Memoirs of Nippon (8)

So finally I was back in the big city. Osaka. First thing I wanted was the green tea McFlurry. It was about time my shopping urges went out of control... HAHAHA. Actually it wasn't not too bad, I bought a top, eyed one bag (didn't buy but eventually did). Walking along the infamous shopping lane from Namba to Shinsaibashi (where my hostel was), the crowd was insane on a Sunday! I hated it, got out and back to the hostel to have a shower and chill before meeting Anson's friend for dinner.

Chinatsu, that's her name. I had never seen a photo of her, so that was the only thing I knew about her. We arranged on email to meet for a dinner, and coincidentally she worked at Daimara, just across from my hostel. After some hiccups with me approaching another stranger, we finally met up at the Apple store entrance. I told her I really wanted to do yakitori (after that incident in Kyoto), so she took me to a place (no English was spoken), it was more of a BBQ kind of yakitori. The food was really good and reasonably priced too. Chinatsu spoke some English, and in fact I didn't know she was at least 10 years older than me! OMG. She did not look anything like it!!! We had a good conversation as if we knew each other, not awkward but perhaps due to her limited English vocabulary, it was harder to have a deeper conversation. I really appreciated her taking the time out to meet me, even though I was only a friend of her friend. Then we exchanged a goodbye hug and with that our night ended.

The following day, I bought myself a subway pass (it's 200 yen cheaper on weekend I was told) as I had plans running all over that day. I imagined it would be as bad as all the walking in Kyoto but at least I would not be running to temples but maybe malls!

I had an arrangement with my hostel for a free guided tour at Osaka Castle that morning and I was the only one who signed up. The volunteered guide would still run the service as long as someone signed up, I felt a bit bad, and so I got ready another pack of oreo cookies to thank him.

Mitchy was my guide. A retired Japanese guy, bespectacled, thin and small frame, he spoke very good English. He was explaining to me the history and the way the castle was built, he even asked me about things in Singapore in comparison to Japan. We skipped entering the castle which was a museum as there was a photography exhibition going on and Mitchy said on other days I could have seen treasures/artefacts on display. The tour took about an hour and then we walked by the peach garden besides the castle, where he told me the peach blossom was a month earlier than the cherry blossom and was just as beautiful. Then he took me to a building where we lunched at the staff canteen. It was on the 21st storey and had a really fantastic view of the city! I had my lunch for only 500 yen, inclusive of a soup, drink, appetizer and a main course. Wow.

After lunch, we said goodbye and I went back to a mall we came through for some shopping! Then I went to Tennoji on the subway, this place Mitchy said was full of homeless but harmless people. When I got there, plenty of old people were sitting around, the pigeons were plenty too. There wasn't much to see (except the zoo but I had no time for it), so I hopped on the subway again to go back to Namba to get that bag I had been eyeing on.

But before that, it was time for tea and cake again. I just had to go to Muji Cafe. I saw an ad on a magazine in Koyasan guesthouse and the Japanese girls gave me the directions (as she frequents the cafe too). Again, I tried to ask the staff for some recommendation (thanks phrasebook) and happily settled with a ginger chocolate cake with ice earl grey tea.

After much effort, I finally found the bag shop, I had a hard time deciding which color to get (due to my fickle-mindedness again!!!). After a while and trying to communicate to the salesgirl in broken Japanese (using my phrasebook), I finally bought it. Then I rushed over to Shinsaibashi to get to Daimaru to get the Doraemon and Dorami desserts. The desserts came in super cute cups resembling the cartoon characters and I just had to get them. I saw them a day earlier and there was no more Doraemon, I was pretty sure they would replenish again and they did!

Then I returned to the shopping alley at Shinsaibashi to finish up my last minute shopping and got carried away. I almost forgot I was meeting Ayaka who was there for work for dinner. I rushed back to the station after wandering too far, took another subway to Osaka Station (Umeda) to meet Ayaka at her hotel. I lost my way again because I had no map of Osaka!!!

I was a little late but fortunately she was still there with a colleague. So we invited her along for dinner. My friend, Jean, recommended me this place, though she hasn't been herself. I had given the address of the little eatery to Ayaka earlier and she had planned how we could walk there. There wasn't an English signage for the place but on Facebook it has a page named Koyoshi Sushi Osaka. It was a very small sushi bar ran by a very cute Japanese old couple. The place has barely 10 seats, maybe 6 to 8?

The sushi were very fresh and needed no seasoning at all. The best I ever had. There also wasn't any menu. The moment we sat down, the old man decided for us what we would be eating. I was very glad I came with two Japanese friends as they did not seem to speak any English. I wouldn't even be able to communicate if I was alone. I couldn't remember how many I had, 6 or 7... and I was stuffed. The girls did one more than me! Also when the bill came, there wasn't a proper price tagged to the sushi, he quoted an equal price per head for us. It was reasonable (well I heard it was much more pricier from others).

After dinner, Ayaka and me retreated to her room for our usual girls' gossip and to tuck into those cute little desserts of mine. She offered me to stay for the night but I had to pack and leave for Rinku Town early the following day, so it didn't really work. What a shame! But I was really glad we got to meet up in Japan (her home country) and hopefully we will again somewhere else.

I bought a few things already in Osaka but I could foresee more the next day when I would be going to the premium outlet. Oh dear! It was tough packing that night but I managed to stuff everything in.

Accommodation in Osaka

I didn't linger around as much in the hostel as I would have like. It was a shame too as the staff seemed really nice and they had so many activities going on. That day I was going away, they were doing their weekly Takoyaki party!!! The hostel is called Osaka Hana Hostel, it felt really safe and big too. Imagine a hostel with elevator!!! So easy for big luggage, except that you got to carry it up a flight of stairs first to get to the entrance. I was in the mixed dorm, but wasn't around much to meet other people. I chatted briefly with an Indonesian girl who was travelling alone and another black guy from London from my room. The toilets (automatic!!) and bathrooms were situated outside, shared with a few other rooms but there was rarely a queue. There were also hair dryers at the basin area, how thoughtful! Laundry can be done at certain floors too. On my bedside, there was a wooden box you can lock your stuff in with your own padlock (or borrow one), and a lamp for reading. In general, I think the hostels in Japan have a very high standard of comfort and privacy. The only country I had bed with curtain!