Osaka in the rain, visiting a new bold world: Shinsekai

🎶 I was watching girls go by on bicycles
In Osaka in the rain
Riding with one hand holding umbrellas
In Osaka in the rain 🎶
– Osaka in the rain | Matt the Electrician –

And just with a finger snap… we are in the opposite side of the world! or should I better say thanks to a bullet train ride? *wink*

After having the most traditional experience at Miyajima and still in my Disney bubble due to our snow-white-encounter with all the deers, we arrived to another type of wonderland, Osaka and its massive food signs.

There’s no better place than Osaka when you have hungry bellies, that’s a known fact, and this time we were looking for the original Daruma kushikatsu shop, which brought us to Shinsekai! Want to see what a kushikatsu is?

Shinsekai, which would translate as a new world, is a neighborhood in the south of Osaka easily recognisable thanks to the Tsutenkaku tower that has become a symbol of Osaka itself. This quarter offers a great variety of restaurants and a retro, colorful, bold aesthetic that it’s very appealing.

We had a stubborn companion during all our Shinsekai visit: the rain. It changed a lot, from a few drops to heavy rain. So we decided to shorten our stay and spend most of the time indoors, eating.

Daruma Kushikatsu

website

Daruma kushikatsu is a very popular restaurant chain in Osaka that opened in 1929. Kushikatsu is actually the name of the deep fried skewers, that can be of so many different ingredients. We went for sweet potato, camembert, garlic chicken and beef tongue. The best part of kushikatsu is the sauce, where you can only dip once for the sake of being hygienic. If you want to get more sauce you must use a lettuce leaf (also only once!)

The original Daruma shop it’s also in Shinsekai, but due to the rain, we preferred to go to another bigger one they have in the same neighborhood, which is easier to get a spot. The waiter was super nice (well, doesn’t come as a surprise in Japan, right?) but the truly surprising fact is that he spoke a little Spanish and tried to translate all our choices. It was very funny because when he was trying to translate beef tongue, I mentioned that you can say “vaca” in Spanish, which changed his face totally to red. Later on I realized that phonetically it sounds the same as “baka” in Japanese which means “dumb”, oh no! poor guy, he thought I was telling him he was wrong in a very rude way, talk about language mix-up!

2-chōme-4-5 Ebisuhigashi, Naniwa-ku, Osaka

Daniel got for Xmas very Japan related gifts, this one is so cool, right? It’s a Takoyaki monster, which could be pretty much a good description for Daniel as well, ha! Its from the Brazilian illustration studio called Ilustrata. Available here.

Osaka Okonomiyaki Fukutaro - The cat, you and us

Okonomiyaki Fukutaro

website

There are plenty of places in Osaka to eat Okonomiyaki, in fact last time we went to Houzenji Sanpei, which was very good. However, this time we wanted to try another one and opted for the place with more ravishing reviews: Fukutaro. It is easy to find because there’s always people outside. People are not really waiting in line, there’s a waiting list, so you go there and add your name to the list, when your turn is getting closer, the restaurant host will come with menus and give you some time to select your order, afterwards the host will take note of your order and will leave you outside waiting. Then the magic happens: you will be called, seated and without any more words, the order will be in front of you in a matter of very (very!) few minutes!

We ordered an okonomiyaki and yakisoba, both to share, and they were absolutely wonderful. I love how they add in the end an entire egg on top of the okonomiyaki and then you are able to find chunks which makes your bite even more delicious. I think you can pretty much select any type of okonomiyaki from their menu and it will be a hit.

2-chōme-3-17 Sennichimae, Chūō-ku, Osaka

Osaka, raining or not, we are always ready for your cool madness and your mouth-watering food!

Nieves ADDS...

Modernidad y tradición, una armonía que se reflejan en estas bonitas fotografías.

3rd June 2019

Fee ADDS...

You guys even make the rain work for your photography! There’s something about Osaka that I really enjoy, it’s not quite tokyo, it’s got it’s own thing going on! Love that I get to pretend I’m back in Japan with your posts as well – big thank-you!!

4th June 2019

Mary ADDS...

this area looks like a totally different world!

12th June 2019