Excited, yet also sad knowing we were going to the last city, Osaka. Had to go to Kyoto Station by bus. I wish the bus trip was longer so that I could see more of Kyoto's street life. Arriving at the station, we decided to find breakfast first since we hadn't eaten anything. The station is connected to some malls and there is Isetan at the basement. Turns out it was the food section. My father took care of our luggages outside while my and my brother came inside and looked around. We were very overwhelmed by the variety of food because they all looked so good! We bought some inari, fried cutlets, and yakitori. When we had the inari, we all agreed that it was the best inari we've ever had! Both the skin and filling were super tasty. I will definitely come to Isetan only to buy its inari if I come to Japan again.

Then we took the JR Special Rapid Service train to Osaka which takes around 30 minutes ride. Somehow, I feel this train speed is faster than shinkansen.

So here we are in Osaka. We immediately looked for our apartment in Daikokucho area to put our luggage so that we could explore the city. The apartment in Osaka turns out become our best stay while in Japan. Again, we booked it via airbnb. Check out for more details here:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/14311260


Our first destination is Osaka Castle. As we got out from Tanimachi Yonchome station, we still had long way to go to reach the castle. In contrary to snowy weather back in Kyoto, it was bright and sunny here, though the wind was still cold.

NHK Osaka Hall

Osaka Castle

What attracted me from the castle was the food around it, haha. I don't know if it was only that day or not, but there were many food trucks. The matcha corner from the permanent food stall however caught my eyes most. It was just a perfect combination from the cold float and hot matcha bun.

Duo Matcha: Float and Bun

We then made our way to Kura Sushi near Tenjinbashi-suji Shopping Arcade to have our super late lunch. It is located on the second floor of a Lawson store. What made us wanted to try this sushi chain is because it only costs 100 yen per plate! How couldn't we miss this? It is usually crowded during peak hours and we were lucky that we came after lunch time, around 3pm, that we found many empty seats.




For those who live in Jakarta, Kura Sushi reminds you of Genki Sushi. We ordered the menu with iPad and the food will come from the train machine. The difference is the pad is already attached on the side of each table. In terms of taste, well, they are not that special. Even for the inari, the one from Isetan was much tastier.

We had 16 plates that costs only 1,720 yen!

Cigarrete vending machine

Tenjinbashi-suji Shopping Arcade

Spot ourselves on the big screen

After that, we moved to our last destination, Dotonbori, a popular lively neigborhood among tourists. We had arranged a meet-up with our cousin-in-law who is a pilot and he was currently flying here. He was waiting for us near the Glico Man sign.

With our cousin-in-law, Co-Capt. Dismas Yoga Untoro

Striking a Glico Man pose!

We walked around the area with him. I was just so in love with the ambience. Bright lights coming from the signs, the crowd, I love everything!

I really wanted to try takoyaki that many sold here. There are plenty of recommendations but rather than wasting time looking for a specific one, I just looked for the one who had long lines near me. I ended up buying takoyaki from Kukuru. The seller was keep talking loudly while making the takoyaki, it was very entertaining to watch. For the taste, it was quite decent but I found it not very special. But at least I'm happy I could finally taste a takoyaki that is originally made in Japan.

Our cousin took us to Bic Camera, a large electronic retailer chain in Japan. For photography enthusiast, I believe this place is heaven. Even I was overwhelmed by the items displayed. My brother was excited to see the cameras and he ended up buying new Canon lense. Most price are cheaper than in Indonesia.





We had proper dinner at Sanuki Udon Hanamaru, an udon chain. Again, for those who live in Jakarta, this reminds you of Marugame Udon. Almost everything is the same. First, you take the tray and order the udon. The difference is they offer three sizes of serving (S, M, L). Then you can take additional side dishes. I tried the small pork udon and this giant fried octopus which both are very tasty and made me very full.

Free refillable ocha and water

Before we went back to the apartment, while I was here, I bought a Pablo cheese tart. It was recently just opened in Jakarta but I hadn't tried it. Based on what people said who had tried both in Japan and Jakarta, they feel the original one is much better. I was very curious so I decided to buy one. I didn't know before that they had two options: full-baked and half-baked (melted inside). I chose the melted one.

Since I was full, I tried the tart at the apartment. It was sooo good! It's very different from any other cheese cake I've ever tried. The mango sauce spread on the top was on point. I love how Japanese cakes look 'heavy' but actually taste super light.