Golden Week 1: Osaka

My mom and dad came to Japan for ten days over Golden Week. Golden Week is always at the end of April and beginning of May and is when several national holidays land on the same week. Typically you can use two vacation days to get a full nine-day vacation.

For the first two-thirds of the trip, we crammed my parents into our tiny apartment and made it our home base from which we did regional sightseeing. We took advantage of a great train pass, called the Kansai Thru Pass, that let us have travel unlimited for two days.

We spent our first day going to Osaka, and we sure got our money's worth! We started the day at Umeda Sky Building, a great place to take in a view of the city.

After that we went to Osaka Castle. It was actually my first time there, even though I have been to Himeji Castle six times! Himeji Castle is one of Japan's most famous, and the best part about it is that its interior looks completely original. You get to walk to the top barefoot up the wooden steps that samurai walked up hundreds of years ago. Osaka Castle has a museum-like interior, including an elevator, but the castle grounds are much more expansive. It was definitely worth the visit.

We went out of our way to visit Bird Coffee, the hip cafe owned by the very hip Truck Furniture company. We got there around 3 p.m. but still had to wait 45 minutes to get a table! My croque madame sandwich and iced coffee was worth the wait.

Finally, we went to the Osaka Aquarium, or Kaiyukan, which I understand to be the second largest aquarium in the world. It's most famous for its gigantic, multi-floor tank, which utilizes massive panes of 1-foot thick acrylic glass and is home to a whale shark and manta ray among lots of other amazing creatures. I recommend it to anyone passing through Osaka.

This owl was part of a random Egypt exhibit

Addicted to Dots: Yayoi Kusama

We went to The National Museum of Art, Osaka two weekends ago to see an exhibit of Yayoi Kusama's art titled "Eternity of Eternal Eternity." Kusama is one of Japan's most famous modern artists, especially known for her use of polka dots. The exhibit was well worth the trip, and we really enjoyed the color/dot overload.

German Christmas, Mexican Dinner

We heard from someone who works at a German school on Rokko Island that there was an annual German Christmas market in Osaka. With haunting memories of delicious gluehwein (hot spiced wine) in my head from past Christmas experiences in Germany, it didn’t take much convincing for me to want to go.

The event was outside the German consulate under the Umeda Sky Building, which I had never been to. The market was great, and included a giant tree, a manger scene, crafts for sale, and lots of yummy foods to eat. Ironically we skipped the hot wine, because it was so expensive, and we had hot wine at home that we bought at IKEA.

Baby Jesus coin fountain?

Leave it to the Germans to make Christmas creepy

After enjoying the Christmas market, we went up to the top of the tower, which has a fantastic observation deck. There was a place to right down our wishes for the new year and hang them up with those of many others, a common tradition in Japan. I wrote down a simple prayer for a prosperous new year and for more people in Japan to experience the love of Christ. Becky wished for Japan to have biscuits and gravy and ranch dressing, the two things she misses most!

Quirky fashion in Osaka

Mailing a postcard from the top floor!

We ended the day in Shinsaibashi, where we did a bit of shopping. Then we were able to snag a table for dinner at El Pancho, one of only a handful of Mexican restaurants in Kansai. Becky got enchiladas in a green sauce, which tasted 100% legit! I got a beef burrito, and while it tasted great, the meat and sauce had a little bit of a Japanese flavor to it. The guacamole was also good, but we have made good guacamole at home here. The margaritas were a bit disappointing. Overall though, Mexican was a fantastic treat in Japan. I’m sure we would go regularly if we lived an hour closer.

Dinner in Namba

We spent the afternoon exploring the Osaka neighborhoods I used to like to hang out in. Thanks to the use of borrowed wifi, we were able to communicate with my friends, Atsushi and Yuko, to arrange meeting up for dinner. I used to work with Atsushi in Amagasaki, and he and Yuko married the same day and year that Becky and I did. 

Tourists doing the classic Glico man pose

We met them in front of the Glico man, one of the most famous landmarks in Osaka. Being in the heart of Osaka, we decided on okonomiyaki for dinner. Okonomiyaki is a savory pancake dish with lots of combinations of ingredients that get thrown into the batter. Then a sauce, mayonnaise, dried seaweed and bonito flakes go on top. Okonomiyaki is available nationwide but is commonly considered a delicacy to the Kansai region. 

When eating okonomiyaki, customers sit around a griddle, which keeps the food warm. Some restaurants bring partially cooked pancakes to the griddle, and then the customer is responsible for finishing the cooking process at the table. We split three pancakes between the four of us, and we were stuffed!

After dinner, we walked through the iconic, brightly-lit streets of Namba before getting on the subway and making the long journey back to Miki.

Nakanoshima, Osaka

Miki is rural, very rural. There is not a lot to do there. It will be a fine place to work, study Japanese, and build some local relationships. But the weekend will call us away to Kobe and Osaka. This weekend, we chose Osaka.

Entrance to The National Museum of Art, Osaka

We started our day in Nakanoshima, an island about 20 minutes south of Osaka Station on foot. You wouldn’t realize it’s an island without seeing it on a map, because it’s right in the middle of everything. The island is home to Osaka City Hall, the National Museum of Art (Osaka), a science museum, a lovely park with a rose garden, and a number of other landmarks. 

In addition to the big landmarks is one of my favorite companies in Osaka, Graf. Graf is a furniture store, a design company, a gallery, and it has one of the best cafes in Osaka. They have a simple menu with four set lunches, and everything always tastes fresh and gourmet. 

We popped into the Museum of Modern Art for a bit after lunch. A portion of the museum was free for the day, and we enjoyed making fun of an exhibit called White, which was literally white, framed canvases with a tiny bit of texture on each canvas. Several rooms of all white squares begged the question what is art?

Just over the river is the beautiful Utsubo Park. Once a US airstrip, this park is not widely know beyond locals, but anyone in the area should get a cold drink and take a leisurely walk here.