Saturday morning in Osaka and I didn't have anything planned. I made a list of things that I wanted to do, but of course that changed along the way. This was just one of the perks of traveling alone. First on my list was to head to Dotonbori and try some fried chicken on a stick that is famous in Osaka. Along the way, I marveled at the beautiful buildings in metro Osaka.
I knew I was in the right place when I turned onto this road. Dotonbori is a bustling street that runs along a canal in the south part of Osaka. By day, it's filled with locals and tourists hoping to enjoy some fabulous food and people watching. By night, it is filled with men who are encouraging visitors to enter "their" nightclub. They give out tickets and then get a commission when customers enter the club. For this reason, they are called pimps...a bit different than their American counterparts.
The signs along the road were fantastic. All along the route my senses were accosted with the noise of the bustling street, the smells of the food, and the sights. Just the atmosphere was worth the commute.
Here is another great sign above a Chinese restaurant. I love how they set up tables along the street. And, notice how it's different from American restaurant outside seating.
Here it is...Daruma. It is here that I ate Kushi Katsu. It took me quite awhile to find it. I ended up walking up and down the street asking folks on either end until I honed in on this crazy man. I sat at the counter and ordered chicken, octopus, and a variety of vegetables. One of my favorites was the lotus root. The catch phrase of the restaurant was "no double dipping". At each seat was a bucket of sauce and upon sitting I got a bowl of cabbage. Patrons are encouraged to dip only once and then use the cabbage to scoop the sauce if more is needed. It was fabulous food with a great atmosphere. I definitely recommend others to eat at Daruma. And now, you can find it easily...it's right under this angry man. He must have caught someone double dipping.
Can you see the giant hand with the sushi and the huge blowfish in the background. Everywhere I looked were signs like these. Thankfully, the street was closed to traffic so people could just meander without the worry of cars zooming by.
All along my commute, I noticed signs about a King Tut exhibit. I wasn't sure where to go, so I used my handy dandy iPhone. Honestly, I can't imagine traveling without it. I used the map app constantly as well as the google app to look up information all along the way. I found out that the traveling exhibit was housed at the Osaka Tempozan Special Exhibit Building near the Kaiyukan Aquarium. Once I found my way, I was impressed with the architecture and I thought that both buildings were unique. The aquarium is below.
Here is the museum. I didn't get there until late in the afternoon, so I was a little worried that I wouldn't have time to see the exhibit. I bought my ticket after the woman told me that the wait was 1 hour. I looked at the line and seriously doubted that it would take an hour. Apparently I should learn to trust their time systems, because as soon as I rounded the corner to get at the end of the line (or what I thought was the end of the line), I was ushered outside and to a waiting area that resembled the line to ride Space Mountain at Disney World. Indeed, it took exactly 60 minutes to wind through the ropes and make my way back inside and upstairs to the actual exhibit.
It was fantastic. Even if I had to constantly flip between the signage on the pieces and my English pamphlet that helped me to decode the artifacts. Overall, I was impressed with the intricacy of the items. From the chair that held pharaohs to the scarab jewelry that adorned priestesses, I was transported to a time that I can't even imagine. Walking through that exhibit made me look forward to a future trip to Egypt where I can walk where they walked and imagine the danger and beauty of a different time.
On my way back to the train station I ran across this ferris wheel, which after using google on my phone, I discovered is thought to be the largest one in the world. I know I've said it again and again, but I am always surprised by the number of ferris wheels here in Japan. Overall, Osaka was a fabulous city. I found it to be much more laid back and friendly compared to Tokyo. It almost seemed like I was in a different country, because all of a sudden I was standing on the right side of the escalators now instead of the left. I also witnessed talking, laughing, sneezing, coughing, and many other "forbidden" behaviors on the trains in Osaka. I couldn't believe that things were so different here. I will happily go back to explore some more in the future.
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