Eat Beef That Is Better Cared For Than You Are

OSAKA

The first thing that stood out to me was how different the people in Osaka looked from those in Kyoto and Tokyo. They had more distinctive features and were more unique even amongst themselves. They also queue up on the right side of the escalator instead of the left.

It seems as if the further you get from Tokyo, the more relaxed the people are. Relaxed about walking and smoking. Relaxed about street cleanliness. Relaxed about jay-walking. Although Osaka is only a short 15-minute jog on the shinkansen, it is quite different from Kyoto.

We arrived at 1pm and they didn’t allow early check-in. Fortunately, they did have luggage lockers where we could leave our bags. Good. I didn’t want to drag those around Osaka while we killed time. We thought we might have a spot of lunch and found an Indian restaurant that looked good. Unfortunately, they only do butter chicken on the dinner menu. We told them we would be back later.

There is a chain of gyoza “restaurants” called 551 Horai. For $11.60, we helped ourselves to 12 shrimp shumai, 10 gyoza, and a small tub of sweet and sour pork meatballs. The dumplings and pot stickers were great. The meatballs… not so much. They weren’t firm enough and the sauce was thick and cloyingly sweet. But the other tidbits were enough to hold us over while we waited to be able to check in. Which wouldn’t be until 3pm.

In the meantime, we chanced upon ANOTHER Round 1 arcade. Spencer loaded up on tokens and we kind of lost track of time and didn’t end up checking in to the hotel until after 4pm. Not like we had anything else planned…

Il Cuore Hotel was the largest room we had yet to stay in. It contained a large desk as well as a comfy chair and small coffee table. This one lived up to its 4-star rating. Really happy to be in a hotel room bigger than a shoe-box. Besides the size of the room, the hotel also had a coin-op laundry. Desperately needed to get our washing done. Socks should not be worn more than two days in a row.

Although we probably didn’t originally intend to go back to the Indian restaurant for dinner, it was just around the corner from our hotel and sounded like a really good idea. And it was. Chandaray was 10 times better than Kerala. The atmosphere was cozy and charming. The staff very friendly and attentive. And the butter chicken was delicious. And they had cheese-stuffed nan. Bonus!

Spencer had an awful lot of tokens left. Obviously, we had to go back to the arcade and close it down. Again. This was probably about the third time we had stayed at one of the arcades until they closed. Vacation!

We only planned to be in Osaka for three days, so the second day was earmarked for the aquarium. Outside in Tempozan Harbor Village is a giant Ferris wheel that goes to 106 meters at its highest point. The Japanese seem to really love Ferris wheels. We had seen them in many towns and cities when we rode the trains. We hadn’t taken the time to ride any of the other wheels, but this one is situated on Osaka Harbor and you get great 360 degree views.

Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan has a whale shark, which is its biggest attraction. When we were originally planning this trip to Japan, Spencer had wanted to fly to Okinawa and go to the Churaumi Aquarium, as they house quite a few whale sharks. After review of costs and time, he decided he would settle for Kaiyukan. Which I was happy with because I wasn’t planning to spend all that money to go to an aquarium on an island that is closer to Taiwan than it is to Honshu.

I wasn’t able to get particularly good photos in the aquarium. The Plexiglas gave off strange reflections and was smudged. However, video turned out fairly well and I was able to film otters and dolphins, which were the animals that I was there for.

I am glad we went because Spencer got to see his whale shark (an animal he hopes to dive with some day) and I got to see otters. However, I didn’t leave feeling particularly good about the aquarium itself. I love animals, but I am not one of those people who go around protesting zoos and aquariums pleading for the freedom of the animals. I enjoy having a place to go where I can see wildlife that I might not otherwise ever get a chance to lay eyes on. But each tank we went to left me with a bit of a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. While the aquarium was large and the animals seemed generally well-cared for, I thought most of the habitats were too small for the creatures they contained. Particularly those of the dolphins, seals, penguins, and the big tank with the whale shark. I still feel a little sad when I think about it.

After we had our fill of ocean life, we went to the Tempozan Harbor Village and did a spot of shopping. Not having eaten much that day, we acquired some noodles. Spencer’s weren’t what he was hoping for and mine weren’t what I had ordered. Bust. On the upside, there was a place selling taiyaki and we both had a delicious, custard-filled treat. Since it was late in the afternoon and we planned on having Matsusaka beef that evening, we really just wanted something to tide us over anyhow.

I got to do a bit more gift shopping and also made a purchase for myself (gasp!). They have these high quality stickers here called makie. Mostly, people use them to decorate their phones and other hard plastic surfaces. They are a raised sticker and are created with paint. When you apply them, you actually rub your nail across the top surface to make sure all the parts of the appliqué are firmly attached before you peel back the upper plastic. I wanted to purchase lots of them because it was so difficult to choose, but at 500-700 yen each ($5-$7) that wasn’t going to happen. And the only thing I really had to decorate was my new 1.5 TB external hard drive (which Spencer had purposely purchased in white with these stickers in mind). My phone is junk and not worth wasting expensive stickers on.

By the time we ventured out again that evening for our pricey beef, it had started to rain. At first it wasn’t so bad, mostly a light dripping rain. And it never turned in to anything torrential. But, it did remain steady and get a little harder and my feet were soaked by the end of the evening. When we finally located Matsusakagyu Yakiniku tucked in to a niche off a narrow alley, we had to put our names down as there was an hour wait. Bet you can guess what we did to fill the time… That’s right. The arcade. Fortunately, these places don’t exist in Thailand.

The main course–photo by Spencer

For those who are not in-the-know about Matsusaka, it is wagyū beef, in the top three with Kobe and Ōmi. These cows are fed beer to stimulate their appetites and given full-body massages for good circulation. Pampered beef. Any restaurant that serves this bovine has a pedigree chart for the particular cow that is on the menu. It contains not only the basic background about the animal, but also its maternal and paternal lineage back three generations. And a nose-print.

And it certainly lives up to its reputation.

At Matsusakagyu Yakiniku (or “M”), you cook everything at your table in private booths with sliding screens. Each table has a little button you can push if you need someone for something. I think this is a brilliant idea and one that should be implemented everywhere. It prevents your meal from being unduly interrupted and servers don’t have to constantly make unnecessary rounds.

Beef sushi–photo by Spencer

We ordered the set menu which included beef sushi (amazing) and some lovely onion covered strips of beef (I don’t recall the cut). For the main course, we had rosu (loin), big sirloin, maboroshi no misuji, and kyukyoku no sankakubara (rib meat). The loin was my particular favorite but every piece of delectable meat was juicy and melty and sweet and fatty and aromatic and could be cut with chopsticks. That’s how tender it was. I have never had more incredible beef in my entire life and I doubt I will ever have any that tops this. Unless I return to Japan and have more Matsusaka beef.

Before this meal, we had contemplated going to Kobe for lunch to have Kobe beef. After this meal, we decided it was not necessary.

We went back to the arcade after dinner, but Spencer was actually starting to get bored with the games and we thought we might like some shisha. Hadn’t had any since Zam Zam in Kyoto. It was still raining and we didn’t really know our way around Osaka other than the main shopping area. After looking up a restaurant that claimed to serve shisha, we tried to find it. We took a cab to the basic area where it was supposed to be. The cab driver wasn’t even sure (after reading the map and address in Japanese) where to go. We huddled under the overhang of a shop front after getting out of the cab to try and find it on our own. We must have looked ridiculously lost. Cold, rainy night. Standing under shelter. Faces illuminated by the glow of the tablet as we tried to orient ourselves and navigate the streets of Osaka. A young lady walked past us and then stopped and turned around and asked if she could help. We showed her where we were trying to get to. She tried to locate it via the GPS on her phone, also. Then she stopped another passerby who also tried to help us. By this time it was after midnight and I was pretty sure that, regardless if we found this place or not, it was going to be closed. Sure enough. The man who stopped (Shun) called the restaurant and then said it was closed. Spencer asked if either of these two good Samaritans could recommend and direct us to a bar. They shared their umbrellas and walked with us for about 15 minutes to a much busier section of town. They deposited us at Zerro Bar. Shun actually came back to get our Facebook information and add us as friends. We offered to buy him a drink but he declined. He left again after we had thanked him profusely. I had heard tales of how helpful the Japanese were, sometimes walking out of their way to escort you to your destination. This was a prime example.

We stayed for a couple of drinks, but I was tired and my feet were wet and I admit that I was starting to get a bit grumpy. Spencer went outside to try and catch a cab for us, but the drivers weren’t picking up on the street where we were. They probably didn’t want to deal with drunk, obnoxious tourists. We walked for a ways and found a place that sold umbrellas. After purchasing two of them (at $2 each), we set out again in search of transportation. The first gentleman we stopped didn’t know the hotel and almost refused us service, but we asked him to just take us to Namba station (it was clearly visible from that area and we would be able to point it out). And we caught this cab only a couple minutes after buying umbrellas…

The last day we did next to nothing. After hiding out in the hotel all day, writing and working on photos, we went out to get some food and use up the rest of the tokens that Spencer had in his bank at the arcade. I was starting to get in a bit of a panic because I hadn’t finished shopping for people back home and we only had a few more days in Japan. I knew I should have done everything while I was in Kyoto! We walked Shin Saibashi-suji, which is a shopping arcade 600 meters long. Figured I should be able to find what I was looking for there. Nope. Figured wrong.