“Something has to change” I was sitting in the passenger seat of our small, Japanese rental car, halfway through a bag of 7-eleven chips, miscellaneous rapping paper scattered around my feet. We had been travelling for a month and all intentions of living healthy had pretty much gone out the window. Which was fine – we had looked forward to this trip for a long time and we were having fun, but now it was time to start doing something healthy again. I didn’t feel good without my weekly gym sessions and despite the fact that 7-eleven in Japan is WAY ahead of everywhere else (obviously) when it comes to healthy food options the amount of junk food had reached a level were I just didn’t feel comfortable with it any more. Something had to change.
I started researching for workouts online and stumbled upon darebee‘s 90 Days Of Action – a no-equpment-90-days-fitness-programme designed to make you do a workout every day, building up your entire body.
Being used to “only” hitting the gym 2-3 times a week we were both a little hesitant at first, but decided to give it a go. Day one we did a few lunges and some squats in a our little hotel room in Naha, Okinawa. Since then we have burpee’ed in public parks, crunched in filthy camp ground toilets, done very crammed push-ups in very tiny Japanese dorm rooms, made fools of ourselves in various parking lots and even done workouts on two different mountains in two different countries!
Being awesome on Mt. Misen in Japan
One week ago we finished with 150 push-ups. I can’t believe it but I have worked out every.single.day for 3 months! I didn’t even know I was capable of doing that! It definitely wasn’t always fun, but it quickly became a habit and I found that when you take out the “should-or-shouldn’t” element out of a workout it’s way easier to just go ahead and do it (how great is Shia btw?)
The best part? The website and all the content in there is all completely free! If you find the website useful though, consider making a donation. Everyone working on the project is volunteering their time and expertise, but it still isn’t free running a website. We donated the equivalent of one moths gym membership and considering we both worked out every day for 90 days I’ll say we got almost a years worth of training programmes already!
It is no secret that we fell pretty hard for Osaka. In fact we ended up spending almost one of our two months in Japan in this city and I am not gonna lie, a lot of that had to do with the food. They say Osaka is the stomach of Japan and we have found that to be very true. Food is not only affordable and plentiful here it is also delicious – every.single.time.
That being said we have of course found some favourites and I thought I would share them here since most of them are places we have found at random or places that we have been recommended from locals. In other words they are not necessarily places you will find in a guide book.
To make it easier I have divided the places into 6 categories: Sushi – Asian Food – Non-Asian Food – Markets – Cafés – and Bars
Jonas made google map at the bottom with somewhat precise locations, since I don’t have the actual address for most of the places, just coordinates from a phone. Finally I will include an estimated price for each place – or at least tell you how much we spent on what we got.
Dig in and I hope you enjoy!
sushi
The real reason why you came to Japan…
1 + 2. Muten kura sushi trains
At 100 JPY a plate this is easily the cheapest sushi I will ever eat. It is pretty basic, nothing fancy but you get to stuff 2 faces for a price that would buy you 7 maki rolls where we come from!
Avoid the 6.30-8pm rush if you don’t like standing in line. We liked the one in Nishinari (1) best, but maybe that’s just because it was the first place we tried. Japanese website here.
Expect to spend: 100JPY (plus tax) per plate! We would normally roll out of there after 22 plates and pay ~2400JPY but it depends on you appetite obviously.
3. sushi train At the grand front osaka
For a fancier but still affordable running sushi experience this place at The Grand Front Osaka is great too. Pictured is one of my favourites: An “inside-out” tempura shrimp urimaki rolled in tempura crisps – yummy!
Go to the North building of the Grand Front Osaka and go up to the 7th floor.
Expect to spend: from 250-600JPY per plate depending on which plates you choose.
4. alley sushi
In lack of a better name I’ll refer to this place as “Alley sushi” because it was located (you guessed it) in an alley near our hostel. For the full-on authentic sushi experience this little place is old-fashioned and has a liberal approach to wasabi (read: it’s strong!) If you don’t like it that way I’m sure they’ll accommodate all your wishes when you sit face-to-face with the chefs as they make your sushi right in front of you.
Expect to spend: ~500JPY for a plate with 3 pieces.
asian restaurants
All the stuff we miss!
5. okonomiyaki
Okonomiyaki, often described as the Japanese version of a pizza, originally comes from Hiroshima where they serve a slightly different and less burly version. The Osaka version is everywhere to be found throughout the city but nowhere is it as good as in this dirty and kitsch back-alley kitchen where the friendliest chef in Japan has been making them for a lifetime. When you go there tell him Isa and Jonas from Denmark said hi!
Expect to spend: Between 650-900JPY pr. okonomiyaki. Add cheese!
6. Q’s mall food court
Not technically one restaurant but several arranged around a large seating area, this cheap food court located conveniently at the Tennoji Station intersection was often our go-to if we just needed some food and didn’t feel like walking around looking for it. It is often crowded and loud especially at noon when all the students from nearby schools have their lunch break.
Reserve a seat first by placing you stuff at an empty table and then go order your food (don’t worry, stealing hasn’t been invented in Japan)
Go here for the Korean bibimbap and the fried rice – or whatever else looks good to you.
Expect to spend: We paid less than 2000JPY for all the food pictured above…
7. kyo-chabana
We found ourselves intrigued by the design-y look of this place, so we walked in and were pleasantly surprised to find that the inside delivered on the promise and the food was delicious. The place seems to have an emphasis on organic and local produce, although it’s hard to tell when you don’t speak Japanese.
Go here for the avocado salad which is *seriously* good and then try the avocado okonomiyaki that our neighbours had and tell us how it was, ’cause we never got back to try it.
Website here. No English menu so get creative and remember to smile – that will get you far.
Expect to spend: We weren’t very hungry so we split a salad and an okonomiyaki and spent 2224JPY
8. Tempura
All things fried can be found here. You can pick and choose from the menu, so you only get what you like and you eat at the counter with a view to the two enormous pots where your food is being fried.
Go here for the tempura eggplant and shrimp.
Expect to spend: around 900JPY per person for a full meal.
9. Tsurugyo: kobe beef
When you’re finally in Japan and in a city this close to Kobe it would almost be a shame not to try out the world famous Kobe beef. Only problem is that the well-marbled beef comes at an extremely high price and it wasn’t something we could justify in our budget. So when Jonas’s parents sent me some money and told me to find a good birthday present for him I didn’t hesitate for long. I even managed to keep it a secret up until we stood in front of the restaurant.
Like most other things that are set up to be the best in the world we found the experience a bit underwhelming, but were glad we tried it anyway. The staff here is very knowledgeable it seems and will help you prepare the meat correctly if you, like us, find the thought of cooking pieces of the worlds priciest beef by yourself a bit intimidating.
Reservations are recommended. See their website here. The review I found is here.
Expect to spend: The website I found said 6500JPY pr. person but we didn’t find that to be enough(we ordered a bottle of wine to share and it certainly won’t cover that) If you don’t then 6500 might not be far off.
10. chinese hotpot
Located in the Nishinari ghetto this is supposedly the best place to get hotpot in Osaka. The owner of our hostel even told us she spotted a famous sumo wrestler here once.
Expect to spend: less than 700JPY pr. person
11. ramen
Ramen is one of these things that you can buy literally everywhere and being qualified to name the best in the city would take years of sampling. We did quit like this little place on the way from our hostel to Tenniji station though. It was one of those places where you buy tickets from a machine outside and upon entering present them to the chef who will then go back to the kitchen and prepare your order.
Go here for the chicken and pork ramen (we found the pure pork ramen to be too fatty) and order a side of bamboo and fried rice with cheese! You will be rolling out of there.
Expect to pay: ~900JPY pr. person
12. warm heart/seven ramen
Another good ramen option. The collective staff at the place will great you loudly as you enter.
Go here for the ramen and the fried chicken.
Expect to spend: ~1100JPY for two persons.
non-asian food
Sometimes you just want something familiar…
13. Awajishima burger
Jonas’s favourite food is burgers so for his birthday I did some research and found this little place with raving reviews. Not technically in Osaka but a 40 min. train ride outside towards Kobe these burgers are worth the trip (from Osaka or anywhere else in the world really). I mean it! We almost didn’t go there because of this but I am so glad we did. The place doesn’t look like much from the outside (or the inside) but this guy only uses fresh, local produce and the result is magnificent!
The place is always busy but we got there a little after the lunch-rush and didn’t wait long. Detailed info here. Japanese menu only but they understand simple English phrases.
Expect to spend: We spend 2380JPY in total and we didn’t hold back on the extras (and neither should you!) Do not miss out on the onion rings. I repeat: do *not* miss out on the onion rings!
14. pizzeria il sole rosso
After having it recommended by our Italian friend who had been living in the city for a year we went to El Sole Rosso one day when we (okay I) had a sudden pizza-craving. They have delicious pizzas and the pasta dishes at the next table looked good too. The chocolate cake was nothing to write home about though.
Expect to spend: This is not a cheap place. We spent ~4300JPY and we shared a pizza, a small salad and a desert and each had a glass of wine.
15. El pancho
Another birthday favourite. Our friends brought us to this lovely, Mexican restaurant with good food, margarita pitchers and live music. Ride the tiny elevator all the way to the top and find yourself in full-blown Mexican cliché-land (and I mean that in the most positive way) as you exit.
Go here for … well we tried many things from the menu and they were all great, so weather you’re a quesadilla-girl or a taco-guy I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. The margaritas were a bit watered down though …
Expect to spend: ~2500JPY per person including drinks
food Markets
I have always found food markets to be way more fun than normal markets because … well because you can eat what you buy obviously … and there are often free samples.
16. kuromon ichiban market
This market is easily the most well-known in Osaka and definately worth a trip. It’s in an covered arcade so it’s a good trip for a rainy day.
Go here for the otoro sushi. Otoro is the fattiest part of the tuna and it literally melts in your mouth – So good! Kuromon is to my knowledge the only place in the world where you can find it street side and at such an affordable price.
Extensive guide to the market here. Unlike other markets I’ve been at they are not early risers. We got there by 9am and the first stands were just opening by then.
Expect to spend: We paid 1500 JPY for 5 pieces of otoro and it was well worth it my friends!
17. korea town
Although Kuromon is the most well-known market in town the Korean Market at Tsuruhashi St. might actually be my favourite. I was having a really bad day and as you can tell from the pictures the food here managed to cheer me up!
Go on an empty stomach and try a little of this and a little of that. You won’t be sorry you did!
Expect to spend: We spend ~2200JPY on various meals and snacks.
Cafés
Apart from the notorious animal cafés Osaka has plenty of other “themed” cafés where you can get your fix of Japanese quirkiness:
18. Moomin stand
The Moomin stand is a grand tribute to one of my favourite childhood characters. It is complete with merchandise and music from the show and the place is even shaped and panted like the Moomin house! We met many foreigners who didn’t quit get the Japanese obsession with Moomin but I grew up with it so I was all aboard and went all “OMG KAWAIII!!!” every time we saw something Moomin themed (which was often!)
Go here just to experience it and maybe try one of their overpriced bubble teas. Some of you may remember that my last encounter with this drink didn’t go so well, but luckily this one was sweeter and didn’t have coffee in it so it went down more smoothly.
The Moomon Stand is located in MIO Mall’s main building on the 6th floor. More info here.
Expect to spend: We spend 400JPY on the bubble tea
19. panda café
Albeit being almost right next to our hostel we didn’t discover this place ’till late in our stay. And what a shame (or maybe luck depending on how you see it) ’cause their panda-shaped, custard-filled cakes were almost as delicious as they were adorable.
Choose between: custard, chocolate, applesause, bean paste, vanilla icecream or meat. Custard is the best and sells out first so get there before noon.
Expect to spend: 300JPY pr. cake
bars
We are old (one of us by heart and one of us by … well age) and boring and we don’t really go out, but we did have a couple of nights out at these places:
20. cinquecento
Damn I miss these people…
With more than 40 different kinds of Martinis on their menu anyone should have a shot at finding something they like in this cosy little spot. The drinks aren’t strong but at 500JPY a piece you can’t really complain. They also have a selection of bar foods but we didn’t try any of them.
Look to the right as you enter and you will see their “Great Wall of Shame” All you have to do to obtain a spot and get your name up among these strong-willed men and women is to drink 100 shorts over the span of a month!
Expect to spend: flat rate of 500JPY per drink! The Kamikaze was good and considerably stronger than the others.
21. torikizoku chicken bar
A mix between a bar and a restaurant this place has a fixed price on all their drinks and chicken based dishes. A great place to go before a night out with a group of friends. I believe it’s a chain, but we only went to this one.
Expect to spend: fixed price of 280JPY per item or all you can eat and drink for 2h for 2800JPY.
osaka food map:
Use the drop-down menu in the upper left corner to select a spot.
so, what did we miss? Have you tried any of these places and what did you think? where should we go next time? let us know in the comments! 🙂
“Ahh, sorry I don’t think maybe you cannot go to The USA today” Said the Japanese lady at the check-in counter, polite as ever. My heart started racing as I realised I hadn’t thought about the fact that on my 3 prior trips to The States I always had a ticket out, and that it would be a problem if I couldn’t prove that we were in fact going to leave before our 90 days were up.
We were told that we had 25 min. to purchase a new ticket to either Europe or Australia (something that isn’t exactly cheep and something we would normally spent hours or weeks researching prices for) or face loosing our tickets, which were non-refundable. The airport’s wifi was free but not very fast, so we ran to the nearest bench, pulled out both of our laptops and frantically started clicking away.
At the beginning we were optimistic. We had plenty of time, we could do this! But as time ticked away slowly my spirits fell until I found myself in a state of full on panic attack complete with hyperventilation, hysterical sobbing and phrases like “I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO – TELL ME WHICH BUTTONS TO PRESS!!”, “I CAN’T BREATHE!”, “I-CAN’T-SEE!” and the all-time favourite “MY BRAIN HAS STOPPED WORKING!!”
Ultimately we made it as far as pressing “buy” two minutes before the counter closed. The page started loading – and loading – and loading … and nothing happened. I ran around the hall with the computer, trying to get a batter connection, literally praying to God, but I guess even He is helpless when it comes to crappy wifi. The really ironic thing though, was that just 10 min. prior we had dropped off our rented wifi modem in a mailbox at the entrance hall. The wifi that was so stable I could instagram from the top off a mountain literally lay 50cm out of reach.
In the end, we didn’t make it. They wouldn’t let us board without a confirmed ticket and we lost 10.000 DKK (around 1400 USD). But worse than that I felt like THE-BIGGEST-IDIOT-IN-THE-ENTIRE-UNIVERSE. Don’t get me wrong the money thing sucked big time but what I was most afraid of was telling other people and having them ridicule me all over again.
I guess to no ones surprise it turns out that I am actually my own worst critic and all our friends were all very sweet and encouraging when we told them what had happened (how did we get such good friends?)
But we still had to go to The States for Jonas’s conference so we bought the exact same tickets two days later: KIX to IAD in Washington D.C with a 1,5 h layover in Beijing. Only our first flight was delayed so much that when we touched down in Beijing we had about 25 minutes to get through 3 security checks and queues of 3 billion-trillion Chinese people (okay maybe my counting was a little off but I was in a hurry)
The China Airlines personnel fortunately knew that we were running late and got us in front of most of the lines. Only problem was that they hadn’t really coordinated the whole thing so every time we got to a new line someone would tell us to “hurry up” or “go over there”, “no, over here” or “in here” pointing us in different directions. At one point I even lost Jonas for moment and started freaking out and running back where I found him having been pointed to another and faster security line. The Japanese politeness we had been so accustomed to was nowhere to be found and had been replaced with fast-paced Chinese impatience.
When we finally made it through security and started running towards our gate we were picked up by an airport official on a golf cart to get there faster. We thanked out lucky star until suddenly he pulled out a 20 dollar bill and started gesturing at us to tip him – “very cheap” as he said. Jonas gave him a one dollar bill and explained to him that it was all we had. He then turned to me for more and I think I might have yelled at him a little but it seemed to help and he drove us to the gate without another word.
The whole thing was so stressful and frantic that when we finally boarded the plain I started crying (again) out of pure exhaustion.
We are now in The States and I have to admit that it hasn’t been an easy transition for me. The differences in cultures are HUGE in the most literal sense of the way. Coming from a country where I was if not a size L then at least a size M and seeing the size of people, houses and cars here has been a real shock to my system. The bed in our first AirBnB in Washinton was the size of our old room in Osaka and so soft that I actually slept on the floor because it felt more comfortable. (Okay I know this is a serious first world problem but what can I say? Japan has ruined me)
On top of that we have both been extremely jetlagged and I have felt more homesick than I can remember having felt for years. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful but I also want to be honest and the first couple of days in Washington were tough.
One thing that city has got going for it though is the cherry blossoms.
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To end things on a happy note we are now in Waxhaw, North Carolina with my old host family and I believe you have to search the Planet pretty well to find a nicer, more hospitable family. They have made us feel right at home and I am so happy to be back and for Jonas to have met my “other family” over here 🙂
We bought a tent and an Epic Road Trip of The South is starting to take form. We also found a farm up in Maine where we will be doing some farm work for a couple of weeks in June which we are both excited about.
That’s all for now. Sorry we haven’t been around much lately, but as I mentioned things have been a little hectic and I didn’t really feel like writing because of it…
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We stayed in Okinawa for a week and despite rain and wind we had a great time and saw many beautiful things. Many words could be written on our time there, but what I wish to share is but a simple meal. A simple, home cooked meal eaten in the company of great people. Because as all who has travelled know, most of the time it is not the place, but the people who make a trip memorable.
Having a Japanese with us in many ways made everything easier. E.g. Where as we in our search for a hostel have to either drive/walk around from place to place or book online for a higher price, Fumi would of course just call up and hear if anything was available. In theory we could too but 1. many web pages are in Japanese and thus hidden from “our part” of the internet and 2. many Japanese don’t speak English, which is okay when you are face-to-face with them and able to use hand gestures and Google translate but considerably more difficult over the phone.
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The honour of finding Okinawa Motobu Guesthouse therefore also befalls Fumi. Without her we would have never met the owner Niku and have been invited to join him and his friends for dinner.
Left to right: Teruya Jinshi and one of his sons, Fumi, Isa, Jonas, Tamaki Atusi, owner of the restaurant, Asami Kotouge and Morimoto Yuka, two girls from the hostel. In the front, Tamaki Natu, Atusi’s daughter, and in the back Niku, the hostel owner.
We drove with Niku to his friends restaurant, where food was already waiting on the table when we arrived.
The night was filled with laughter as a mix of English, Japanese and Danish was translated back and forth, mostly through Fumi, who speaks Danish almost fluently after a one-year exchange programme 3 years ago. This continues to amaze me.
At one point Asami looked at me very seriously and asked if I loved Jonas. Slightly blushing I answered that yes of course I did. He then turned to Jonas and gestured for him to get down on his knees and ask me to marry him. I declined laughingly and Fumi had to explain that in Denmark everyone is “bare kærester” (just dating) for a very long time.
Tempura fried seaweed. Seriously delicious.
Except for the one above we don’t have many pictures of the food – it was just too good for us to stop eating long enough to take a picture.
We learned the hard way that Japanese and Danish dinner party manners are a dangerous cocktail when we sat, on the verge of bursting after 7 different dishes of Chinese “mabodofu” (a tufu and chili stew), rice, sausages, tuna, gyoza and tempura and all of a sudden a bowl of Spaghetti Bolognese appeared in front of us (!)
Turns out that in Japan it is impolite for the host to stop serving food when the guest finishes – and in Denmark it is impolite for guests not to eat up. You guys, It’s The Eternal Circle of Eating!
Later Atusi turned to Jonas once more. “Please come back next time you are in Okinawa, Mr. Jonas”. And we intend to.
The world famous Kinkaku-ji better known as the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto. She is the symbol of cultural Japan, the epitome of nature and beauty united.
The truth is we have been very fortunate with our timing so far. Arriving in quiet Osaka, driving around in the beautiful and mostly secluded Shikoku mountains. Being here in the off-season has cost us a few cold days but given us so much peace and serenity in return.
But Kyoto doesn’t have an off-season. And in reality when you get to Kinkaku-ji on a Thursday morning at opening time on a grey and somewhat rainy March day, 3 weeks before the cherry blossom has even begun to consider waking from hibernation it looks more like this:
And for much of our Kyoto trip I looked more like this:
Sartre said: “Hell is other people”. I think he and I would get along. Which I realize is in itself a contradiction, but you get the point.
The worst place we went though was the Fushimi Inari Shrine. Our first day in town we rented bicycles and when we got there we found the place was flooded with visitors. At one point we had to stand in line to walk up the mountain. This too was on a weekday morning.
I am not saying this to appear superior – I realize that like everyone else we are tourists in this place and it’s not like I didn’t know these sites would be popular. However I was surprised at just how many people there were and I must admit that for me at least it ruined some of the experience.
It took a lot of patience and good timing to get this shot.
That being said many of these people arrive in big tour buses and merely walk to the first gate to take a picture (avec selfie stick of course) and then move on. So by embarking on the one-hour hike to the top we thought we might leave the majority behind. And we were right.
A side trip into the forest proved that when you leave the beaten, tori-patched path behind you can have it all to yourself.
The temple is open 24h as far as I could tell so if you are not afraid of the dark and the Japanese forests – which I think can be kind of eerie with the scattered temple grounds all around – you might escape the masses if you go for a midnight stroll here.
From Fushimi Inari we moved on to Ginkaku-ji – the Silver Temple and sister temple of Kinkaku-ji. I can’t tell you much about it simply because we didn’t go in. Disheartened by the amount of tourists and sore-butt’ed from the cycling we opted instead for ice cream and a leisurely stroll along the the well-known but less visited Philosopher’s Path. It was beautiful even pre-cherry blossom and probably my favourite memory from Kyoto.
The next day was our month-a-versary (and yes we still celebrate this after 5.5 years together because cheesy as it may sound it is also a great excuse for eating good food and drinking expensive drinks)
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The weather wasn’t great so much of they day was spent indoors enjoying the fact that our hostel had a very well equipped and clean kitchen and cooking our own food for what was essentially the first time since we left home.
Everyone told us that Kyoto should be at the top of our list of places to go in Japan. And maybe they are right, but it wasn’t our favourite so far.
As you might have guessed we didn’t see that many temples when we were in town and we found that our best experiences were had wandering smaller streets and stumbling upon hidden gardens. In Gion we were even fortunate enough to see a real Maiko (Gaisha in training) in a back alley. We stood fixated, spellbound with her beauty and other-worldly (or should I say other-timely) appearance as she click-clacked her way past us on her getas. Afterwards I wasn’t even sure if it really happened or if I had just imagined it all.
And I think this must be what people mean when they say you should go to Kyoto to experience the real Japan. It certainly can’t be all those touristy temples. But it might be these little pockets of beauty that transcends the normal and takes you back to a time of Shoguns and Samurai. They are out there, hidden, and with a little luck and a closer look you might just happen to stumble upon one of them.
Hanging out in the common room of our Osaka hostel one day we started talking to Italian Rik. Rik has been living in Osaka for a year and kindly offered to show us around town.
After a short stop at the post office (postcards coming your way people!), we went to find a very special cafe Rik had visited 7 month earlier…
From the outside it didn’t look like much, on the first floor tugged away over one of the million other Japanese shops.
Inside, as always, we were handed slippers.
… and the place was filled with cats. Rules were not to stress the cats by waking or picking them up. But other than that we could just hang out for an hour.
Cat cafés (or pet cafés in general) are ment for people who don’t have the time or the space for pets at home. It’s kind of brilliant if you think about it. But as always, the Japanese have taken it a step further. And so you can also go to a “cuddle café” and have a girl lie down and look you deep in the eyes for half and hour – You know, if you don’t have the time or the space for a girlfriend. You’re allowed to hug them and they are allowed to clean your ears (because Japan) but that’s all.
Anyways, back to the cats. I’m not sure if the cats were trained, or if they just really loved blankets. But when you got a blanket cats flogged around you and went to sleep. They were really tame and cuddly.
There must have been 12 – 15 cats just roaming around the 3 rooms and it was a surprisingly relaxing experience.
Chapter 2
Returning to the hostel all excited we showed our pictures to the others and one girl replied: “Oh you haven’t seen the owl cafe?” Then she pulls out her phone and shows us pictures of her friend holding this tiny owl. I believe Isa’s comment went something like: “OH MY GOD WE HAVE TO GO WHEN CAN WE GO WE HAVE TO GO OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!?!”
Next morning we were scheduled to go to Kyoto, but with Rik’s help we found the Owl Family Cafe on the way. It was then that we were introduced to Bibi-chan:
This little girl is probably the cutest thing to have ever set foot (claw?) on this earth!
There were around 15 different owls in the cafe including some really big ones. Having never seen an owl before this was a really unique experience. Their plumage was extremely beautiful and surprisingly soft to touch.
As to weather or not the owls were being treated well, we don’t know. They seemed at peace with us and they had time to rest in between visitors and so there were some owls we were not allowed to touch. I really hope they let them out sometimes to fly but it’s hard to tell when everything is Japanese…
However they seemed healthy and this was really one of the highlights of our time in Osaka.
We looked at each other desperately. Was this it? Had we exhausted all our options? I couldn’t believe it – how could this be happening? Could it really be, that we were going to miss the most important event of the year? Could it really be that we were going to miss – The Oscars?!
Help! How do we watch the #Oscars in #Japan?! Breaks my heart that we are going to miss @ActuallyNPH 😔
Okay okay, I know this might seem like a bit of an overreaction. After all it is just a TV-show. But the thing is; we don’t dress up for Halloween. We don’t go out on Valentines Day. We don’t care much for the New Year. But watching the Oscars, that’s Our Thing (and, I guess, a couple other people’s Thing but that’s beside the point)
So after having unsuccessfully tried different kinds of streaming services and having made our friends and family promise to try and record it for us, we decided that we should at least have some sort of celebration. Because of the time difference the Oscar wasn’t until Monday morning on the 23rd, so Sunday evening on the 22nd we raided the nearest 100yen store for balloons and DIY garlands, put on our nicest clothes (which wasn’t so nice after all, but you have to give us points for trying) and turned Momonga Village into Shikoko’s very own Hollywood Boulevard!
Valerie on garland duty
Back to front: Ian, Shun, Babee, Jonas, Isa, Victoria and Valerie
We had such a great night and then … well to be honest we all got piss-drunk on cheap, leftover saké and when I woke up the next morning (in Victoria and Valerie’s room) I was still drunk. And thus begun one of the worst hangovers of my life.
Blissfully unaware of the hangover that lies ahead…
It wasn’t all bad though because 15 min. before the Oscar show started, Jonas managed to sign us up for TV2’s streaming service and we watched THE WHOLE SHOW with only like 3 fall-outs!
So a tip for all you new travellers out there: make sure to always bring an IT-guy on your trip. It’s sure to make everything just a little bit more … legendary! 😉
There I was. In the middle of the Japanese highland, the clear night sky above me, the soothing sound of clucking water cuddling my ears. There I was. Alone and naked as the day I was born.
My “private” onsen.
It was really just bad planing (or no planing) that led us to this heavenly place. Earlier we found a promising AirBnB apartment up in the mountainous Mimasaka prefecture but we never heard back from the guy, so we decided to just drive in that general direction and hope for an answer before nightfall. On the way up we saw a sign towards Yonogo Onsen Village and I remembered reading something about it, so we turned right and found what seemed to be a quiet and mostly empty (Japanese) holiday town.
First things first. We went straight to the local public bath to relax after the long, exhausting drive. (left-side driving is not something we’re used to, mind you)
The public bath in Yonogo is less like a bath and more like the most luxurious spa I have ever been to. There are three large indoor onsen and five outdoor stone “tubs”, three of them overflowing into each other like miniature waterfalls.
The thought of what it would cost me to go to a place like this in Denmark is dizzying even if just for an hour. Here we paid 700 JPY (~39 DKK/6USD) pr. person including a fresh towel and you get to stay as long as you like.
This is a picture of a picture of some of the outdoor onsen and does IN NO WAY do this place justice.
Most of the onsen in Japan (with a few exceptions like the private and super expensive ryokan onsen) are separated between men and women and so everyone is naked. Before you enter you sit on little stools and rinse yourself with buckets of warm water and soap. This ritual – besides obviously preventing dirt in the onsen – is really relaxing and prepares you for what’s lies ahead (spoiler: It is heaven which lies ahead)
The first time I went, I didn’t know you were supposed to use a wash cloth for washing. On the way out this older woman signalled for me to take one of hers and when I tried to give it back to her (after having thoroughly washed it of course!) she smiled and waved me off with a “present-o!”. People here are so nice.
Afterwards we went to look for a hotel in the neighbourhood, since the AirBnB guy had written us back that he couldn’t host us. After driving around to a couple of places, tired and not in the mood for more adventure, we settled on a place that was really over budget, but we figured, “what the heck” and settled in. As it turned out that extra money bought us a 6 person bungalow and the above mentioned in- and outdoor onsen which might as well have been private since nobody else was using them. Sometimes it pays off to travel in low-season.
The indoor part of the onsen. Pictured on the left are the washing stools.
We stayed in the city for two nights and the next time we went to the public bath I had some of the basics down. I knew to wash myself with a wash cloth as supposed to using my hands and I knew not to put my hair in the water (which I had unknowingly done the first time and only afterwards noticed that nobody else did. Of course no one said anything to me because, as it seems, the Japanese would rather be dead that impolite)
This morning the outside area was completely empty but for me and one old lady. Her skin looked like it was 3 sizes too big. Her breasts went to her stomach and her butt to her knees. She looked like a small, wrinkled apple with sticks for arms and legs. I loved it. She was beautiful.
Which brings me to the real reason why I love these onsen so much. In the onsen there is no pretending. No pulling in your stomach or straightening your back to look skinnier, no covering yourself with a towel. Everyone is naked, and nobody cares. Everyone is beautiful in their nakedness and the Japanese know this and have accepted it as a vital part of their culture.
We nodded in recognition of each other but stayed silent. One time she pointed to the sky and smiled – I take it she was commenting on the sun which had just burst out from the ever-changing sea of clouds. The weather shifts quickly in the mountains. We discovered that the day before when we went to the top of one of the hills overlooking the valley. We kept putting our jackets on and off as the sky presented us with a mix of sunny rays and chilling wind.
Later in the dressing room I saw one of the older ladies applying a cream to her legs. On the bottle was a picture of a human body so I applied a gentle layer to my legs, arms and back, doing so noticing a slight smell of camphor and peppermint. It reminded me of my grandmother. By closer inspection I discovered it was a muscle-pain reliever. I guess I still have a lot to learn…
Valentines day we set out in a new direction from the hotel. Turning a corner we were suddenly at a pretty high building.
“I think that’s the highest building I have ever seen…” Isa said. My reply was; naaah it’s not that high… We then started counting and both got to 60 floors. Turns out Harukas is the highest building in Japan. Access to a little garden at the 16th floor was free, but to go to the top floor (58-60) you had to pay an admission fee.
The view from 16th floor garden was impressive. The city went as far as the eyes could see in all directions. But it was early in the day and we needed food so we opted for a nearby shopping mall.
We found a huge collection of photo booths that was heavily visited next to a very nice food court. Denmark could really learn something from Japan when it comes to eating out. Even a food court in a shopping mall serves really good food. We spend the day browsing shops and eating.
As the sun set we went back to Harukas, this time to the top, and was meet by this view:
On our first day we came by this tower which suddenly didn’t look so big any more.
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We had fun playing around with the shutter speed on our camera and annoyed everyone around us by crawling around on the floor and moving things around to get the right framing.
We ended up spending almost 3 hours up there and was kicked out as the last ones by 10pm.
