Mom and Jason's visit pt.4

MOM AND JAYSON VISIT PT.4
EATING OURSELVES TO DEATH IN OSAKA

Sorry for the long delay again, explanatory post will follow this one.
This leg of our journey finds us in the never sleeping city of Osaka. Osaka is a mecha for all things food, drink, and merriment. It's an old merchant town and it certainly lives up to its reputation for as a city that knows how to party. Showing us around was good pals and fellow Fulbright Fellows was Mana and Ben S. They showed us a great time.

Lunch was at an Okonomiyaki restaurant; one that clams they were some of the first people to be making and serving Osaka's version of these yummy concoctions. I've never had true Osaka style before so it was a new experience. We've mainly had Hiroshima style which means usually noodles in the pancake and an egg on top. Osaka style had TONS of scallions and bonito flakes in it. Both have their merits though.

After lunch, Jay almost bought a Louis Vuitton handbag, but no go. Mana and Ben then showed us some really cool places all around Osaka's older districts.

Here is a great one of us on the very colorful street leading up to Osaka Tower (Spa World is right down the street the other way!)

Osaka tower is famous for this little guy named Biliken, the god of things as they should be, or something like that. He's lucky, got to rub his feet. So he has these deep rub indents on his feet from years of people rubbing his little feet.

After the tower we stopped at a traditional style Osaka bar/eatery. What you do it sit a the counter, order beer, then you can order any number of things on sticks, they deep fry them, then you dip them in the sauce and eat. Oh and did I mention you also get all-you-can-eat cabbage with this? I guess it makes you feel not as greasy if you eat a ton of raw cabbage while eating all the deep fried items. It was quite an experience.

Here is the other side of the table.

So there is the cabbage right in front, then next to it is the sauce trough. That meat on a stick back there is pork that is cooked in this kind of "miso gravy." It was kind of odd...

Here we are at the top of Osaka Tower again. Oh aren't we just so cute.

Later that night we went to the Umeda Sky Building, which has an open air observatory on the top. We've been to this building before for the Beer Festival way way back last November. But we never went inside. I could go on forever about this place, though! It was simply amazing. One of the best buildings/views ever. We had a great time.

They even had these high powered binoculars you could use for free too! all I could see was a kind of pasty, whiteness though....not sure what was wrong.

The view.


Our time here is coming to an end soon though. We have to start thinking of coming home and packing, all that stuff. It's no fun.

Okay, I promise I will catch this thing up before I leave though!!
-Kendra