Shinsaibashi no shiawase

 Shinsaibashi, Osaka's famed shopping district is in the Namba area or downtown Osaka.  It's famous for its nearly kilometer long covered shopping arcade.  

When I did a little research before coming to Osaka last September, I knew that this would be a not-to-be missed destination for me.

Running alongside Mido suji, Osaka's main street, Shinsaibashi is unlike any area that I had seen in Tokyo.  Loud, boisterous, fun, casual and teeming with crowds -- it literally took my breath away.  After I had recovered from the initial shock, I whipped out the Visa and merrily went my way.

Dontonbori or the famed eating street intersects two covered shopping arcades.  One is called Ebisubashi where there are all sorts of old and new shops, mostly boutiques catering to the young and fashionable types.

Everyone in Osaka seemed to be out in the streets!  The entrance to Ebisubashi is marked by huge lighted billboards -- which add to the frenetic yet not unattractive commercialism of the area.

 There are tons of things to buy in Ebisubashi's small shops.  How about some pre-loved and pre- owned LV bags? Still in very good condition!

Japanese brands and independent boutiques line the covered arcade.  So many things to see, what would I buy?

The Japanese certainly have a knack for names -- this pretty little jewelry store is perfectly branded. Wouldn't your heart dance too, at the sight of so many sparkly baubles?

But Ebisubashi, tempting as it was, was not my final destination. I crossed the crowded pedestrian only Ebisubashi Bridge, which seemed like a major pick up point or meeting place for everyone in Osaka.  The brightly lit shops, many small restaurants and coffee shops along the river banks looked so inviting that I was tempted to stop.

But I had more serious things in mind -- like how to spend the yen that was burning a hole in my wallet. And to liberate the Visa card that was screaming for some attention.

Fate was tempted. Fate answered.
Right at the entrance to Shinsaibashi -- my favorite store, H&M.  A mad dash into the ground floor yielded sale items that were too irresistible  -- kaching!  Good bye, yen! Hello new clothes!

I wish I were 30 years younger and 30 pounds lighter so that I could pull off this look.  This girl would look perfectly at home in Manhattan, Paris or Milan!

It was the end of summer and the start of autumn so sales abounded in the many boutiques in Shinsaibashi.
Check out how the natives dress when they shop -- trendier and more casual than what I have seen in Tokyo.

Everyone seemed to relaxed and fashion forward!  But the atmosphere was not at all intimidating.  Osaka natives are friendly and quick to smile back.

Shinsaibashi G Girl ... that's me! I was so captivated by this place.  Colorful, young, noisy, vibrant, happy -- and such good bargains too.

Unlike Ebisubashi, which has mostly small stores and boutiques, the big department stores like Daimaru on Mido suji abut into Shinsaibashi.  There are also foreign brands like Dalloyau that has a branch on this street.  Macarons, mon amie?

I must be the oldest living Hello Kitty fan!  Naturally when I saw this Sanrio outlet, I hyperventilated outside for 3 minutes then ran right in.

Kawaii desu ne! A larger than life size Hello Kitty made up of dozens of smaller Hello Kitty dolls!
Would they notice if I took one home?

To save me from incarceration and to banish my larcenous thoughts, the end of Shinsaibashi came mercifully in sight.
Dragging myself away from everything that seemed to be personally calling out my name -- I blew away the smoking hot wisps from the Visa card and tucked it back into my wallet.
Shinsaibashi,  sayonara!
Dewa mata ne!

A Vegetarian Bento Box -- Kyo Yasai

Jay's 60th birthday coincided with the day we arrived in Osaka so I wanted to make sure he would get a pretty special dinner. But we were still getting our bearings so we didn't quite know where to eat.  We ended up in the restaurant floor of the Daimaru department store in the Umeda station area.

In Japan, the big department stores all have an entire floor and even two, dedicated to the business of eating.  This is not a food court or a food hall.  Very reputable and good quality restaurants can always be found in these places.  Since Jay is a tonkatsu addict, we decided that his 60th birthday would best be celebrated with a hirekatsu meal.

Ever health conscious, even while ordering deep fried pork cutlets, Jay chose the smallest portion of hirekatsu.  It came with the requisite grated cabbage, miso soup (with bits of pork belly floating around) and something a bit different,  toasted sesame nuts and seeds to be ground up into the tonkatsu sauce.  

The menu yielded a surprise for me.  Amidst the hirekatsu,  rossu and pork choices was a special dinner called kyo yasai.  Reading further, it was a set of steamed vegetables and tofu that came with appetizers,  soup and dessert.

The appetizer portion came on this white plate.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to taste two of these interesting looking amouse-bouches since the waiter explained two contained pork.  But the slivers of pickled vegetables in the small black dish were vegetarian enough and so too, the small glass with a pinkish,  tart, vinegar based, non alcoholic aperitif that the waiter said would aid my digestion.

Here is my vegetarian bento box.  Kyo yasai means "kyoto vegetables" and features traditional vegetable varieties grown over centuries in Kyoto.  This wooden box of steamed vegetables included mizuna or potherb mustard which were very fresh and leafy greens, slices of kamo eggplant which are small and round as opposed to the usual elongated variety that we know.
 I also enjoyed steamed mushrooms and the sweetish slices of shogoin daikon or white radish.

While the vegetables were very fresh and could be eaten just on their own, the set included three types of dipping sauces -- the one I most enjoyed was the black miso based paste which was so good, I even put it on my bowl of rice!

My kyo yasai bento box came with a small dish of flan but a glass of cold Asahi beer was all the dessert I needed.
The better to toast Jay's 60th birthday with! O-tanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu, Jay!
Here's to more meals and travels together!

Sushi, Ganko Style

Years, or maybe even months from now, when the addictive music and lyrics of the viral hit "Gangnam Style" will have erased itself from my brain, the title of this post will be completely innocent.  But for now, I type it as my head bobs to Psy's beat.

Ganko Sushi translates to "stubborn sushi" (I looked that one up).  Originally started in Osaka, it's now a popular chain in the Kansai region.  It was our second night in Osaka and we were walking along Dotonbori, in the Namba area, hungry for dinner when we came upon Ganko Sushi's well lit and inviting sign. 

 Ganko's mascot is a slightly scowling sushi master, his lips set in a straight, strict line.
According to their website,  "ganko" was  the owner's childhood nickname but now also refers to the chain's "stubbornness" to always provide the best food and ingredients, and not to compromise on quality.

Ganko Sushi is essentially a casual restaurant. This Dotonbori branch features a long sushi counter and several booths for diners on the first floor.  There was a good mix of locals and Japanese tourists enjoying dinner but it looked like we were the only foreigners around at the time.

The restaurant has gone beyond sushi and offers a wide range of well known and popular Japanese dishes.  For my non vegetarian dinner companions, the menu was a colorful riot  of choices.

While they were busy making up their minds on what to order, I was busy contemplating my cold cold glass of Asahi draft beer.  Perfect for the still warm September evening.

 Because Ganko Sushi is a popular chain, it's tourist friendly and offers an English menu.  An extensive tofu selection meant that I wouldn't go hungry in this sushi restaurant!  There is life beyond tamago nigiri after all!

I ordered yaki atsuage as an appetizer -- this is tofu that has been grilled then deep fried. Or was it deep fried first, then grilled?   With a squeeze of lime and a smear of fresh grated daikon, this was a great starter dish and perfect with my cold glass of  Asahi draft!

I love miso paste so this plate of atsuage dengaku was just too good.  Deep fried slabs of tofu spread with a thick topping of miso then broiled to  get a slight char ... this was unbelievably tasty!  Only in Japan have I been able to enjoy this kind of authentic and very generous serving of miso paste.

Stuffed and sated with tofu and beer, it was time to head back out to enjoy the vibrant and lively Dotonbori scene.  As I walked past the sushi counter, I couldn't help feeling sorry for this poor lone fish, swimming in his tank.  Soon, he would be on someone's plate.
This "ganko" vegetarian enjoyed the evening and the meal but wished that she could have set the fish free -- out on the Dotonbori River flowing just outside Ganko Sushi.

Oh Osaka!

Oh okay, I admit.  My first impression of Osaka bordered on peevish disappointment.  The arrival area at Kansai International was smaller and grayer than Narita. 

I arrived on a wet and windy September afternoon to attend a regional conference and I took a look around and told myself, "Well Toto, we're not in Tokyo anymore."

Getting out after immigration and customs, it took a while to find the limousine bus counter, which was located outside the airport and had no signs pointing the way.
And yes, while there was limousine bus service to the city, it involved a more convoluted process -- you had to know where you were going, you had to buy your ticket from a vending machine, push the right buttons and with ticket in hand, you had to find the right bus stop and stand there and wait.
Aside from that minor bit of inconvenience, the girl manning the ticket info booth who gave me these directions was also quite rude and brusque.
Wait, did I fly into Beijing? Am I not in Japan where everyone is usually so polite and helpful, with all those little bows and soft murmurs?
Who was this woman practically shooing me away from the counter?
So, second impression of Osaka -- people are rude!  Where was the gracious and sophisticated air of the Tokyo native when you needed it?

The ride into the city took a little over an hour.  Since Osaka is by the sea, we passed through seaside roads.  Most of the roadside scenery was industrial with warehouses and factories that looked a bit older, a bit run down.   No green rice fields or farmlands as you see when you take the bus into Tokyo from Narita.
Third impression of Osaka -- everything seemed just a little bit more tired and worn out.

 

After the bus ride, the taxi ride to the hotel was uneventful enough.  The taxi driver was cheerful and helpful with the baggage.  Score one point for feeling better about Osaka.
Score two more points after settling into the hotel and being shown to a spacious and large room with a an equally huge bathroom and a great river view.
"Hey Toto, the hotel rooms in Tokyo never looked like this!"

Walking around the portion of the city between the hotel and the office yielded some quirky curiosities and details that told me that this was a place that would grow on me. There was a more casual and open air, not as rushed and harried as Tokyo.  People seemed to take their time and didn't seem as if they were all running late for something.

I enjoyed all the small details like the simpler design of the buildings.  Not too many skyscrapers here which added to the relaxed feeling about Osaka.

Taking a cab ride in the evening along Osaka's high end shopping drag Mido-suji, I noted the trees that lined the wide avenue -- which imparted a more premium, upscale feel. Channeling Champs Elysee!

Osaka's informal, lively and boisterous personality can be felt front and center by taking an evening stroll through Dotombori and Shinsaibashi.
The former is a well renowned food and eating street where Osaka's specialties, okonomiyaki and takoyaki can be enjoyed and the latter is a kilometric plus covered walkway that is the brightest, loudest, most crowded celebration of shopping, fashion and over all happy vibes that I have ever encountered in all of my travels.

Amidst the glowing neon billboards, art pieces unto themselves, Osaka natives and tourists walk, shop, congregate, mingle, talk, and over all have a rip roaring good time.
I was having more fun in this one evening than I had ever had in any of my night time forays out into Tokyo!

Since I was at a regional meeting after all, I did have to go to work. The walk to and from the client's office, to the Dentsu Kansai building also yielded some surprises.  We walked through quite a number of pedestrian only bridges, through tree lined streets and quiet intersections.  The Dojima River runs through the business district and strolling through it, I was reminded again of Paris and how many similarities I see with this city.

A little boat toot-toots through the clean and green waters of the Dojima. Passing under concrete spans that bring traffic to and from the city.
It was my last afternoon in Osaka.  My meetings were all done and I stood here enjoying the mild afternoon sun and the peaceful and scenic river view.
All my first impressions had been negated -- indeed, Osaka is not Tokyo ... and thank goodness for that.
Oh Osaka -- I love you more than Tokyo!

Finding Fu - Japanese Food in Sta. Rosa Mall

There's just no end to the small food discoveries in the Paseo de Sta. Rosa area.  And it seems, the smaller they are, the more interesting the discovery becomes.

On a drive by a few weeks ago, we found Fu Japanese Restaurant.

Fu looked  like a traditional izakaya or casual restaurant -- there were posters of beer mugs on the facade and hanging paper lanterns dotting the interiors.

It was a Sunday when we dropped  in yet there were lots of Japanese (probably working in the nearby factories)  having lunch.  Always a good sign to see a Japanese restaurant frequented by local Japanese. 

We were the only non Japanese diners in the place - - so we were taken aback when everyone started to light up and smoke!
Apparently, Fu also had the authentic ambiance of a casual izakaya in Tokyo -- where everyone smokes and there is no non-smoking area.

After a while, with everyone huffing and puffing, the room started to get a bit stuffy.  

Must get my mind off the smoke!  I opened up Fu's  colorful, photo laden menu and was glad to see a wide range of dishes to choose from.  Lunch specials are served till 2:30 and a menu of the day is tacked on the wall - but written in Japanese of course.

We decide to start with a tray of sushi -- since it was a Sunday,  it was my "eat seafood day".  The mixed sushi was well made, the salmon, saba, snapper and octopus were really fresh.  The sushi rice was at room temperature, not hot or cold -- as proper sushi rice should be.

Jay ordered tonkatsu to see how it compared with what he enjoys in Tokyo.

By the looks alone, this order from Fu seemed to measure up.

 The tonkatsu at Fu is rossu or the fattier but juicier kind.  Jay was rather disappointed since he prefers the hire or fillet cut which is all lean pork meat.  During my pork loving, tonkatsu eating days, rossu though was the only cut for me!  Jay did eat all of the tonkatsu but carefully removed the fat from the meat -- aaah, what a waste!

Since it was seafood day for this 6-days-a-week vegetarian, I ordered a nice saba or mackerel in miso sauce. The complete set came with cabbage salad, ginger pickles and a bowl of rice.  The saba was so tender, had just a few bones and melted in the mouth with every bite!

I plan to come back to Fu soon -- authentic Japanese food at salary men friendly prices!  

Next time maybe, I'll come past the lunch hour -- so the smoke belching Japanese patrons will have gone back to work and the air will be a little more clear!