Food in Japan

 

My first meal in Japan undoubtedly HAD to be Ramen. I did a bit of research before I arrived about places to eat in the Dotonbori. I read about Kinryu repeatedly and hoped it would be as easy to find as every article made it seem. It was. Moments after I arrived on the famous street I saw a massive dragon protruding from a store front. BINGO. Without hesitation I put my coins in a nifty ramen ordering machine and took my ticket to the lovely fellow who was about to serve me up a bowl of deliciousness. One of the highlights of Kinryu, for me at least, include the kimchi and garlic you can douse your noodles with. I loaded up before taking a seat and indulging myself. Only took about 7 minutes for me to eat the whole bowl and every bite seemed to be better than the last. 

Even though I had just eaten loads of noddles, when I passed by a Takoyaki stand it was really hard for me to say no. It was my first night in Japan, so what the hell. There was a really funny guy taking orders at the front of the stand. His English was pretty good and he made ordering fried octopus balls for my first time a blast. He tried to convince me to order 20, which I probably could have handled... but I decided 6 was plenty. They were chewing and warm and delicious, although not something I could see myself craving or eating on a daily basis. A passed a woman asking someone for directions to the nearest subway station and when her attempt was unsuccessful, I pointed her in the right direction. She was a Moroccan living in Paris who was here for a convention. I shared my Octoballs with her. 

After trekking around Nara for what felt like forever, I had worked up a real hunger. Nothing sounded better than a piping hot bowl of Udon noddles, tempura shrimp, and fried rice. I have always loved these thick and tasty noodles - to actually eat them in Japan was a treat. They were remarkable. The tempura soaking in the light soy-saucy broth was the icing on top of the noodles for me :) It was difficult to pick up the massive shrimp that was floating around in my bowl. I got creative and made it work. Bringing my mouth to the bowl and the bowl to my mouth did the trick. One thing I love about Japanese culture is the fact that slurping and general noise making is acceptable because it's a sign you are enjoying your meal. Every soul in that restaurant would have taken a look at me and thought, "Damn, she's one happy and hungry little lady."

SUSHI. On a conveyer belt. In Japan. My only regret is not eating until I explode, which would have been quite easy considering how cheap it was- especially in comparison to sushi back home. I found Musashi on a blog online and pinned it on my maps. Best choice ever. There were loads of people there - always a good sign. I waited for a spot for one to open up and when the time finally arrived I smiled the entire way to my chair. I was seated next to an elderly Japanese man taking his time eating, his plates piled high. They had a spout for hat water in between each seat and green tea at your disposal. A lovely girl was busy prepping sushi in front of me as I stared at the belt in front of both of us, weighing out my options. There were so many things that I have never seen in my entire sushi eating experience back in the states, and there have been many. It's safe to say that the OG sushi creators have the right idea when it comes to this stuff. None of those fancy shmancy rolls so dressed up the tastes are unrecognizable. Simple and classic and damn delicious.

During my temple stay in Koyasan, which you can read about here, I was provided with two meals. I was so surprised by the amount of food that he brought. Tray after tray, and just when I thought he was done he came back with more. All I knew prior to my arrival was that a staff of resident monks would be preparing my completely vegetarian meals. I was expecting a plain and simple meal. Wrong. They did things with tofu that I couldn't even imagine. My taste buds were bursting at every bite. If I had these guys cooking for me on the daily,  adopting a vegetarian lifestyle would be a breeze. The kind man who delivered my food took the time to explain a few things to me. He was so sweet and explained some of the food and what to do when I was finished. His instructions included visiting the spa after my meal so they could prepare my Japanese style sleeping accommodation.  Psssh, okay. Easy peasy. Also, with both meals he served me, he made it a point to say - "eat ALL of the food, and then...". They take that stuff seriously in Japan, especially Buddhist monks. Don't waste food and be thankful for the opportunity to eat. 

Challenge excepted.

Breakfast, seriously?

I wasn't able to eat all the rice during either dinner or breakfast. I was disappointed in myself, to say the least. But, I devoured every last bit off of every little dish and every bowl of soup and every grain of whatever it was that I was shoveling into my mouth. I started by trying a little of everything bit by bit, and then mixing things with other things trying different combinations. I was in awe the whole time. By far, one of the most fun meals I've ever eaten. Breakfast was fun because I was provided with little dried seaweed wraps to put the food in. There was tofu soup and pickled things and tea and rice, always rice.

I was feeling pretty lethargic my last night and decided to take it easy, which apparently for me means eating two dinners. I wandered around Namba Parks, a massive shopping mall with little gardens and parks and resting areas scattered around. There was a whole floor full of restaurants and things for me to indulge in. I had the most difficult time choosing, I made two complete loops of the place before settling on a place simply because the word "cheese" was in the name. They didn't have an English menu, so I used my eyes to make a decision. Talk about a challenge. Everything looked so good, and so full of cheese.  What I ended up with was a massive bowl of rice, covered with cheese and ham and egg. My eyes didn't let me down. I scarfed this down while nonchalantly observing the diners around me. People watching, one of my favorite hobbies.

After, I decided to do a bit more wandering around the Dotonbori. I weaved in and out of side streets before deciding to grab a drink. This one drink cast some sort of magic spell on my tummy, because all of a sudden I decided it was appropriate to eat again. This happened at approximately the same time I walked past a Kinryu Ramen store front. The dragon hanging over the top of such a magical place solidified my desires. I wanted more Ramen, and no one was going to stop me. Plus, I had not ate at this particular location yet. I was curious to see if it was any different. It wasn't. It was just as mouth-watering as the first time. This time, I was even joined by a happy little Osaka native (which you can read more about here). I am happy to say that my first and last meal (for now) in Japan was this delectable bowl of love and goodness.   

Osaka - The Venice of Japan

Oh, Saka. Despite being what some may consider a typical big city, I enjoyed it more than I thought. To be honest though, I didn't spend much time there. My couchsurfing host actually recommended not to spend the day in Osaka and instead head to Nara. I took his advice.  He is a local. He knows things. I definitely made the right choice, but I appreciated the time that I was able to explore the streets of Osaka.

I didn't leave Taka's place until 10ish, and with the last train leaving around 11:45 I didn't have much time to get my exploring in. I got off at the metro stop he suggested and started wandering in the general direction of the Dotonbori, a notorious street in Osaka known primarily for it's deliciously cheap food and extravagant shop front displays. I quickly found the ramen joint I was dying to try, mainly because they have kimchi to garnish your noodles with. Kinryu ramen is likely the most popular place to get ramen - so popular they have three lcations in the Dotonbori. All of their store fronts are adorned with giant Dragons. It wasn't hard to find.

I put my 900yen into a vending machine and pressed the picture of the ramen I wanted. It spit out a ticket for me to hand to the lovely man who was about to feed me my first proper Japanese ramen. I inhaled that giant bowl of noodles while sitting crossed legged on the tatami mat with a perfect view for people watching. Almost immediately after eating ramen I figured it was about as good a time as any to eat takoyaki - octopus balls. Not like, testicles. Just fried balls of octopus. They were wonderful, definitely better than the live baby octopus I ate in Korea. But, anything fried is automatically better.

I caught the last train to Taka's house and instead of heading straight home I decided to wander in the direction of a river and see what I could find on my way. I was happy to stumble upon a 7-11, one of my favorite snack stops in Korea. It was fun to compare the convenience stores in Japan to the ones back home. They definitely have a better selection of alcohol, food, and reading material. A stood in front of the drinks section for at least a minute contemplating whether or not to get a regular sized Strong or a tall can. A Strong is an alcoholic beverage in Japan, rightly named. 8% alcohol that comes in an assortment of fruity flavors? Sign me up. I picked up a small can, walked a few feet to the register and turned around to grab a tall can. The store clerk giggled. So did I.

I didn't make it as far as the river, but I did find a lovely park that I walked around and played on. How could I resist a set of swings? I definitely got a few stares from the few people making their way home. It probably isn't too often they see a white person swinging at a park in their neighborhood late at night with a Strong in hand.

The next day I woke up, shared tea and breakfast with Taka - and headed to Nara. After shopping all evening throughout the multiple shopping districts in Osaka, I came home that evening to a beautiful meal prepared by Taka. You can read all about it in my couchsurfing blog. I wanted to get to Kyoto the next day fairly early, so I had an early night. Pretty much spent the whole evening, and the next morning chatting with Taka. I really enjoyed his company and was happy to share my experience with him.

I came back to Osaka the last night of my trip since I was flying out the next day. I didn't want to have to worry about waking up and traveling too far to the airport. I found a super cheap hostel with a PRIVATE room, and AC. I was stoked to have my own space, not going to lie. I love hostels, but for some reason I wasn't interested in meeting a whole load of other people traveling. I was in the hostel long enough to set my stuff down and check out a map. I decided I wanted to go to a park nearby and set off. I don't know if I every actually made it to the park. I did, however, wander around some really cool areas of town.

One of the streets I walked down was filled with hole in the wall sushi joints, rooms full of old men playing some game I had never seen, men gambling on the ground, turtles that I assume were soon to be someones meal, and a lot of bike traffic. I got a lot of stares while walking down this street, most people seemed surprised to see me. Most stares were followed by smiles though, which is one thing I loved about Japan. Everyone seemed (relatively) happy.

At night I decided I wanted to visit Namba Parks, a giant shopping center with landscaping around the structure and a garden/park along the roof. I planned on getting dinner here and exploring some of the shops, looking for hopefully cheap and small things to bring back home with me to decorate my apartment. I ended up grabbing dinner here at a restaurant that specialized in cheese and then heading back towards the direction of the Dotonbori to wander more.

While walking around I decided I might as well pick up a cheap drink from a convenient store. While I was walking down the Dotonbori with a Strong Zero in my hand a Japanese man thought it was funny and tried to spark up a conversation with me using (pretty much) only the word "strong". "Ahh! Strong, very strong!" Acting out drunk stumbling and chugging drinks took place. He asked if I knew any Japanese. Thankfully I had my drink in hand and was able to point to the word "zero" written across my can. He was disappointed in our lack of communication, and so was I. My biggest pet peeve is not being able to communicate with a person. If I were a superhero, I would want the power of ALL languages. BAM.

After a few more hours of exploring I worked up another hunger somehow so I decided to have a second dinner. SECOND DINNER was the best choice I have ever made. I went to Kinryu again, just a different location on the same street. While waiting for my noodles I retrieved a beer out of a vending machine and a little old man started up conversation with me. This one had indoor tatami seating so after I topped my ramen with massive amounts of kimchi I sat down to eat. The man, Eiichiro, asked if he could have dinner with me. I was thrilled.

He was so excited to practice his English, and I was happy to have someone to share my meal with. I confessed my love for food and that I missed Kimchi. We talked about communicating and how he learned English, places we have traveled and things we have done. He kindly walked with me to the subway and helped me find the right train. I would have figured it out, but it probably would have taken more time considering I was definitely feeling the mere two drinks I had consumed. He shared candy with me on the train and reminded me when it was my stop. Even though our paths only crossed for a very short time, I was so lucky to have met him.

And then, once again, I made a convenient store stop before heading back into my hotel. I grabbed a drink and some dessert and went back to my private hostel room at Toyo and vegged out while organizing and packing.