We arrived in Osaka around noon on Thursday and went straight to this amazing indoor kid place that I read about online. It was raining slightly so we thought it was a good choice. They were closed when we got there (yes I did feel a little bit like Clark Griswold). Fletcher thought the escalator in the building was pretty great, so Jesse rode that with him a few times before we left.
Next we went to Tower Knives. Words can't explain how exciting this was for us. We've been wanting to purchase Osaka-made knives since we moved to Japan. They're pretty impressive and the process to make them is incredible. The knives at this particular shop are made by Mr. Fuji, who is a third generation knife maker and has been creating for over 40 years. Each aspect of the production is performed by a different individual, but absolutely nothing is done by machine. There were three main categories of knives, and we opted for the category that was least likely to rust, needed the least amount of annual sharpening, and also had a handmade wooden handle. Once you choose a category, then you choose a type of knife. They had knives specifically for cutting beef, chicken, vegetables, peeling vegetables, filleting fish, slicing fish. It was impressive. Once you choose the type of knife, then they bring one out for you to use for practice. Then once you're set on the type you want, they bring out three new ones of that type for you to examine and hold. We only purchased one, but we will definitely be going back before we PCS to get a few more. We were set on buying several, but there were so many options and we didn't have time to check out any other shops.
We walked around for a bit and grabbed a sushi snack before heading to our hotel to check in. The hotel was pretty great (thank you Amex Platinum Travel Services), and Fletcher even got his own pair of kid slippers. The hotel was located in the Osaka Business District, which contributed to every negative online review of this hotel. I didn't quite get it though; the hotel was located a block from a subway station, we were right on the river with an AMAZING view, and as soon as you walked out of the hotel, you had immediate access to shops and restaurants, Starbucks included (hello civilization).
We watched a Sumo competition on tv and let Fletcher climb and run around for a bit before heading to dinner. We took the subway to a pizza cafe that was rated the #1 place to eat in Osaka. The cafe was super cute with big comfy chairs and tables, and event better, we were the only ones in there. The owners were Australian and had moved to Japan several years prior. It was also fun to talk to someone new ha. The pizza was amazing, and Fletcher was able to run around without causing too many problems. That's a win! By the time we made it back to our hotel it was 8pm, which means Fletcher didn't go to bed until an astounding 8:30pm (bedtime is typically 7pm and it works VERY well for my life of lazy evenings). No surprise, he was up the next morning at 6am, ready to explore.
We started Friday off with breakfast, coffee, and a walk to Osaka Castle Park. The park was pretty big and gorgeous. It reminded us of the park we walked through in Tokyo. It was also a great opportunity for Fletcher to run around and burn some energy since he was confined to the stroller and car seat for most of the day.
Next we drove to Dotonbori which is a really popular walking area. It has lots of fun stores and restaurants along several walking streets. We got there pretty early so not everything was open, but it was still pretty cool. We also stopped for a ramen snack (something I've really been craving lately...like I could eat ramen for every meal). It was just this tiny little place where you walk up to a machine, push the button for the kind of ramen you want, insert money like at a vending machine, and then a few minutes later a Japanese man waves that your ramen is ready. It was yummy.
Last we headed over to Kuromon Market. It was pretty big and super fun. There were tons of vendors selling delicious treats and ugly Japanese textiles. The food is always the best part! We got fresh scallops, salmon, and mashed potato cakes (Fletcher's favorite) before heading out. We left the city kind of early, but it actually worked out really well. I was getting a little tired of walking, Fletcher was ready for afternoon nap, and we also made it home before dark.
We had an amazing visit to Osaka and I can't wait to go back again!
