Back in Japan: Osaka

Not on purpose, but I skipped coffee the morning I left for Osaka. Note to self, if you are going to reserve a seat for the Shinkasen be prepared to leave straight away. Also, note to self…there is no reason to reserve a seat for the Shinkasen.

I arrived in Shinagawa, Tokyo my first night in Japan. I like staying near Shinagawa Station because it is a major hub. Pretty much every train you need leaves from this station. It’s big, easy to navigate and not as crowded at Shibuya and Shinjuku Stations. My budget hotel was across the street. Good and bad. Great for convenience, not so great for trying to sleep with loud trains passing outside your window all night. Head’s up, Toyoko Inn, although a perfectly decent and affordable place to stay, does not have sound-proof windows.

I had planned to have a leisurely coffee and black sesame kouign-amann at City Bakery inside Shinagawa Station in the morning. I could taste the crisp laminated dough and creamy hot latte melting in my mouth as I prepared mentally for my day… Scratch that. Silly me, thinking I’d reserve my seat for the train first. Five minutes later, I’m walk-running to the station to catch the next train, which the booking agent so graciously signed me up for.

When I got to the platform I learned that train cars 1-3 are open seating. I had no trouble finding a seat at all in one of those cars. No need to go to the office to reserve ahead of time.

The train ride was pleasant. Sometimes the train was inside dark tunnels, but when it was above ground I could see factories, rivers, lakes, bridges, green grass, green mountains stuffed with pine trees shooting out every which way, farms with indoor nurseries, apartment buildings with laundry hanging out on the patios and hundreds of small, industrial-looking homes in white, beige or blue stacked on top of each other divided by tiny roads. I feel like I’m getting to see more of the country by taking these trains.

Each time the train car door opened, a man with a white, short-sleeved collared shirt and a conductor’s hat bowed then entered and walked down the isle, available to anyone who needed assistance. Sometimes the man wouldn’t enter the train car, he would just bow and step back, letting the door close in front of him.

I arrived at Nagoya Station around 10 a.m. with a growling stomach and my coffee radar at 100 percent. I waked to AEON Mall to check out Tsutaya Bookstore. Another note to self, no bookstore I’ve ever been in in Japan has had any books in English, including this massive, two-story bookstore. But! What the mall did have was a City Bakery! So mission accomplished after all.

My reason for coming to Osaka was twofold. First, I’ve always heard the people in Osaka are crazy about food. It’s not that the food is better than say, Tokyo, it’s that their enthusiasm about preparing and eating it is higher. I can’t say I had this experience, but I’m sure it exists. What I will remember about Osaka has more to do with city-planning and the logistics getting from one place to another.

I stayed in Umeda and spent time in Kita. This is basically the downtown of Osaka. Nothing makes sense in these neighborhoods. Walking to a restaurant 15 minutes away from my hotel could take 45 minutes. First I’m outside, then I’m inside, then outside again. I’d think I was on street level and then Google maps is telling me to take two escalators, then I’m at the top of a building, now I’m in a basement in some underground world invisible to anyone at street level. Then I’m walking up a ramp and to my right I see a stadium’s worth of stairs with water rushing down them. Then I’m on the roof of Osaka Station and everyone is lounging on faux grass as if they were tripping on ecstasy. Then I’m inside a department store lost in cashmere and wool. If nothing I’m saying is making any sense to you, you get the point. This is what it feels like to walk around downtown Osaka.

Leaving Osaka was yet another experience in navigating labyrinths. Just keep following the signs (and your map app) and you will eventually get there. I ran around Osaka Station for about 20 minutes before I finally stumbled upon my train’s platform in the most obscure of places, only to watch as my train pulled out of the station. Luckily, there is always another one right around the corner.

I mentioned my trip here was twofold. The other reason I was here has to do with Oʻahu. Last month, Lee Anne Wong opened her third Koko Head Cafe in the Kita Ward and Taka Kijima opened his third 22 Kailua in Nagai (a 45 minute train ride south of downtown Osaka). Both were completely on brand and fabulous. I surprised Taka and got it all on video, even him saying, “holy shit!” He was blown away that I came to see him. He made me coffee at 22 Kailua and then we walked around his neighborhood and had lunch.

Nagai is an old town, that still has a lot going for it. It has the second largest park in Osaka right across the street from the train station with a massive stadium that can hold 70,000 people. They get big turnouts for soccer games and concerts, flooding Nagai’s narrow streets and cramming its tiny train station before and after. There is also a botanical garden that hosts a light show at night that draws tourists.

But on normal days, its a charming, sleepy little town. Everyone rides their bike. Instead of parking lots, there are bicycle lots. Most of the homes have bikes parked out front instead of cars. The old shotengai (“arcade” as they call them in Japan) is still in tact. Taka said this was where his family purchased all their food daily, 40 years ago when he grew up there, before there were supermarkets. There were still produce stands, specialty shops and food stalls. There were also thrift stores with nobody inside running them. Simply look at the price of the item you would like to purchase and put your cash in the drop box. Taka and I ducked into a tiny mom-and-pop spot called Honda for tonkatsu. The table of men behind us were all eating Japanese curry and rice. We had lunch sets with tonkatsu, menchi-katsu, cabbage, potato salad, pickles, soup and rice. And yes, that is Japanese spaghetti hiding under the menchi-katsu.

Back at 22 Kailua, Taka just built a cocktail bar and is renovating two bedrooms upstairs to Airbnb. Next time he said to come stay with him.

Here’s my list of recommendations for Osaka. I would of probably done more if I’d had more time and not so much work to do, but those are the brakes. Just grateful to have gotten to come here.

Accommodations

I stayed at APA Hotel and Resort Osaka-Umeda Eki Tower. This is near lots of good street food, shopping and the behemoth that is Osaka Station. It has every amenity you’d need including a coffee shop, cafe, restaurant, cocktail bar, pool, onsen, spa for massage, nail salon, laundromat, gym, gift shop and Lawson. They also have a tiny shop on the third floor called Reju that sells smoothies and acai bowls. There was a line wrapped down the hall at 8 p.m. Taka told me it’s near impossible to find acai in Osaka, so that explains why. Bathing in the onsen was lovely, but I had to tape up my tattoos because they do not allow them inside. They will, however, provide the stickers at the front desk for you to cover your tattoos with.

Street Food

Dotonbori - Japan is for night time. It is when its cities comes alive. There are tons of alleyways and streets to find good food in Osaka, but this was one of my favorite. Here, you will find Osaka specialties such as takoyaki, yakisoba and okonomiyaki. I’m allergic to octopus, so I skipped the takoyaki and enjoyed the other two at Mizuno, a Michelin-recognized restaurant that specializes in these dishes. I had a spicy pork yakisoba with cabbage, jalapeno, fried egg, scallion, and carrot, and okonomiyaki with pork & bean sprouts- topped with okonomiyaki sauce, mayo and Dijon, with powdered seaweed sprinkled on top. Both were the best I’d ever had.

Coffee

Besides the delightful coffee I had at 22 Kailua I also loved spending the afternoon at Takamura Wine & Coffee Roasters. Here, they roast and serve high-scoring specialty coffee including Cup of Excellence award winners. The head roaster had just returned from Columbia to purchase beans. I had a gorgeous Columbian Geisha that tasted of black tea and orange custard. On the wine side, the amount of bottles they carry is mind-boggling. I saw lots of natural wines both imports and made in Japan. They also have machines that allow you to pour yourself a glass. Some of these wines included, Opus One, Domaine Leflaive-Puligny-Montrachet and Errazuriz.

Brunch or Dinner

Don’t forget to check out the new Koko Head Cafe when you are in Osaka! More on that soon…