So .... I've definitely eaten more than 26 kinds of food in Japan, but this should be a good enough reason for you to visit this foodie's paradise!
No trip to Japan would be complete without eating Japanese food. Usually, I do not write a separate post on the food scenario in a country that I visit, however for Japan, I'm making an exception. I need to convince people why they should visit Japan. I may have not known the names of all the things that I ate there (because it was all written in Japanese) or the names of all the restaurants that I dined at, however, I do have some mouth-watering pictures to share. Any info. I have about a food joint will be shared along with each picture.
1) Creamia - This is one rich, creamy and full-fat milk flavoured thats very common in Japan. Even the cone if made from Japanese wafer.
2) Gyoza - Probably a very common Japanese food. However, in UAE, I'll have to pay atleast four times the price to enjoy 6 pieces. I stopped at a random food joint at Namba station in Osaka just after I landed, and I got this treat for a steal!
3) Rikuro's Cheesecake - This wobbly piece of heaven has been making rounds on the internet, and I was determined to try it out. Its light and fluffy but does have a strong smell of egg. We bought an entire cake and both of us had half each for brekkie the following day.
4) Okonamiyaki - This Japanese style pancake is available throughout Japan. Everyone boasts that theirs is the best. In order to know the reality, we tried them in every city. Just watching them prepare it is an art.
5) Takoyaki - These crispy octopus filled balls are a popular street food in Japan. They taste really good! Just make sure not to pop it into your mouth immediately!
6) Oysters - I have never had a cooked oyster in my life, that was until I visited Japan. The first one I had was in Miyajima, and there was no turning back. They cook them in various style - char grilled, deep fried, etc. In some of the markets in Japan, like the Omicho Market ... they have entire stalls dedicated to oysters. Each size in priced differently. Just pay for it, season it and pop it in!
7) Fish cake- A maple leaf looking thing which is a popular street food in Miyajima.
8) Cream Puff Pastry - I have no idea what they call these in Japan, but I had these in Kyoto. Its a pastry filled with cream. We tried the ones filled with matcha, sakura and something else!
9) Ichigo Daifu - Mochi is very common in Japan. We had this one while we were on our way to the Todaiji temple in Nara.
10) Green Beer - Because ... how many people get to have a beer thats green? We had this somewhere in Kyoto.
11) Sushi - This is something we all associate Japan with. Sushi train restaurants are very common in Japan, and while the regular fishy sushi is available everywhere, some of the restaurants even have them with meat. The meat ones are really good!
12) Grilled Bamboo Shoot - We usually have little slices of bamboo shoot in Chinese or Indian cuisine, however, I've never had a big chunk all by myself. We tried this in one of the little stalls at Maruyama Park in Kyoto.
13) Grilled Rice Balls - We found this at the Fushimi Inari shrine in Kyoto, however, you'd probably find it anywhere. They are basically rice balls, brushed with sweet sauce and dusted with soy bean powder.
14) Gold Leaf Ice cream - Only in Kanazawa, will you find an ice cream thats covered in real gold leaf. You're sure to feel like a million bucks!
15) Omurice - I became a fan of this dish when I had it in Kanazawa. Its basically an omelet stuffed with whatever you choose and smothered in a sauce of your choice. Omurice = Omelet + Rice!
16) Japanese Curry - You do not need to be a fan of curry to try out Japanese curries. They are different from other curries and are really comforting. We tried one at the Shirakawago bus station and another in Tokyo. In some restaurants in Japan, you can choose your fave curry from a machine thats located outside the restaurant, pay for it and then enter. Make sure you try out the hashed beef curry!
17) Dumpling looking things! - I have no idea what these were called or what they're filled with. We saw a long line at a certain restaurant at Yokohama Chinatown and knew that we had to try it. Its got a dumpling texture on top and a pastry texture at the bottom. We burnt our tongues when we tried to stuff one in our mouth. Its filled with hot soup!
18) The actual dumplings - Okay, these were normal dumplings that we found at Yokohama Chinatown. They're there everywhere!
19) Tokyo Banana - The cutest little cakes shaped like a banana and filled with banana cream, choco- banana cream, etc. They are available at a couple of stations in Tokyo and even at the airport.
20) Ikinari Steak - When in Tokyo, make sure you visit this steakhouse. They are so welcoming and the steak is to die for!
21) Totti Candy Factory - for the largest, fanciest and most colourful cotton candy you'll ever see ... atleast for me. They are located in Harajuku, Tokyo.
22) Japanese breads - The Japanese sure know how to get creative with their bread. We ditched the regular breakfast in Japan and headed to bake shops to try out their assorted breads. Black bread, green bread, panda shaped breads ... they have them all!
23) Seafood in a shell - That's the best name I could give this shell filled with all kinds of seafood. I found this at the Tsukiji market in Tokyo. Trust me, its worth every yen!
24) Pablo's Cheesetart - We tried out 3 mini tarts filled with matcha, cheese and chocolate. I personally loved the chocolate tart and its no surprise why.
25) Scallops - In UAE, scallops are a delicacy that come at a price. In Japan, they're sold almost everywhere and are dirt cheap. I don't think a day passed by when I didn't eat a scallop!
26) Yakiniku - Last but not the least, I loved the concept of grilling my own meat. Japan has one of the best beef (Kobe beef) that I know of and we weren't afraid to unleash our inner carnivore.
Phew !!!!
So .... I've definitely eaten more than 26 kinds of food in Japan, but this should be a good enough reason for you to visit this foodie's paradise!
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Gone are those days when I used to book an entire holiday package from a travel agent. Travelling often has made me so wiser and I've learnt to save money. When you travel with a big group, you have to stick to a particular agenda and a meal plan ... which for me is just out of the question. And if you want an exclusive private tour, you have to pay a fortune! So, why not take help from the internet and make an agenda that suits you. That's exactly what we did, and now I'm saving you the trouble by making one for you! You're welcome!
Getting from Osaka Kansai Airport to the City Centre - There are a number of ways to reach the city from Osaka Airport. Obviously the most convenient way is taxi, but you have to pay. We caught the Nankai Rapi:t (takes about 35 minutes to Namba Station) and from there we had our hotel bus wait for us. We stayed at the ANA Crowne Plaza Osaka. Namba is well connected to other areas of Osaka, so even if we had to take the subway from there it would take us around 15 minutes. The Nankai Rapi:t train tickets can be purchased at the Nankai ticket office in the airport.
Getting around Osaka - We managed to get around Osaka using subway. We purchased a day pass for each day at the vending mention in the station. There's a JR Loop line where the subway pass is not valid. Some of the attractions lie on the JR Loop line, so we paid as we went. If you have a JR train pass (for inter-city travel), you can travel on this line for free. We had the pass, but didn't activate it until 3 days later. We spent a little over 48 hours in Osaka, but those extra hours do not count as we arrived around 9pm. Here's what we did in 48 hours.
1) Umeda Sky Building - An unusual looking skyscraper with a floating garden and an observatory. This building comprises of two towers with a structure suspended in between. You have to pay to visit, but its totally worth it. The view from the top is amazing. You can see the entire city.
2) Shitenno-ji temple - Temples are to Japan what churches are to Europe. There are just so many of them, so its good to plan in advance where you wanna go. Shitenno-ji is Japan's oldest Buddhist temple. Within the temple grounds, they have a number of little buildings. I personally loved the turtle pond filled with little turtles and the cherry trees.
3) Osaka Castle - This was one of my favourite castles in Japan. On the castle grounds, people were pick-nicking, dancing ... the whole place was bustling with life. We had to walk a couple of steep slopes to get to the top ... where the castle actually was. But it was so worth it. We didnt enter the castle but rather enjoyed its view and the little food stalls on the outside. If you are there during cherry blossom season, try out the Sakura ice cream.
4) Universal Studios - We visited Universal Studios only for butter beer! We missed having this in Orlando and couldn't bear the thought of leaving Osaka without trying it. We made some time late in the afternoon and popped in. If theme parks are not your thing, you could skip this. Many of the rides had like a 120 minute waiting time ... which was ridiculous! Only towards the end of the day, the timings were reduced to 30 minutes or so and we got to try some of them. Atleast my wish of drinking butter beer was fulfilled :D.
5) Dotonburi - The home of the famous Glico man ... a neon lit board with an image of a ... well... a running man and a giant moving crab. We spent our evenings here on both the days because it had all the action. And not to forget, it looks amazing at night with neon lights everywhere ... kinda reminded me of Times Square. Moreover, the dining options are endless.
6) Tsūtenkaku - An iconic tower in the middle of Shinsekai with an observatory. You have to pay a fee to visit. We were happy to admire it from the outside.
7) Shinsekai - Osaka's retro looking entertainment area filled with shops and restaurants.
8) Shinsaibashi - A long indoor shopping arcade that looks like its built under an arc. The shops here sell everything from clothes to electronics, souvenirs to musical instruments, and much more. This is a shopper's paradise to be precise. For a change, I didn't buy anything! If you walk all the way to the end you reach Dotonburi.
9) Cherry Blossoms - We visited Japan during cherry blossom season and we got enough and more! The best place to see cherry blossoms in Osaka is the Kema Sakuranomiya Park. This park has nearly 5000 cherry trees, and you basically walk under them. I cannot even begin to tell you what an amazing experience that was!
Other nice places to see them are Osaka castle and Expo 70 Commemorative Park (we didn't enter this park, just saw a bit from the outside).
As you can see, we covered quite a lot on our own in two days. Once you get a hang of the Osaka metro system, getting around is a breeze! Most of the attractions are around a metro stop. Next up is - Miyajima! Stay tuned x |
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