On this day, we decided that we shouldn't explore anymore in Kyoto and took a bullet train to Osaka which was just half an hour away from Kyoto. This decision was made because we had explored all the places we wanted to go in Kyoto and we had nowhere else to go. Oh, one sad thing about Kyoto that we didn't visit was Kichi Kichi omu rice.
We didn't know that we had to make advance reservations for this place. Reservations have to be made at least 6 weeks in advance, or so. Ah, also, the restaurant has only 8 seats so do reserve your seats early!!!! Don't be like us! We tried reserving one day earlier and there's only one seat left. We were still contemplating whether or not to book. And if we were to reserve that one seat, it'd mean that either one of us had to stay outside but that's not what I wanted. So, after thinking for quite some time, we decided to forgo this restaurant in hope to find smth similar during our stay in Osaka. Indeed, we really found one near Osaka station!
Moving on, we used our JR pass for the bullet train towards the second largest city in Japan, Osaka. Our first stop was Dotonbori and fwah!! I fell in love with Osaka immediately! I felt as though I was in Ximending, except that it was lovelier, noisier, broader walkway, and in Japanese.
As I was hungry af, we settled our brunch at one of the udon restaurants in Dotonbori. Baby was reading and making sure that it's a legit udon place but uhm, none of us knows how to read Japanese so we gambled our way up and it turned out to be very legit! I supposed I was too hungry to even care about whether it's nice or not.
Kamonamba - Udon with duck slices
It's quite interesting because we had to tap the spices out from each of those containers found on each table. The one that I was tapping in the photo shown above, I think, was pepper. I was too noob in tapping anyway, so I didn't have too much pepper in my bowl of udon. It still tastes nice, no doubt!
After lunch, it was time for us to explore the place. Erm, it also meant more food/snacks lah. Hahahah! This particular stall caught my attention. Anything with ice cream, when I'm overseas, would definitely get my attention for sure!
As I have an app to track my period, Mr. Z didn't approve me of having ice cream at that time but I assured him that I'll only be having one mouth of that snacks. He relented and there he went, TO BUY MY ICE CREAM SNACKS!
See, even he couldn't take his eyes off the display!
It's really very yummeh! They fried the thing on the outside and the ice cream would just flow out after you have one bite of that. I could have my second serving if not for my period that was approaching! But erm, I didn't keep my promise of having just one mouth, as usual! Who cares when it comes to dessert?! Something which I regretted nearing the end of our trip. Anyway, this area is quite interesting. We saw many different kinds of local delicacies, Uncle Rikuro (The Best cheesecake in Japan), reptile owners, interactive screen, and etc.
We purchased a box of it during our stay in Osaka
No, I wasn't there for their wifi!
Tbh, I've no idea what the name of the place we went next. My check-in told me that I've been to Nipponbashi, Kuromon Market and Shinsaibashi but I really didn't bother noting down which market is which respectively. What I remember was that there are two markets that are really near to each other. It's like at the end of Market A, you'd definitely see Market B just across it.
Ah, okay! The next place we went was still in Dotonbori. We walked past a street mostly with restaurants and Mr. Z told me that Mizuno was one of the recommended places for okonomiyaki in Osaka. Mizuno and Chibo (which I'll be updating the latter at a later part of my trip) are famous for okonomiyaki.
Teppanyaki style
Mr. Z and I ordered two different okonomiyaki to try. Poor boy has to order something that I can eat because, NO SEAFOOD & CHILLI PLEASE! We had pork & leek and special mix (pork loin & scallops).
We didn't like the scallops here. It was quite hard to chew. Not sure if it's fresh but erm, I'd prefer Mum's cooking than this at any point of time!
The end product! :)
We were really full and bloated by the end of this meal because we just had our lunch not long ago. We walked further down and reached Kuromon-ichiba Market where they sell more of dried goods, seafood and meat.
Then we saw an obasan tending her cart outside a shop. She sells cooked scallops and octopus. I have no idea grilled or pan fried because I can't differentiate. Anyway, here are the photos!
There's egg yolk in each of these head
We preferred this stick of scallops that the one at Mizuno :/
Another thick and fresh scallops I had after my okonomiyaki. It was really good even Mr. Z gave many thumbs up. Tbh, I was afraid that my eczema would act up again because I had too many scallops in a day.
As we were too full from our lunch and snacks, we decided to walk to Nipponbashi Den Den Town where you can see all the Otaku there! It's really an eye-opening experience for me. We explored the town and went into a few shops to check out the prices of the figurines. Much to our surprise, these figurines are freaking expensive and it made us wonder how the otaku survive with these expenses.
We didn't stay for long because... Not interested? We went back to Shinsaibashi in search of a good meal for our dinner. But no, it's just... Meh. Nope, enter (as a tourist) only if you really have no choice.
Ordered a Cocoa to which I really regretted. BLOATED AF!
Mr. Z's Draft Beer
Chicken Cutlet and Chicken with chicken based curry
Tomato Chicken (which doesn't look tomato-ish at all?)
Walked around at Dotonbori before it was time for us to head back to Kyoto via bullet train. I think it was already 8-ish that time? Not many people were waiting on our platform so we were quite doubtful whether we went to the right one. HAHAH!
Time for a nap!
It was our last night Kyoto, a very laid-back city. Also my second favourite city in Japan thus far!
And guess what? Being our last night here, we decided to get fat by visiting Nagahama Ramen at Sanjo. It's a ramen place where we had to share table with strangers. So if you're travelling alone, I think this is one of the best places to visit? Moreover, it's also recommended on the net and there's a long queue when we arrived!
Normal pork ramen
Roasted pork ramen
LOL! They look the same to me but the ramen was really good! If we weren't feeling full, I think we would have gulped the whole bowl of ramen into our stomachs! Oh, but one thing I rmbr about this ramen was that, it's actually slightly oily. But I believe that's what makes it special too lah.
Ending my post with a vlog that I've done. Please don't judge because... I know the vlog is quite badly done.
No comments:
Post a Comment