Japanese Food Bites: Indulging in the Taste of Summer

Today was our second free day in Kyoto, and Jayden, Val, Kerem, Romi, Jeremy, and I planned to go to Osaka. After some confusion and bobbing around in the train station, we made it onto the 11:09 train to Osaka station. We arrived around noon and immediately headed to our first destination, the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan. The Osaka aquarium is a large sea-creature decorated building located on the Osaka bay, and offers bay cruises on colorful pirate-ship looking vessels. It was the largest aquarium in the world when it was first built, and now is the fourth largest. It features aquatic creatures from around the Pacific Rim, from Antarctica to California to Japan. We joined the sprawling ticket line to secure entrance into the aquarium at 2:00. To kill time and escape from the oppressive heat, we popped into a pancake cafe for lunch. After consuming an aggressive amount of sugar and butter and debating about the correct way to eat pancakes (personally, I think separately is better than stacked!), we finally were able to enter the aquarium. Our main goal was to see the Pacific Ocean tank, the large central tank in the aquarium that features fish, rays, sharks, and most importantly, whale sharks! 

Some other fan favorites were the serene jellyfish room, the deep sea room with the monstrous-looking spider crabs, and the Antarctica room with the adorable smiling baby fur seal.

After finishing up at the aquarium, Jayden and I split off from the group to follow my packed sightseeing schedule. We first stopped at the Namba Yasaka shrine, the home of Namba’s guardian deity. The giant green lion head starkly contrasted with the traditional shrine building beside it. The mouth of the lion is believed to swallow evil spirits and bring good luck to people in business and school matters. As this dialogue comes to an end and our final exams and presentations approach, I will definitely be needing that extra luck!

Next, we headed to the Dotonbori district to see the iconic Dotonbori Glico Man sign! We walked along the river under the seemingly infinite string of lanterns dancing in the wind. The neon signs, bustling open-air restaurants, and gaudy shops decorated with flashy moving figurines gave the area a nostalgic, retro feel. This was a special place, the only place you could be serenaded by a man playing The Merry-Go-Round of Life from Howl’s Moving Castle on the cello on one side of the street, while on the other side, a man in a Spider-Man suit does parkour on the bridge railing.

We finished our night in the Shinsekai neighborhood, the oncoming dusk painting the sky a dark periwinkle blue behind the Tsutenkaku tower. We ate dinner at Janbo-Tsuribune Tsurikichi, an interactive fishing restaurant with a sprawling pirate ship and pond filled with fish, crabs, and oysters that you could catch yourself to cook for dinner! Feeling unsure of our fishing skills, Jayden and I played it safe and settled for fried skewers and octopus-shaped hot dogs. 

While we enjoyed our free day in Osaka, our classmates got up to some fun adventures on their own…

Logan and Professor Ito enjoyed a luxurious spa day complete with a scalp treatment and couples massage.

Professor Young took a trip to his old neighborhood with his family, where they visited a shopping arcade, park, and the Fushimi castle, and he bought a lovely embroidered sunbrella! 

Shirley enjoyed a wonderful multiple-course meal with her family overlooking the skyline of Osaka.

Jo and Daniel visited the mega Don Quijote where they did some mega damage to their wallets.

Kelly had a solo day in Osaka where she did some shopping and saw the neon signs of Dotonboru lighting up the night.

Rachel ventured into the countryside of Kyoto where she scored on some cheap thrift finds and adorable matcha fluffy pancakes!

Even though we didn’t all spend the free day together, sharing the intricate details and fun moments of our personal experiences with each other made it feel just as special!