For some, Tokyo is the main highlight of Japan. For others, Kyoto is not to be missed. Then there are those who wouldn’t dream of visiting Japan without heading to Nagasaki and Hiroshima. But for me? It was always going to be about Osaka.
Osaka has been on my radar for some time now, ever since I heard it was the most food-obsessed city in Japan (as tour operators and guide books love to tell you, the slogan for the city is “eat to ruin” i.e. Osakans would gladly bankrupt themselves in order to eat a great meal). This was all music to my ears.
I had, of course, heard about the Tokyo-esque atmosphere of Dotonburi and had clued myself up on several of the city’s local delicacies before we had arrived, but our first night in the city was actually spent on a food tour in one of the city’s much lesser-known neighbourhoods: Shinsekai.
Shinsekai means “New World”, although there isn’t much new about the faded glory of this neighbourhood which once housed an amusement park in its streets. And that is precisely why it was the perfect place for us to start our Osaka adventure, to ease us in to Japanese culture and the overwhelming parts of the city down by the river.
As I learned on our Arigato Food Tour, there are several unique elements to Shinsekai that you simply can’t experience anywhere else in the city. Firstly, the phenomenon of the Billeken God (a funny little guy who up until that point I had only heard referenced by my St. Louisan husband when referring to a university sports team back home). He graces the front of restaurants, sits at the head of shrines and even comes in cute little cake form (one of the sweet treats we got to taste on our tour, in actual fact).
Then there’s the looming Tsutenkaku Tower which changes colour throughout the night and presides over hungry locals like a neon Eiffel Tower.
But mostly, I learned that, just like throughout the rest of Osaka (and, as I would come to learn, the whole of Japan), there was mouth-watering food to be found in even the most unattractive of eateries.
That night we dined on our first ever takoyaki (melt-in-the-middle octopus balls topped with dried bonito flakes and at least two different sauces), Battera sushi topped with the freshest slices of mackerel I’ve ever tasted and kushikatsu (an array of deep-fried vegetables and meats, accompanied with crunchy cabbage and a dipping sauce).
We rounded out our evening with a refreshing mixed juice served up in a traditional coffee-shop-cum-juice-bar and a game of pachinko – the most addictive arcade game I’ve played since the two penny slots at Blackpool (if you know, you know).
Stepping into Shinsekai was like stepping into a relic of the past – albeit an extremely vibrant and gaudy one. It made me sad to think of what it will become once hordes of tourists inevitably start to visit it, yet at the same time the region has the feel of a place crying out for some attention. One thing’s for sure: go there hungry and you won’t be disappointed.
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