When my friend Masa found out we were going to be in Osaka at the same time as he was travelling through from Tokyo to Yamaguchi, he reached out and we planned to hang out for a day. Masa lives in Vancouver, and he and I worked together in Whistler when I lived there. How awesome is it that I get to meet up with old BC colleagues in their home country, even though they still live in Canada, and not once but TWICE!? I can’t get over it… Thai, Vietnamese, Hong Kong, Norwegian and French friends, please let’s meet up!!
Masa got up super early for our sake and got on the bullet train ugly early this morning, so when I get all of my people ready, we head out and aim for the subway.
When I asked Masa what kind of food he misses from home when he’s in Vancouver, he said he misses the fish, of course. Because we are meeting early on a Saturday, we head for breakfast at a teishoku restaurant.
On our way from the restaurant to Namba Parks, we walk through Namba Walk and stumble into the Ghibli store. It’s interesting getting the Japanese insight behind the things we see along the way, and here Masa is telling us which movies he watched growing up, which ones of these came first, and which movie this and that unknown-to-us character is from. Imagine if we had had a Japanese guide more often!
We make it all the way down to Namba Parks, to walk the park area on top of the mall. It’s a unique place, and one we have visited often. Masa and I decide to leave the others there, and head to Osaka Castle for a bit. Even though Joe, the girls and I have been outside the castle twice, we haven’t actually been inside. I have pictures from last time, but would love to see it again, so Masa and I head for the subway.
There are people EVERYWHERE. We purchase tickets online, so we skip the ticket booth line up, which is much longer. The entrance line is fairly short if you already have a ticket. When we enter the castle, we are given the option of stairs all the way up, or elevator to the 5th floor and walk up from there. We pick the elevator, and head up to the views from the 8th floor first. The stairs are cramped. I cannot imagine Maylin being comfortable in this crowd, so I’m glad they are not here.
Each floor has so many stories, some are plaques of writing and paintings only, others have armours and scrolls. Some allow pictures, others don’t. We make our way down while Masa tells me the story of the Osaka Castle and its creator, and he briefly shares his knowledge of the broader history of Japan, of Osaka, Kyoto, Tokyo and the current political climate.
At the base of the castle gates, there are food vendors. The smoke from the grills scream at us to come buy something, and Masa gets some yakisoba to share. The pan fried noodles are excellent. We then decide to try the “mochi mochi potatoes”, which are literally mashed potatoes, fried in French fry shapes. Not wonderful, but still fried potatoes. Lastly we try mitarashi dango, this time the mochi portion is flat and round, and the soy and sake glaze is a magical little pocket inside the mochi.
At this point, we head towards Umeda to meet the others and go for some omurice. Joe and the girls subway up from Namba, and together we head back to Craft Cheese Market where we had the fantastic omurice in September. I once again order the truffle omurice, Joe and Masa both get the hamburg and demi-glace versions, and the girls split a cheesy lava meat pasta concoction with the craziest cheese pull. But of course, no photos, because as soon as my truffle omurice hit the table, I was lost to the meal…
After dinner, it’s time for Masa to head to Shin-Osaka for his onward journey. We thank Masa for spending the day with us, for bringing the girls a special treat, for telling us all his stories, and for stopping in Osaka on his way home to see his family. He even brought me a restock of some of my Norwex products, all the way from Canada!!
By 8pm, we’re home and relaxing into the evening, Masa is in Yamaguchi with his parents, and we are planning our Sunday. Departure on Friday is getting real, and it is freaking me all the way out. HOW do I only have five full days left? HOW can I eat all the things I want to eat before we leave? And HOW can I lead the girls in being excited for Thailand, when I myself want to pout about leaving Japan? There is no other option, I have to keep smiling, and I have to keep swimming. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming… If you don’t know which blue fish sings that song, we may not be watching the same type of movies!
What a treat to have a day with a friend, and one who speaks Japanese.
Right? Truly, we are so lucky!