One of our main excursions everyday on our journey is to figure out what, and where we are going to eat. In Japan, an area known for good, cheap food is Osaka. Osaka is the third most populated city in Japan with 2.5 million people. It takes about 15 minutes by bullet train to get from Kyoto, where we were staying to Osaka, with trains leaving regularly throughout the day.
After a busy morning exploring Kyoto’s Castle we set out for Osaka without any real idea of where we were going. As the train approached I asked a man in front of me if we were on the right platform. He said no and pointed to the opposite track. We began racing for the stairs, when to Kevin’s annoyance, I stopped once again to clarify what track we needed to be on. That’s when we met Agnes.
Agnes, it turned out, spoke English really well. She is originally from Malaysia and has been working in Japan for the last 4 years. Agnes was enjoying her last day of summer vacation, heading home to Osaka after being at a concert in Kyoto. She quickly assured me that we could get to Osaka on the train she was waiting for. She then went on to offer to take us to an area in Osaka where the local people eat. I quickly accepted and we all boarded together.
After about 15 minutes we arrived at the train station and then transferred to the subway line, something I had not planned for. I began to wonder If I would be able to get us back to Kyoto at the end of the night. After about 15 more minutes we got off the subway, and to my surprise Agnes did not just point out the eating area, but began leading us throughout Osaka’s downtown. She jokingly held up a fan leading us as though we were a tour group! We walked through some really busy streets taking photographs and eating street food. After shopping for a while, Agnes brought us to a really neat restaurant that specialized in Okonomiyaki (Japanese pancakes). Okonomiyaki is a pan-fried Japanese dish cooked with various ingredients. Okonomi means “what you like “or “what you want,” and yaki means “grilled “or “cooked”; thus, the name of the dish means “cook what you like, the way you like.” They are not anything like our breakfast pancakes, and are made from seafood, meat, eggs and sometimes noodles. Our meal was cooked on a large frying pan right at our table. The food was awesome! After dinner Agnes led us to an amazing crepe stand where the kids had banana split crepes.
The tour didn’t end there! Instead of going to the subway station we walked to a beautiful mall and boarded a glass elevator. We shot towards the roof, peering through the glistening glass. When the doors opened we stepped out into a beautiful green space, a park above the city! The five of us walked around, spending some time sitting on a bench gazing at the city lights.
Our great day ended with Agnes not only taking us to the subway, but going out of her way by riding the subway all the way to the train station with us. We hugged good-bye, sad that our time together was over, however, happy to have forged new friendships. We have heard from Agnes twice since our day in Osaka by email. Our time together will not be forgotten and I have a funny feeling we will meet again someday.
After a busy morning exploring Kyoto’s Castle we set out for Osaka without any real idea of where we were going. As the train approached I asked a man in front of me if we were on the right platform. He said no and pointed to the opposite track. We began racing for the stairs, when to Kevin’s annoyance, I stopped once again to clarify what track we needed to be on. That’s when we met Agnes.
Agnes, it turned out, spoke English really well. She is originally from Malaysia and has been working in Japan for the last 4 years. Agnes was enjoying her last day of summer vacation, heading home to Osaka after being at a concert in Kyoto. She quickly assured me that we could get to Osaka on the train she was waiting for. She then went on to offer to take us to an area in Osaka where the local people eat. I quickly accepted and we all boarded together.
After about 15 minutes we arrived at the train station and then transferred to the subway line, something I had not planned for. I began to wonder If I would be able to get us back to Kyoto at the end of the night. After about 15 more minutes we got off the subway, and to my surprise Agnes did not just point out the eating area, but began leading us throughout Osaka’s downtown. She jokingly held up a fan leading us as though we were a tour group! We walked through some really busy streets taking photographs and eating street food. After shopping for a while, Agnes brought us to a really neat restaurant that specialized in Okonomiyaki (Japanese pancakes). Okonomiyaki is a pan-fried Japanese dish cooked with various ingredients. Okonomi means “what you like “or “what you want,” and yaki means “grilled “or “cooked”; thus, the name of the dish means “cook what you like, the way you like.” They are not anything like our breakfast pancakes, and are made from seafood, meat, eggs and sometimes noodles. Our meal was cooked on a large frying pan right at our table. The food was awesome! After dinner Agnes led us to an amazing crepe stand where the kids had banana split crepes.
The tour didn’t end there! Instead of going to the subway station we walked to a beautiful mall and boarded a glass elevator. We shot towards the roof, peering through the glistening glass. When the doors opened we stepped out into a beautiful green space, a park above the city! The five of us walked around, spending some time sitting on a bench gazing at the city lights.
Our great day ended with Agnes not only taking us to the subway, but going out of her way by riding the subway all the way to the train station with us. We hugged good-bye, sad that our time together was over, however, happy to have forged new friendships. We have heard from Agnes twice since our day in Osaka by email. Our time together will not be forgotten and I have a funny feeling we will meet again someday.
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