We woke up very early but had a very restful sleep. A temple monk led a prayer at 6 a.m. that all guests were invited to, and as far as I could tell, everyone was present. He gave us a short introduction in English. We sat in chairs looking at the altar, and he went into the more sacred room to begin his prayer. Before he started, he invited each one of us to approach the altar, light some incense, and bow.
Later, I found out that I had embarrassed myself because when I went to the altar, I had not realized I had forgotten to put on a belt. Sam reports that when I bowed, I mooned all of the guests! Oy, what a fool. I didn’t know it then, so I was saved from drowning in embarrassment.
After our breakfast, we said goodbye to Koyasan. There were more sites to see, but we were both tired of temples, woods, and serenity. It was time to hit the city. We took the bus out of town to the electric cable car that descends the mountain. It’s a very cool, small piece of public transit. From there, we boarded a train to Osaka.
In Osaka, we stayed in the nicest hotel of the trip, the Voco Osaka Central. This was a great modern hotel, with an excellent bed. I loved this hotel.
We had a few hours before we could get to our room, so we ditched our bags in a locker at the hotel and joined the Osaka Free Walking Tour. Our guide’s name was Masaaki, and I thought he was excellent. He was a lifelong guide who had lived in the USA for 25 years and gave tours to Japanese tourists.
We met up in Dotonbori, stopped for lunch at Kuromon Market, and ended in Shinsekai. Osaka street food and the izakaya scene are incredible. Dotonbori is really the tourist hub, and it is very famous for its highly decorated storefronts. The most famous ones are the Glico running man and the giant crab of Kani Doraku. The Dotonbori canal is the heart of the neighborhood, and it is nice to watch people and boats glide under the bridges. This was very different than the hills of the Kumano Kodo.
Masaaki gave us time to explore the Kuromon Ichiba Market, known as “Osaka’s Kitchen.” This covered market resembles Nishiki Market in Kyoto. We didn’t buy much this time. Neither of us was very hungry, and we wanted to save our hunger for Takoyaki at the end of the tour, so we grabbed a juice and just browsed the stalls.
The tour ended in Shinsekai. It’s a neighborhood that was just built in the 20th century, but the entire thing feels a little old school. You get a little bit of a Coney Island vibe about it. There is a big town in the middle called Tsutenkaku Tower, surrounded by old arcades, pachinko parlors, and food stalls.
Our guide recommended the Takoyaki from Shinsekai Kanka. Takoyaki are small balls made from batter filled with octopus, Tempura, and Green onions. They’re cooked until golden and crispy on the outside but stay soft and gooey inside. I was happy to try them, but I didn’t love them. The insides were too soft, and I try not to eat octopus, and the sauce on top was too sweet. I do not need them again.
Finally, we checked into our hotel for a rest before going out for the night. I decided I wanted to buy a jacket, so we started out doing some shopping in the Umeda district. It’s hard to tell what a mall is, what an enormous building is, and why any distinction matters. I found a jacket and we decided to do a whiskey tasting at the Suntory Whiskey House. This is a bar restaurant that offers a tasting of this one specific distillery.
Afterwards, we decided to head over to Hankyu Higashi Dori Shotengai, a network of covered streets hosting bars, restaurants, clubs, and shops. There are many people, a lot of bustle, and a lot of lights. It’s a very cool vibe. We weren’t sure where to go. We even walked up to a bar, but before we walked in, I used my Google Translate app, and the sign out front translated to “Japanese Only.” I regret not snapping a photo of that sign.
We had dinner at a great izakaya called Takoyaki & Oden Ikeshita. One of the things you learn about izakayas in Japan is that everyone gets a dish you are required to pay for that you didn’t order. It’s a cover charge. It’s called otoshi, and I’ve read it can be as simple as shopped cabbage, but this place served us something I later learned was Mozuku. It’s slimy seaweed cooked into a cold slop. It’s not very appetizing, and the two younger women next to us at the bar tried to explain it, but even Google Translate struggled.
I was drinking beer, and Sam discovered his Japanese drink of choice: the JJ. JJ is Jasmine Shochu. It was an iced jasmine tea with a shochu cocktail. We ordered fried tofu, something called butchers tofu, and fried chicken. The fried chicken is called karaage and became one of my favorite bites of the trip.
Umeda is also the gay district of Osaka, and after dinner, we went looking for a few drinks with some queers. We first stopped at a gay bar. Its name is either Whisky Bar Hibiki or Jesus Bar. I don’t know what it’s called. I’ve seen both online; both were written on the sign out front. The owner was a nice guy, but we felt like we were overcharged here. I am unsure, because by the end of the trip, I just realized that whiskey was very expensive everywhere I went. It was amusing that the owner wore a Chicago Teachers’ Union Pride T-shirt. The only people in the bar were him, another bartender, and a friend singing karaoke alone. I think he wanted to impress us because he said something to her, and she stopped singing Japanese songs and switched to Disney tunes in English. I would have preferred the Japanese music.
After that, we went to a bar called Bull. It’s a bear bar, but what an experience. It’s one room on the third or fourth floor of a building. When we walked in, they were shocked that we were there and quickly made room for us at the bar. This place was pretty packed with what seemed like local gay men. The owner was our bartender, and his partner was hanging out with others. The owner was over 70 and was the most lively person at the bar. He was great. He told us that he had to adopt his partner as his child, so that they could be legally bound to one another. I remember hearing about gay couples in the US doing that in the past.
This bar also made me laugh, because their otoshi was not predetermined. You get to pick from a small menu. It included cake and ice cream! Of course, the bar that caters to chubs offers cake! We bid farewell to this bar and decided to check out some go-go dancers at Eagle Osaka.
I didn’t love the Eagle Osaka. Frankly, none of the people at the club were Japanese. The dance floor felt like any Western European gay club. There were Italians, Americans, and French as far as the eye could see. The dancers were very fun. They certainly weren’t twinks. These guys were a little thick, but both had fun on stage.
After the go-go show, we grabbed a taxi and called it a night. Osaka is a wonderfully fun city, and I greatly like it. Cruising through the streets of Umeda was fabulous, making me feel 10 years younger.
Next: Japan – Day 8: Osaka