We poured over Lonely Planet, Trip Advisor, shamefully interrogated our friends who have been over (thanks so much for your recommendations, Guys!) and finally came up with the plan. A little bit of traditional, contemporary and obviously – Japan Alps (some of us have been away from the snow for too long… yup, Dejan…). We planned to take it easy (relatively!) as well. After six months of travelling and sightseeing you just don’t have that stamina any more…
We landed in Kansai airport and decided to stay in Osaka for first five nights. Few reasons really – good position to do day trips to hot tourist spots like Nara or Himeji, modern city with its own sightseeing that can be overlooked by tourists and last, but definitely not least, kuidaore. You are wondering what the last one means? Well, depending on the translator it could be either “eat till you drop” or “eat yourself bankrupt”. Two are definitely connected in Japan, as it probably is not the cheapest country in Asia we have been to. Anyway, we liked the attitude, especially in what we expected to be the otherwise reserved and restrained Japan. What they forgot to mention is that it also means drink yourself silly on sake. Osaka is really a special place: city in a country of the rising sun that becomes alive after sunset. You might be guessing by now, we blended in pretty well with the local culture. Ah, you know how it goes: when in Rome…
So, where to go? Dotonbori, of course. Chaotic, neon, loud, shopping and partying area in Osaka. And it was all they said it will be. We absolutely loved it! And found few hidden gems. To be fair, on the outskirts of Dotonbori, but definitely authentic – we were the only tourists in a crowded, non-English speaking eateries. Our favourite traditional izakaya (Japanese version of a pub) and yakiniku (Japanise take on Korean bbq) in Japan were here. Ordering from the menu was a bit of a gamble thou. Even waitress couldn’t help with turning it the right way (we actually were looking at the menu with the 90 degrees rotation). Well, at least we could understand the looks at the neighbouring tables. The easiest way was to walk around the place and point to other people’s plates. And they all joined in and helped us order their favourite meals as much as they could. And sake (Dassai is our favourite). There was a lot of pointing, gesturing and smiling included as nobody really speaks English well here (or not at all!). Total surprise! But people were really helpful. Amazing that they are still so separate from the rest of the world, but still so alike.
Besides glorious food, we really liked Osaka as a city, mix of traditional and modern. Osaka castle was a gem that no one puts on any list of what to do in Japan. It probably has the most magnificent outer wall of all we have seen. And amazing museum inside. We even managed to figure it out in the end – as we have started to look at it the wrong way. Another one were views from Umeda building. Well, to be honest it’s not just the views, it’s the way you get up – in a glass lift. Totally cool! But not for the fainthearted. Or people with vertigo (and those would include Dejan).
Osaka is also a town of bicycle riders. They are everywhere! And strangely, without helmets. Even kids! It is really interesting to see grocery shops with only bicycle parking slots and no car parking at all. Seems like driving is really not a thing here. Hence, we decided to try and walk if distances are not too big. And they didn’t seem to be, a kilometre here and two there. Totally manageable. Until we dropped dead in our room every night averaging at about 20 km a day (best result was just over 30 km).
From Osaka we also did the a few tourist attractions: Nara (old Japanese capital, before Kyoto and now Tokyo), Himeji (best old preserved castle in Japan) and Kobe (well, the beef, of course). We really liked all of those places. Giant Buda in Nara and magical castle in Himeji are probably the best historical sights in Japan for us. You feel transported to the Japanese past there. Not that we knew enough at start at all (we realised we learned jacksh*t in school about Japan), but soon we had VERY basic grasp and could appreciate what we were seeing. And truly amazing it was. Not to mention the Bambies in Nara! Local deer are treated as royalty here (they are sacred animals) and one of the highlights is to buy treats for them (sold on every corner). We were practising subdued voices and gentle movements not to scare these elegant animals, only to be practically attacked by little (or not so little) rascals. They do go for you! Readily biting on shirts and shorts (and whatever flesh gets in the way) to draw attention they certainly were not timid. But indeed were one of the best experiences here. We spent small fortune on deer crackers and had hours of fun feeding them.
Kobe was really nice costal town with lovely seafront, but that is not why we were there. Yup, The Beef. It is world known for its fat content – marbling (basically, the fatter the better) and softness. To put it in perspective, Kobe beef represents only 0,06% beef eaten in Japan. Never mind the other stake-munching nations like Argentina, Australia or South Africa. Very rare and highly praised, although apparently massaging cows and exposing them to classical music is only a myth. Obviously we had to try. After long hours on Trip Advisor we booked the best stake-house in Kobe. For lunch obviously (less than half price than dinner!). Not an easy task, as this place has only eight seatings! And it was an experience not to be missed in Japan. Even the chefs have the OCD. All pieces of vegetables were identical and every piece of meat is a perfect square. The cooking is a show. Soooooo interesting to watch. And the beef you ask? Well, opinions divided. Nives couldn’t really handle all that fat, to Dejan’s utmost delight as he readily chomped on her steak as well. Would we go again? Answers would be no and a “hell yeah” yes.
More castles and sake pictures here.
I can imagine locals faces when you read menu turned 90 degrees - like george w bush at his best time ;-))
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