Beautiful times in Osaka

After a second coffee it was time to meet my next host. I was hoping for another great experience and my hopes were certainly fulfilled, even exceeding expectations.

Toshi picked me up from the station and made immediately a friendly impression. He brought me to his house, the cutest house I have ever seen. He is living there with his family and at first I met his mother, who was so fantastic and trying hard to understand me. Toshi helped us to translate and I felt very welcome.

I dropped off my belongings and together we went for some dinner. This time I had the famous Okonomiyaki and it was delicious and I couldn’t get enough of it. I certainly will learn how to make them! We then headed home and we got some traditional dessert, pressed sticky rice with red beans. Until it was bed time we tried to teach each other Japanese/English/German and enjoyed a great mishmash conversation.

Pancakes for breakfast

Welcome Tea

 

Okonomiyaki

The next morning I got up after a good night sleep and got greeted by a nice breakfast. This family seriously is awesome!

Toshi and I then got ready for a long day of sightseeing.

We first stopped by the Osaka Castle (大阪城) which is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Japan. Kyōbashi (京橋) is northeast of Osaka Castle, home to Osaka Business Park (OBP).

Next on the list was Tsūtenkaku where we stopped as well for some lunch

Yeah the look couldn't be bigger

Fried ice cream on a stick

Kushikatsu (串かつ), skewers with various sorts of food (meat, vegetables, cheese, etc.) deep-fried in dough and served with a black sauce.

We moved onto the Sumiyoshi Shrine

In between we visited as well some Manga and Anime stores, they are huge and have thousands of mangas and toys, a paradise for children and adults alike.

We then visited the Umeda Sky Building and the German Christmas market which was set up just in front of it. I thought that it was very very expensive.

Vanilla Pudding and chocolate chips in something similar to a bun

All in all it was a very great day and I didn’t have to do anything because Toshi guided me through all those places. He is a person that makes this world a better place and I hope I will see him again in the future when he starts his own travels.

In the evening his mom cooked us some great dinner. I wish I could have stayed a bit longer and enjoyed the company of this great family, but my next destination Nagoya was calling and I got ready the very next day. 

Fish sausage

 

Toshi certainly made my stay more enjoyable and I can't thank him enough. If you are interested in more details about Osaka, I can recommend http://wikitravel.org/en/Osaka, full of information :)

Happy travels all and read you soon again.