- heart felt robots
- take on the toughies
- codelove
- whimsiart
- yugamae
- thisischris
- how-to language
- jeff the fish
- beluga calf
- three ninjas
- rod danz
Tuesday
Tuesday became our Kyoto day, as Monday did not turn out exactly as we wanted it too. We left our hotel a little late, found a quick train to Kyoto, and ended up in some underground supermarket. Supermarkets in America cannot compare with Japan, so it's unfair to even apply the same term; but that's essentially what it was. They were selling this really great sencha that we had to buy. Seriously though, they totally grok the idea of 'service industry' in a way that I really believe America never will.
We rode the subway down to the Nishiki market and went on an extended search for food. We eventually got some food at this weird little place that was out of plain rice(!) but had rice-dishes all cooked with the ingredients in them. Very strange, but good. We made our way through the market, looking at all the pickled vegetables(tsukemono), candies, vegetables, fish, baked goods and tea. I stopped by the little knife shop that I wanted to buy knives at last time and looked around. Their knives looked to be of equal quality with the knives I found in Osaka, but at twice the price! I left the shop, and we eventually grew weary of seeing white people everywhere, so we bid farewell to Kyoto. I grew up in a tourist town, I know how the residents of Kyoto feel, and it makes me feel the same way. It was back to Osaka for us...
...for more shopping! We found even more underground shopping malls, a sprawling network of commerce meets mass transit. Everything was nearing closing time, and we were hungry, so we found this strange little place that serves curry udon. OMGOOSES. It was so delicious;
...and Sandy grabbed something she thought was a napkin, as it was really messy, but it was actually a big paper baby bib! And she wore it! See?
Okay, so we crashed after that day, and we planned for Wednesday to be our Big Osaka Shopping Day, and we needed to research shipping costs and stuff... so it was early to bed for us.
Labels: Japan08, Kyoto, Osaka, shopping
posted by tangentbot @ 5:43 PM
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Sunday
The shopping districts in Osaka are, in a word, overwhelming. I have never, in my entire life, seen as many stores and restaurants sprawled out over such a large area. I really don't even know where to begin, except to say; if you like shopping even a little, there is something for you here. If you hate shopping but you like food, even a little, this is the place to be. Curry, katsu, don, ramen, udon, oden, soba... Italian, Thai, Indian - they are not messing around when it comes to food choices. One row is entirely Korean food. There are bakeries, sweet shops, and cafes, and as ethnically diverse the selection is, the food offered remains unique in its Japanese interpretation.
We didn't eat at any of those places though. We had Mos Burger for breakfast! Ok, so we left our hotel before any cool restaurants were open, and we were hungry... but Mos Burger is still pretty good.
Upon arriving at the same place we left off the day before, we pretty much immediately lost ourselves in the labyrinth of shops. The first street was entirely devoted to shops that provide restaurants with equipment and utensils. There was every level of quality you could imagine. They had handmade, one-of-a-kind dishes, knives and bento boxes. Thousands of trditional Japanese cooking tools, gas ranges, little fridges, chopstick rests, rice cookers... I was in heaven. I bought a bento box at one of the shops, and I think I'm going to buy some knives at another, as I will definately be going back.
Sandy also lucked out, as there were about a bajillion stores with clothes, purses, shoes and jewelry. We stood in line at a takoyaki stand and had authentic, Osakan takoyaki. We are going to have to try okonomiyaki next, another Osakan invention. So, here are the dudes making the takoyaki, and some pics of the store. It's nestled between a ramen shop and a place that features whale meat dishes. Rad.
Ther is so much to see here, we just took a ton of pictures. There are a lot more; these are just the most interesting. There's a Don Quixote with a ferris wheel! Cool!
We got home late, rested a bit, and went out to look for food. I swear, when nobody else is open, Indian restaurants are. It was either that or combini, and we wanted to actually sit at a table and have food brought to us. I don't know if it is just me, but Indian food in Japan has so far been awesome. It's kind of strange to hear Japanese spoken with an Indian accent.
Oh yeah, I forgot; we didn't take pictures. Here's the thing; if Sandy and I are in a serious/quiet/grown-up place, like a restaurant, and we are the only people in there, we get the giggles. Long story short, I made Sandy spit chai all over the table by reciting the first three words of a poem I just happened to make up on the spot. Just sayin'. So... no pics.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------Monday
Monday was our Kyoto day. The first mistake we made was not eating anything before our adventure. The second mistake was to not research our day trip. Our third was to opt out of using the subway to get around. It was a lot of wandering around, bored, looking for the Nishiki Market. It was not fun, like, hours of not fun. It was warm, I had blisters, and we were both pretty hungry, although still determined to find this freaking marketplace. Was it near the station? Did we take a subway to our hotel last time? Maybe? Walking around a bit more, we decided to take a subway to a part of Kyoto which we thought looked right. We eventually found a market, not THE market, but it had food. We ate at a don place, which is basically rice with toppings. We didn't take pictures, because by that time we were so hungry, we didn't even think about it. It was still really good food. They put a layer of shoyu-swoaked nori in between the rice and fish, and I am totally going to start doing that now.
We bought some really good tea from a little tea shop run by an adorable couple. More wandering ensued, through a covered marketplace, kind of like a mall, but more like a street with a roof over it and no cars. There must have been some fieldtrip to the market, because there were hundreds of kids, from elementary to junior high, everywhere, along with a few chaparones. The little kids had these yellow rain hats on and it was super cute. Slowly, things started to look familiar. We finally found the Nishiki Market, but unfortunately everything was closed.
Upon returning to Osaka, via a fast limited express, we ate dinner at this little curry place called "Indy Curry House". It was amazing and very different from anything else I have tasted. There was one dude, running everything, and he was making all the curry dishes from scratch to-order.
With some solid planning on our side, and a sort-of wasted day (how could you call a day spent in Japan wasted?), we retired to our hotel for Japanese doramas(dramas) and sleep.
Labels: food, Japan08, Kyoto, Osaka, train
posted by tangentbot @ 1:34 AM
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