We arrived in Osaka last night, but not without a bit of drama! Turns out our flight from Seattle to Seoul left 40 minutes late. It should not have been an issue except that we also encountered head winds which increased the flight time an additional 30 minutes. As a result we landed in Seoul at 7:08PM local time and our connecting flight was scheduled to leave at 7:20! I was already figuring we would have to spend the night in Seoul. Thank goodness Asiana handled the problem nicely. As we exited the Seattle flight there were several Asiana people holding hand written large signs with passenger names for several connecting flights that were being impacted. They gathered us (about 12 headed to Osaka) and escorted us through the mandatory secondary security check (which I never understood as we have not left the secure area) and over to our waiting flight which had waited for us. Kudos to Asiana! Somehow I feel no US airline would have been so accommodating. We left 40 minutes later than the scheduled departure. And the best part was our luggage made the transfer and was waiting for us once we cleared immigration in Osaka, Japan. Our personal driver (one of the perks of the tour) was waiting to take us to our hotel in his BMW 7 series sedan, so we felt special! I sighed a big sigh of relief even though we were ultimately about an hour late from the original schedule. It was midnight (local time ) by the time we were in our room, ready for a good night’s sleep.
We are flying on Asiana Airlines, owned by South Korea, and a partner of United airlines.
The flight path from Seattle to Incheon, South Korea.
The length of the trip.
Choice of “lunch” was either western or Japanese menu. We both chose the western menu.
The Japanese menu. Although we both like bibambap we were leary of what this dish might entail.
The smoked salmon appetizer.
My tenderloin was surprisingly large and tasty.
The fruit served on board was excellent.
Part of the “snack” served prior to landing.
We had to dodge this floor cleaning robot at the Osaka immigration.
I was impressed with the “mood” lighting in our BMW series 7 limo.
Our room at the Imperial Hotel Osaka.
Could not resist using the kimono provided to the hotel guests! I may have to buy one before I leave Japan.
The view from our room. The cherry blossoms across the river were not as pink as I had expected. I later learned people favor these lighter colored varieties.
I was impressed with room amenities- heated Toto toilet, a door bell and delivered paper each morning.
The hotel goes out of its way to accommodate people in wheelchairs chairs including locating the floor buttons on another more accessible panel.
The Imperial Hotel-Osaka where we will be starting the tour from.
Looking down at one of several resturants in the hotel.
Yes, this orchid is real!
Each of the elevators had these ornate ceilings.
Fresh roses were in each elevator.
The main bouquet in the lobby is composed of real cherry blossoms, currently in bloom in the country.
Some of the sweets offered at breakfast. These donuts were excellent, as was the entire buffet.
Once settled in a new country we go to our trusted sources (Viator, Tours by Locals, TripAdvisor, Get a Guide) to find local tours to introduce us to the history and culture of places we are visiting. As I mentioned we often choose walking food tours. Another popular tour is the hop-on, hop-off bus tour, as the narrated overview of a city is one we enjoy. Because the food of Japan is fairly unique we selected to take the food walking tour here in Osaka :
We took a cab to meet our tour guide as we did not want to risk trying to figure out how to use the extensive subway system that exists in Osaka. Supposedly cabs are expensive but we found it was only around $20 to take the 15 minute ride to the location where the food tour began. Once we found our tour guide we quickly learned that we were the only 4 on the tour today, so we had a private, personalized tour.
We are embarking on a food tasting tour in Osaka.
Cartoon characters are everywhere.
This is one of many crazy flavored snacks that are extremely popular with the kids. I tried a more realistic flavor (cheese) which tasted like cheetos and Yvonne tried the corn soup which did surprisingly taste very corn like.
Visiting another snack food store. They are huge and very popular.
This gentlemen is credited with starting the famous “cup of noodles”.
Another snack store filled with product extensions (clothes, toys, etc) from their basic product line of a snack food.
Kushikatsu are deep fried food products.
Our food tour guide, Michi, modeling with a kushikatsu.
Various kushikatsu offerings.
Tuna and squash Kushikatsu.
Deep fried ice cream.
They taste better with beer!
A good luck Buddha. Rubbing his toes supposedly brings good luck.
Yvonne rubbing Buddha’s toes for good luck!
Pictures of before and after WWII bombing in Osaka.
This tower was supposed to mimic the Eiffel tower, but as you can see it did not hit the mark!
Our sample of takoyaki. We were not overly fond of them as they were gummy and had a fishy taste.
This restaurant serves pufferfish which can kill you if not prepared properly. We passed….
Knives of every different size and shape for sale in this knife store.
In the basement of a large department store are dozens of booths selling freshly made food products of every conceivable type. There are no places to sit and eat ; it is strictly take out. The place was impressive!
Freshly packaged sushi boxes for sale.
The different offerings of takoyaki.
Prepackaged bento boxes.
A sushi variety pack. 1100 yen is $7.49.
Even with computers people still go to these arcades. 100 yen buys you about 5 minutes of play time-expensive!
We are now wandering around the Dotonbori neighborhood of Osaka. It is their famous nightlife area with restaurants and bars everywhere!
It is strawberry season and they are delicious, not like those we get in USA. Here we tried a fresh strawberry wrapped in bean paste and mochi. I could have eaten several more!
Salads of every conceivable combination.
Perhaps the most popular street food is takoyaki, a fried dough filled with a small piece of octopus.
Supposedly everyone does this. This is the marketing symbol for a snack company.
Sandwiches ready to go.
One of the original stone streets of Osaka.
Our first experience riding on a Japanese subway! Once we saw how to do it, it seemed pretty straightforward.
These looked good!
The process of making a knife blade. It often takes a month to convert a hunk of steel to the finished product.
Sake is the drink of choice in Japan. They drink it warm in the winter.
Covered pedestrian street malls are very common. It is a great idea in my opinion. We wish we had them in USA.
We met our fellow travelers and tour leader later that evening for a traditional Japanese dinner at the hotel. There are 24 people on the tour- mostly Americans but 5 people from Australia, a lady from the UK, and a Canadian gentleman. One of the ladies was a former tennis pro who once beat Billie Jean King. Our tour “concierge (i.e. leader)” is Noriko Mizusawa, a lady who was born in Tokyo.
Old school (dark wood, low lighting) bar in the hotel. The manhattans were pricey but good.
The menu for group dinner at hotel.
The drink menu offered with the meal.
I ordered the cold saki. Locals told me they drink warm saki in the winter.
Tempura shrimp and vegetables.
Salad with a good dressing.
Excellent tender beef. We only wished there was more of it!
I am not a sushi fan so I skipped most of this dish.
Tomorrow we have will have tour of the Osaka city highlights.
