Osaka Christmas Fun

Osaka: a neon-neo city of vibrancy, colours and crazy costumes.

So... why not head there before Christmas?

(from left to right) Alasdair Adams, Michael Upsher and I
pose for a festive photograph in the Uemeda Sky Building.
Feel the love!

Alasdair Adams and Michael Upsher are good friends of mine who I met back at the London Orientation for JET in July 2011. Alisdair is a fellow Scotsman who actually shares many mutual friends of mine in Scotland (though we didn't meet until JET!), whilst Michael is not Scottish but has ginger hair and thus blends in perfectly. Unfortunately, we hadn't had an opportunity to catch up since the Tokyo Orientation, despite numerous attempts to organise trips around Japan together. As such, we made a decision to catch up before the new year, and the decision was simple; Osaka.

The streets of Osaka prove to be a constant feast for the eyes.

Though I was a novice, Alasdair was an experienced Osaka man and was keen to show me the sights. Due to a last-minute addition to the schedule, however (a surprise enkai from the teachers at Katsuga), I was unable to make our scheduled meeting date of Friday 2nd December. So, Al and Michael headed down on the Friday evening, with me joining them early on the Saturday morning for two days of Osaka magic.

A startling discovery; a PSVITA demo site!

We would have played, but the queue was massive...

First port of call in Osaka was - predictably - Starbucks on Dotonbori. One would suspect we had more cultural pursuits in mind, and normally we would have, but honestly it was fun just to have a chance to finally catch up! We decided not to stress over cramming in the tourism, and instead to focus on just enjoying ourselves at our own pace. In retrospect, it was still a great decision.

After our coffee refreshements, we walked and subway-ed through the incredibly busy streets of Osaka towards the Uemeda Sky Building. This iconic building is famous for it's sky garden, and stands at a cracking 170 metres (!) tall. One of those buildings where your ears will pop on the way up the lift... Of course, it was bloody freezing at the top, but what a view! The height is immediately noticeable on the lift down, too (the ground certainly looks like it's approaching rather fast!). To put things in perspective, we were actually looking down on helipads on the skyscraper buildings beneath us.

The Uemeda Sky Building! 170 metres tall... Pretty chilly.

Michael and Adam survey the amazing skyline.
The spectacular views from the Uemeda Sky Building were
some of the most breathtaking I've experienced in Japan.

As well as getting some incredible views from the open rooftop of the building (which included some surreal / helpful signs asking us not to jump off - no problem!), the interior had been decked out with some festive accessories - including decorations, a stand for photography (see the three of us huddled together in a love heart!), and rows of string hanging against the windows. Visitors were invited to make their wishes for 2012. Of course, you can see what Alasdair and I had on our minds...

Two Scotsmen dream in vain of Scottish Premiere League
glory for their local football teams...

At the base of the Uemeda Sky Building was a pleasant and welcome surprise; a German Christmas Market, just like the ones that are scattered across the UK every year! It was very striking but in no way out of place - a testament of the rapid speed at which Japan has adopted the festive season. We grabbed ourselves some traditional Glühwein (of course) - though the woman that served us was neither German nor Japanese, but actually a (rather attractive) French woman who could speak all those languages in addition to English. Certainly a multicultural experience.

Christmas market fun! A surprisingly European

display in the heart of a Japanese city.

True story: A young Japanese girl was more scared

by us foreigners that she was of this troll.

After a quick stop-off for donuts and onsen, the evening was spent exploring the spectacular sights of night-time Dotonbori - an incredible neon street filled with high buildings and bars, clubs, restaurants and fast-food stands. The costumes on display were incredible - it actually felt like a prelude to Akihabara! Osaka has a reputation of being something of a "party" city - and it didn't disappointed. It's a vastly different experience to Kyoto by night, anyway.

So pretty... the neon lights of the famous and iconic Dotonbori street.

We spent the evening in a rather relaxed fashion, actually! After some lovely Mexican food (not exactly the local speciality, I'll admit), we headed on to a number of bars around the city, where we basically just chilled out!

Our party made it's way around several bars, a few late-night food stalls, and an evening stroll around Dotonbori before retiring to the hotel. Perhaps our age was catching up with us, but as I said; this trip wasn't so much about living it up, it was more about just about catching up with good friends. And this was the perfect opportunity to do so.

Fun in the Osaka nightlife! A busy izikaya
with plenty of food and drink.

The next day was spent in a similar fashion; just exploring the scenery... and there was plenty to see!

After a speedy retreat from the capsule hotel (waking up ten minutes before the checkout time - which sadly led to Michael being overchaged for a late exit!), and we were picking up another excellent Starbucks breakfast (clearly - we are truly Westeners). Walking around town in the early morning, it became apparent that Osaka was just as bustling and busy at this time as at night. While Takamatsu is often quiet and peaceful in the early hours of the morning, Osaka proved to be a complete contrast - definitely a city with it's own culture.

Not quite sure what's happening here.
What's up with the bird?

A trip to the (*huge!*) Don Quiote just off Dotonbori offered a unique opportunity both to buy some excellent Japanese-style Christmas presents and to discover some rather provocative and explicit t-shirts (the likes of which certainly will not be posted here!).

Perhaps not what you'd think of when you consider Osaka (or indeed, Japan in general), but we happened upon an excellent Turkish ice-cream stall that specialised in it's unique take on ice cream. As well as being suitably delicious, it stood right next to a competitor with a typically Japanese icon flaunting his recognised associated wares.

...actually; scratch that. I have no idea what Spider-Man is doing selling ice cream.

Ice Cream in December.
You know it makes Spidey-sense.

After getting our Christmas shopping in the bag, there was only one thing left to do; grab some lunch, and head on back home.

Finally, at last, we did something "cultural" and sampled the local delicacies - the takoyaki.

Takoyaki!

Along with okinomiyaki (a dish I sadly never sampled myself), takoyaki is one of the iconic Osaka dishes and common all around Japan. I was going to talk about it in my earlier post regarding Japanese foods, but decided to save it for this entry instead, as it's so heavily associated with the city of Osaka.

So, what is it? Basically, these are small dough balls that are cooked until lightly crispy (with a doughy centre), filled with various vegetable fillings and - the core of the dish - diced octopus. The process involves cooking the dough mix on a specially shaped tray before adding the fillings as the dough begins to set, before covering with more mix and rotating to form the distinct ball shape. As the dough is typically flipped and moulded using very small sticks, actually just watching the way in which takoyaki is prepared can be an experience in itself (luckily, I was lucky enough to try making them myself when my friend Hiroko and her husband invited me to their house for dinner)!

 Takoyaki is prepared at one of the street stalls.

The entire cooking process is fascinating to watch.

The name becomes quite obvious in Japanese - tako (octopus) and yaki (cooked). Let this be a word of warning to you; if you ever try to order a "taco" in Japan, just make sure you're getting the right one, or else you may end up with a meal with more legs than you imagined.

However, if you're like me and you enjoy trying new foods, you'll discover that both octopus (of which I've been a fan for a long time) and takoyaki are delicious. Usually served with a meaty or soy-sauce based dipping sauce (as seen above), they're a perfect street snack that feels both distinctly Japanese and perfect for either a quick bite or a full meal (depending on the number you order).

Yet the one thing we hadn't anticipated was just how high the demand actually was...

 The lunch-time queues for Osaka's famous takoyaki.
Well worth waiting for.

We were waiting quite a while, but our patience was rewarded. For my money, takoyaki is one of the best snacks you can buy on the street across Japan - and if you haven't tried it yet, you're really missing out.

Finally, we were done. One fast sprint back to the train station for Alasdair to catch his train later, and it was man-hugs all round. These guys are cool. I hope I'll be able to see a whole lot more of them this year.

And, there's Osaka! Well, a whirlwind tour of it. Honestly, this barely counts as a visit. Osaka is an amazing city, and definitely left both a good impression and a thirst to go back and explore more of what it has to offer, but we didn't go out of our way to explore or seek out cultural expeditions. Certainly, there was so much more that I wanted to see, and intend to do so next time, but I've no regrets about that weekend.

This trip was just about spending quality time with friends and having some fun. Sometimes, even in Japan, that's all you really need.