Osaka

I've been married for five months and it still feels like a dream - much like our few days in Osaka for our honeymoon. Though we flew into Tokyo, we didn't really explore it until the end of our trip. The day after we landed, we used our Japan Rail passes to ride the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Osaka for a few days of soaking in local life, trying different foods, and getting used to Japanese public transportation.

If Tokyo is the sprawling metropolitan city of the future and Kyoto the quaint capital of the past, Osaka sits comfortably in the present. It's an informal, less pop-culture-y city proud of its food and drink (it's known as Japan's "kitchen"). It's down-to-earth, yet clean and modern.

That description fits our Airbnb as well - an unassuming little (tiny, by American standards) flat with modern conveniences, uncluttered and simple yet still cozy and charming. It was a short walk from the train station, tucked between larger apartment complexes and small counter restaurants. Since it only had one room (studio style), it worried us that we couldn't find the bathroom. There really weren't many places it could be! The shower was right off the kitchen area, but the toilet took us longer to find - until we realized it was behind the door we assumed to be a storage closet in the foyer.

That's my husband, posing on the bed that also served as a lounging area.
The kitchen is behind him; the shower is on the other side of the wall to the left.
The entryway (where the toilet is) is behind me, the photographer. It was the perfect amount of space for us!

Complimentary house shoes! (A trend for our whole trip.)

With the hunger that comes after a day of traveling, we set out to find some comfort food: ramen. We knew we found a good spot when we saw the line outside of the restaurant we chose. Besides the facts that orderly queues are a normal occurrence in Japan and this restaurant only has about 15 seats, if people are willing to line up to wait for the food being offered, that's an indication that it's worth it no matter where you are.

In the ramen queue!

We stepped inside to place our order and pay at the machine, holding onto our order ticket until there were seats available. The line moved rather quickly, and eventually we were seated inside at a small table opposite the counter that ran along the inside of the restaurant, separating the cooking area from the dining area. Our bowls of ramen joined us, and off we were, slurping and scooping to our stomachs' content.

On Wednesday, we visited several temples and shrines, explored the Osaka Aquarium (including the Ferris wheel), and walked through Dotonbori (Osaka's downtown nightlife area). We did a ton of walking, which both kept us warm and made us feel better about stopping frequently for snacks.

Sorihashi Bridge at Sumiyoshi Taisha

Five-story pagoda inside Shitennoji Temple

Namba Yasaka Shrine

Kitchen Alley

Kaiyukan - Osaka Aquarium

One of Dotonbori's most iconic views: The Running Man

Our second full day in Osaka was Thanksgiving in the States. Unsurprisingly, Japan does not celebrate Thanksgiving. They do celebrate Labor Thanksgiving Day on November 23rd each year, which just so happened to fall on a Thursday in 2017. Labor Thanksgiving Day in Japan means giving thanks to workers, and while government buildings are closed, most businesses stay open.

In the morning, we headed north of Osaka to see the Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum and for a tour at Asahi Brewery. For the record, noodles and beer are a great way to start any day. Highly recommend.

YES, we made our own personalized cup noodles. Because of course we did.

They gave us each three (3) drink tickets, then apologized since we only had 20 minutes to drink those drinks.

After all the carbs, we took a train back into Osaka and took a leisurely walk through Nakanoshima Park on our way to Osaka Castle. By leisurely, I mean both of us had to use the restroom something fierce (all that free beer)...we ran-walked until we found a public toilet in the park, then stopped to smell the roses, making it to Osaka Castle just as the sun set and they turned the lights on. I can't speak for my husband, but I for one had lots to be grateful for in that moment.

Our final Osaka destination was the Umeda Sky Building, where we got a full 360-degree view of Osaka's skyline at night (plus a rather chilly view of the stars from the Floating Garden). It was the perfect way to say "mata ne" (see you later) as we'd be leaving early the next morning for Nara.

Extra: photos of our first night in Japan!