For our first week, we picked Osaka as our base to explore Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, and Kobe. I love the Shinkansen, aka the bullet train! The ride from Tokyo Station to Shin-Osaka Station was smooth and scenic. My favorite thing is eating ekiben; “eki” means train and “ben” is short for bento or traditional Japanese lunch boxes. These ekibens are readily available at train stations and on the train platforms. Most bento specializes in the cuisine of the region. Tokyo Station have many ekiben choices!

The Shinkansen ride from Tokyo Station to Shin-Osaka Station was about 3 hours. My jet-lagged self was passed out. Once at Shin-Osaka Station we used our Suica cards to get to Namba Station on the Midosuji line. Once we settled in to our Airbnb we headed straight to Dotonburi. This place is full of life. There are plenty of okonomiyaki (a savory Japanese pancake) restaurants, takoyaki (octopus balls) stands, ramen shops and other eating places. The Ebisu bridge connects the Shinsaibashi shopping district and the Ebisubashi shopping district. A lot of shopping places!

After some shopping in Shinsaibashi shopping district we went to look for a okonomiyaki place for dinner. These savory Japanese pancake are often made with a flour-egg batter and consist of a variety of ingredients. Osaka is famous for their style of okonomiyaki. Most restaurants serves it on a grill-it-yourself teppan table with metal scrappers for you to cook the food. We chose a few to try out: stewed beef and scallion okonomiyaki, yakisoba version with pork belly and egg, a Osaka style okonomiyaki, and a non-typical one called “the breast”!

. . . This person must be a big fan of Joker from Batman!

It’s even creepier at night!

Yep . . . I’m going to have nightmares on top of my jet-lag tonight!