Osaka / Nara (Japan)

Osaka: 

If you are looking for food, fun, and non-stop action, then Osaka is absolutely for you.  Seriously, who needs historical cultural attractions when you have this level of street action and world-class street food on tap?  During our entire time in the city, Barbie and I basically did nothing but snack our way through the streets.

I like to think of Osaka as a bite-sized sample of Tokyo.  It’s way more manageable to navigate, but if I’m being completely honest, it’s also a bit on the cheesy side and lacks some of that high-end class you find in Tokyo.

Navigating the Action

When you’re planning a visit to Osaka, there are really only two main districts to consider staying in:

1. The Umeda Station District: Up north, right in the vicinity of the massive JR Osaka Station.
2. The Namba Station District: Down south, right in the thick of the Dotonbori canal and the Shinsaibashi Shopping Arcade.

If you are motivated by your stomach like I am, you’ll do the smart thing and base yourself near Namba Station.  It puts you steps away from the Dotonbori foodie mecca and the daytime Kuromon Market.

We clocked serious miles walking the bustling streets of Dotonbori and along the iconic neon-soaked canal.  The area absolutely explodes with life at night when the massive billboards and digital displays light up the water.  Right off the canal, you’ll find the Shinsaibashi Shopping Arcade—a long, action-packed stretch of street fashion and bargain-basement shopping that’s great for people-watching.

For the food side of things, a daytime trip to Kuromon Market is a mandatory prerequisite.  If it’s fresh seafood, street snacks, or top-tier market sushi you’re hunting down, this place delivers the goods.  We are talking about some serious, melt-in-your-mouth sushi available at every turn.

From ‘Wake and Bake’ to ‘Wake and Steak’

The food options in Japan’s three big cities—Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka—are simply mind-blowing. Back when Barbie and I were exploring Amsterdam, our general theme to begin the day was “wake and bake.”  Once we landed in Japan, that was officially replaced with “wake and steak.”

Outside of their mastery of sushi, tempura, ramen, and yakitori, the Japanese have an absolute love affair with premium beef.  The local Wagyu and Kobe beef are mouth-watering and completely off the charts.  We found ourselves wanting steak just about every single morning.  Being the savvy flashpackers we are, we eventually figured out a premier life hack: we just bought raw Wagyu steaks directly from the local neighborhood supermarkets and Barbie grilled them up herself in our Airbnb kitchen.  Absolute perfection for a fraction of the restaurant price.

Mastering the Basics

They also do rice incredibly well here.  Obviously, Asians love their rice, but of all the countries we have visited across the globe, the rice is best in Japan.  It has the absolute perfect consistency of stickiness combined with moisture.

The Japanese are also masters at grilling all sorts of yakitori (some completely unidentifiable) on a skewer, seasoning the meat to absolute perfection over hot charcoal.  I’ve come to realize that cooks worldwide haven’t really put all their brain cells into the preparation of meat-on-a-stick the way they do out here.

The Street Food Etiquette

It doesn’t matter what narrow alleyway you turn down in Osaka, you will always see unique, creative hand-held foods being served up.  But there is a bizarre catch to all this tasty takeaway street food.

Because Japan is such a polite, structured society, it is considered incredibly rude to throw down your snacks on a street corner or eat while you are actively walking.

Even if you have the balls to break protocol and eat or drink on the move, you will quickly realize there is literally not a single garbage can to be found on any public street.  It completely baffled my mind how every single square inch of Japan is spotlessly clean, yet there isn’t a trash pail in sight. That means if you grab a cold drink from one of the trillion vending machines lining the sidewalks, you will be carrying that empty bottle around in your hand for the rest of your natural life.

Now, I happily follow about 99% of the cultural etiquette rules when we travel.  But the “no eating and drinking while walking” rule?  Look, the Dude simply could not abide.

A few times, I would wander away from a food stall with my hot Japanese snack in hand and my mouth fully loaded, despite the side-eyes.  I did feel a minor pang of flashpacker shame, but hey, I was never sent to the penalty box.

The Convenience Store Fried Chicken Discovery

In America, you would rightfully scoff at purchasing any sort of cooked food item from a 7-Eleven.  A Slurpee?  Sure.  But you’d have to be completely drunk or stoned off your tree at 2:00 AM to even consider pulling the trigger on one of those mystery hot dogs sweating on the rotating grills.

In Japan, it’s a total paradigm shift.  The ubiquitous 7-Eleven and Family Mart chains serve up real, high-quality food and incredible snacks—all without the looming risk of contracting Hepatitis A.

Before we arrived, I told Barbie I’d read online that the Family Mart convenience stores sell fried chicken patties (Famichiki) that travelers absolutely rave about.  Being the self-respecting food connoisseur that she is, she openly laughed at Big Doug for our first two weeks in the country.

Then one day, we were out exploring, hungry as hell, with zero other food options in sight.  She finally succumbed to the hunger and purchased a piece of the counter fried chicken.  After the very first bite, a wide, deeply satisfied smile appeared on her face, followed by her official proclamation: “This shit is good.”

So, take it from me: next time you find yourself in Japan with a hungry lady and only a Family Mart in sight, just bite the bullet, buy the chicken patty, and thank me later.

The Osaka Street Food Checklist

When in Osaka, make sure you keep an eye out for these local staples:

• Takoyaki: The famous battered, fried octopus balls topped with savory sauce and bonito flakes.
• Okonomiyaki: Savory, cabbage-packed seafood pancakes grilled right in front of you.
• Tonkatsu: Perfectly breaded, deep-fried pork cutlets.
• Kushiage: Deep-fried, golden skewers of meats and seasonal vegetables.
• Unagi: Rich, smoky grilled eel slathered in sweet soy sauce.

Nara: 

For a quick change of scenery, we used our JR Rail passes and took a 45-minute day trip east to the ancient town of Nara.  Nara is world-renowned for its historic temples and the hundreds of free-roaming deer that wander the grounds.

While most people make the trek for the ancient wooden architecture, my animal-loving travel partner Barbie was on a strict mission to hang out and play with the deer.

Unfortunately, we had to cut our time in Nara short.  A massive typhoon warning that we originally thought we had successfully skirted was suddenly tracking right back into our path.  As the saying goes: ain’t nobody got time for no typhoon.  We had to move fast, so we made a direct beeline straight through town to the main park where the deer congregate.

Usually, wild deer want absolutely nothing to do with humans and will sprint into the woods the second a human cretin walks near them.  In Nara, it’s the exact opposite.  They are everywhere—loitering on the sidewalks, hanging out by the temples, and harassing tourists for “deer biscuits.”

You can purchase a pack of five big crackers from a local street vendor.  I noticed the local “deer biscuit guy” seemingly has a total hammerlock on the entire cracker industry in Nara.  There wasn’t a single piece of competition in sight; the dude runs a flawless local monopoly.

Barbie Hits the Panic Button

I knew this environment would be absolute heaven for Barbie since she loves nothing more than feeding animals (a category that usually includes me).  But Barbie was in for a rude awakening.

Fully expecting tame, Disney-style deer, she proudly pulled out her crackers.  The second she showed the biscuits, the local herd came sprinting from all directions, completely overwhelming poor little Barbie.  Animal-loving Barbie instantly realized she couldn’t handle the heat these deer were throwing her way and completely panicked.

Admittedly, the Nara deer can be pretty uncouth when they want a snack.  But you have to give them credit for one thing: at least the deer out here have the decency to bow to you before they bite you in the ass and steal your entire pile of biscuits.

Thru the Binocs

Just a random observation…….Have I mentioned yet just how incredible the Japanese are at vacuum-packing and shrink-wrapping absolutely everything?  It’s a work of art.