-way train journey across the country. I had looked at Okinawa and Kyushu as other possible destinations, but the rain could have been far worse there (and it was) and our time was limited to do them justice. It was very hazy in Tokyo so we didn't get a view of the city as we descended, just endless industrial islands and golf courses to the south and a bridge that disappeared into the sea. At Haneda, we refamiliarised ourselves with the vending machines and the strange toilets, always amused by the noise, cleaning and drying possibilities that they offer (iPhone photo only).

After a couple of hours at Haneda airport our internal flight took us over Mt. Fuji, which we'd climbed on our previous visit - it was just peaking above the clouds. We also passed many tree-covered hills as we approached Hiroshima.

 
The weather wasn't too bad on our arrival - muggy and warm with quite a lot of cloud, but not pissing down with rain. The airport at Hiroshima isn't in town, so we had to take a long bus past endless bamboo-lined hills to the main terminal, from where we walked to our hotel, a little east of the Peace Park. We were a little early for check-in so dumped our backpacks and headed a few blocks north to Okonomimura, for our first Japanese meal - Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki. I remembered this food experience fondly from my first trip - a huge pancake loaded with cabbage and noodles, some egg, lots of spring onions and any other toppings of your choice, all topped off with a tasty teriyaki-ish sauce, made right in front of you on a big teppan hot plate. The Okonomimura building is full of these small restaurants, some of which only opened in the evening, but we found one which had a group of guys eating in, so trusted it to be a good one. We weren't disappointed (although having tried an Osaka-style okonomiyaki in London a few weeks earlier decided we actually preferred the Osaka-style ones). It was pretty challenging to eat with chop-sticks.

We went back to the hotel - the Mitsui Garden Hotel (an absolute bargain of a place!) - to check-in properly. I'd asked for a good view and got one - the enormous room had a huge window looking north over the city, which seemed to go on as far as the hills physically stopped it spreading any further.

Given that the weather was good and the forecast for the following morning wasn't, we decided to head out and visit Miyajima, which is a long tram ride away followed by a short ferry across to the island. First we wandered through the Peace Park, including a quick walk through the museum (a snip at ¥50 - about 28p!). Obviously it is an extremely moving place, and it is impossible to imagine the horror of the events that put the city on the map. The clock I'd seen on my previous visit counting the days since the bomb and since the last nuclear test had been switched off. Outside a large group of schoolchildren lined up to pay their respects. Other individuals laid flowers at a shrine. It is an incredibly peaceful place now, in spite of the gaggle of children.

We found the tram stop and waited a little while for our number 2 tram to arrive to take us 25 or so stops down to the Miyajima-guchi ferry port. The opposite platform was crowded with schoolchildren who'd visited the Peace Park. People cycled around the city with umbrellas held onto the handlebars with clamps to protect them from the sun. We noticed the huge amount of above-ground cables that you see throughout Japan.

 

It was rush-hour and we had to stand most of the way, but that probably helped us to stay awake - the jet-lag was beginning to creep in. Eventually the crowds thinned out, we got a seat, and it became a little more suburban before we got to the port. We saw our first dogs being walked - not a common sight, it seems, in Japan. There are two ferry companies and we were unsure of which one the ticket machines were for, but a local woman helped us to buy tickets. The ferry was about to leave so her intervention was well-timed and we just made the ferry (they leave pretty frequently, so it wouldn't have been the end of the world if we'd missed it). The ferry ride was quick, and we could see the massive orange torii gate in the distance getting bigger and bigger as we neared the mountainous island.


The sun was trying to peak through fairly dense clouds as we walked towards the gate, the pathways there dotted with tourists and fearless deer, not to mention vending machines (they are everywhere!).

The tide was coming in fast, so there was no chance to wade out to the gate. I did a few long-exposure shots with various filters before heading around to the other side of the temple complex to get a different view. The tide came in extremely quickly as the sun set behind clouds and a few mosquitoes were buzzing around, so we decided to head home (we'd left our repellent in the hotel).

On the tram back into the city I nodded off a few times, but managed to wake up at our stop, from where we wandered through the endless arched shopping area and a few side-streets looking for somewhere to have dinner. In spite of being a Monday night we passed a number of bars full of after-work drinkers (a common sight, it seems, in Japan!).

We found a place near the hotel which had pictures of yakitori on signs outside, so decided to give it a go. Inside there were a few punters, mostly men drinking highballs (tall glasses of whisky and water) and smoking (yes, they still smoke inside in Japan). The air-conditioning was pretty effective, so we weren't affected by the smoke. We ordered a sake taster set, an Asahi beer and a set of chicken yakitori followed by some sardine tempura, minced chicken balls and delicious pork gyoza. The yakitori were generally tasty, although not sure I'd order chicken heart again; it had a strange texture - slightly crunchy and firm, but also slightly jelly-like. Another of the sticks was chicken skin - again, not something I'd order again, but better than expected!

Next door we decided to have a little nightcap in an inviting-looking sake bar that we'd passed earlier. There were no English signs outside, but plenty of sake bottles to let us know what it was. We were led into a little room with tatami floors, a gap for your feet and a low table; shoes were left as you entered (with slippers provided if you needed to go to the loo). We were given a huge sake menu (with some English names) with all sorts to choose from - hot, cold, unpasteurised, etc.). We picked one to try and the friendly woman brought it to us in a fantastic little glass carafe with a hole for ice, which kept the sake cool without watering it down (we now own one!). After a couple more it was 10.45pm and we headed home, having managed to fight off the jet-lag pretty successfully. After a last shot of the night-time view we had a nice long sleep, ready for our onward journey to Osaka the following day.

Click here for blog on Day 2 - Osaka