10 November 2023
Damp rissoles
Osaka Namba shopping area
Osaka is a real city. It is full of tourists. My hotel is right in the middle of the peak tourist area so what did I expect? Also I am one of the tourists, hence the risk of being physically assaulted is real and ever present.
Tonight was mildly damp, never raining enough to stop me walking in the street, but if I was concerned about getting wet, I could go under the covered shopping streets with the approximately 3 million people (I counted) who were doing that.
I took the expected course, right up Shinsaibashi over Dotonbori. I just learnt that Dotonbori is named after a person and is actually a fake river/canal. Doton Yasui had it excavated in 1612 to bring people to his Kabuki theatre. So there you go.
This is literally, the front door of my hotel. That is Takashimaya on the right. I do not know how I got such a good location for so cheap.
Illuminations have arrived. Maybe they are in the trees here year round? I do not think they are.
The covered shopping streets start across the road, and go for many many miles.
A little bit of light drizzle made this area slightly less busy when I wanted to take a photo, which was good.
Because as you can see, under the roof it is jam packed full of sneezing and coughing people who have a 7th sense that detects moisture in the air and causes them to immediately commence de-lunging.
The spot. The actual Glico man was a Filipino athlete, used to advertise candy. The best know is of course, pocky, the chocolate covered sticks.
Walk undercover long enough and the crowds thin out. The stores start to feature wigs, clogs and shopping carts. Some of them were closing at 6pm on a Friday. This is not the case within a kilometre radius of Glico man, but if you stay the course you get to the sad end of the long shopping tunnel.
The illuminations on the parallel street go for about the same distance. Each section has it's own colour combo, no doubt with a very deep meaning.
Rissoles for dinner, or as Japan calls them, hamburg. This is what you have instead of a steak in Japan. An actual steak is a cube of marbled steak from an immaculately conceived cow that costs probably $500, other than that 'hamburg steak' it is. This place is a little more grown up than my normal dinner choices, Japanese only menu, and the meal came with a drink included, it took a lot of convincing to get a coke, which I did not even want, instead of a red wine. It was actually a backup choice, I had chosen a hamburg steak location with plastic seats and trays but when I asked for a table for one they turned me away.
And since on my way back the boat was going past, here is one more of Dotonbori.
Tomorrow is a hybrid hike / deer visit day.