Sakura in Osaka ( Part 5 ) Exploring Kuromon Ichiba Market

Today was our last day in Osaka.. While Corito was browsing the Michelin guide for a " molecular " restaurant in Osaka, the name Fujiya 1935 came out. It is owned and operated by Chef Tetsuya Fujiwara, who opened his restaurant in 2003, after extensive training in Spain and Italy. According to the reviews on the Michelin guide, Chef Tatsuya displays his latest techniques in this restaurant. We were all hoping to experience " fine dining " at Fujiya 1935 - a 3star Michelin restaurant where Chef Tatsuya and his wife  showcases their prowess in fine dining.  I have heard a lot about Chef Tatsuya while watching the food channels like: Masterchef and the Iron Chef. We tried to call for lunch reservations but it was fully booked.  Feeling downhearted we decided to proceed with our plan B -- " visit Kuromon Ichiba market ".

We were pleasantly surprised with our experience at the Kuromon Ichiba Market. Kuromon Ichiba is 15 minutes away from the Namba district ( just one subway stop ), we got off at the Nipponbashi station and the undercovered market was right in front of us. Kuromon Ichiba Market is an enclosed 600 meter market located in the Nippombashi district of Osaka.

The Kuromon market is famous for its wide variety of food stalls where you can spend an hour or two just wandering around. 

Known as "Osaka's Kitchen", this lively retail market specializes in all things food related, like fresh seafood, produce, cookware, and is a great place to find seasonal foods and Osaka specialties, such as Japanese sweets, pickles, dried seafood and sushi.

Some of the shops freely give out samples or sell sample dishes and skewers meant to be eaten then and there. There are small restaurants and food stands selling ready made food. A few stands allow you to eat although other stands consists of no more than a couple of stools and a bar. They usually specialize in one type of food.

Corito did all the purchasing of what we were gong to have for lunch. Luz, the accountant of the group, took tabs on her purchases. We found a couple of food stands that allowed us to sit down and have our meals.

Here are the highlight purchases we had :

OTORO  - or Toro Belly is the fattest part of the fish, the colour is pink and it literally melts in your mouth!

Japanese Kumamoto Oysters -  The meat is plump and succulent. The flavor is clean, rich and briny. The shell is small but has a deep cup that is fluted and sculptured. The best months to eat these oysters are January, February, March, April, September, October, November and December.

Uni or Sea urchin --- Some people describe it as the foie gras of the sea, saying that the texture is smooth and custard like.  I like the taste of sea urchin but I think you must have an acquired taste for this delectable dish. Our uni was very rich, creamy, briny with a slight nutty flavor. It had a slight sweetness that is similar to raw scallops.

Amaebi or sweet shrimps - is praised for its clear and sweet aftertaste unlike the regular raw shrimps. It is best to eat Amaebi with wasabi or grated ginger as the main condiment for sweet shrimp.

The only meat dish we had was the Kobe beef  - The Kobe beef steak is said to be the best among beef steaks. For all the steak lovers, you should try Kobe beef steak in order to savor the distinct taste of this type of steak!!

Kobe beef is well known for its extreme marbling of fat. In fact, the Japanese grading system for the meat focuses solely on the amount of fat in a rib eye. The more the fat, the higher the grade.

I asked them to cook my meat lightly seared on all sides, seasoned only with salt and pepper and then sliced before it was served on my plate. Marvelous! The light searing on all sides ensured a slight crisp that added to the pleasure of chewing as the crisp outer gave way to its succulent pink insides as I devour each piece. I clearly remember the hot juices oozing out when I bit into each slice! The fat tasted like premium butter. 

When you buy a Kobe beef steak, it is like treating yourself like an emperor since this meat is very  expensive – with prices for each cut going at $200 upwards.  Is it worth it?  You have to taste and savor it to know.

Bon Appetiti !!!!!

Sakura in Osaka ( Part 3 ) Underground shopping at Namba

On my recent visit to Osaka a few weeks ago, I discovered a unique characteristic of life in this particular urban center -- Osaka has an extensive system of subterranean shopping malls that seemed to stretch for kilometers beneath major thoroughfares, branching off in every direction imaginable from subway entrances.

There are tons of underground shopping malls in Osaka and this one in Namba is particularly good with a wide selection of clothing, accessories and home decor at cheap and affordable prices.

There were lot more stuff sold for women than for men.  Walking here can take you three hours minimum without stopping. There were so many things to look at and wonder if you should ever buy them.

You can find everything in Namba! We especially loved the bakeries were we found food for breakfast every morning. Some of the store clerks speak broken English, but they were all extremely helpful and  polite.

Namba is like an American Mall complete with department stores, trendy clothing shops, souvenir shops and side aisles of great noodle shops and other restaurants. We spent hours just walking around. The entire Namba complex is like a labyrinth both above and underground.

A trip to Osaka is not complete without a few hours wandering around in Namba.  If it’s raining outside, there’s really no need to worry because you can often get from the train station to your destination without ever seeing the sky. If you are willing explore a little, amazing experiences are waiting just below the surface. There is one thing that Osaka has more of than any other city in Japan -- it’s underground. 

Sayonara !

Sakura in Osaka ( day 1 )

In Japan, cherry blossoms are more than just a mark of a new season. They are a part of the national identity as Mt. Fuji, but to really understand the connection that the Japanese have to these blossoms requires seeing it in person in Japan. Seeing cherry blossom in Japan was my on my bucket list for a long time. Spring is when Japan's famous cherry blossom ( also known as sakura ) trees burst forth into bloom. Depending on the weather, the starting date and length of the blossoms varies year to year.  In most major cities in Japan, like Osaka, the cherry blossom season typically takes place around the end of March and beginning of April. The cherry blossom has a great deal of symbolic significance to the Japanese people, and has historically been an important symbol of nationalism. Although the blossoms are representative of the feminine, on a deeper level they can be seen to stand for the fleeting nature of life.

I’ve wanted to see the cherry blossoms for as long as I can remember, and I have to admit that seeing them in real life exceeded all my expectations. Today was going to be the start of my adventure to Osaka to see them in full bloom not from pictures I see from magazines but in real time. I left on a adventure trip with my cousin and three other women for Osaka. This was our first time to visit Osaka. Although we did not have enough time to see all the sites in Osaka ( we only had 3 full days )-- we had to list down our priorities on what to do when we got to Osaka. 

We arrived in Osaka late afternoon. The weather was chilly and it was a long walk from the terminal to the Nankai train station. Our first step was to find our hotel and work out how to get there from the station. There are two lines that connect the airport to Osaka, the JR Line and the Nankai Line. Individual ticket price from the airport to Osaka for the JR line is 1100yen and the Nankai line ( local  )  is 890yen. This was our first introduction to the Japanese ticket machines. They all have an English button to help you, but it was still bewildering at first. First lesson of the day, never be afraid to talk to total strangers for directions. I realized that most of the Japanese we asked directions from were very helpful to us -- they even accompanied us to where we should ride etc. If you are a bit hesitant to do so - you can approach one of the guards by the turnstile and ask for directions or you can also get help from the Japanese Tourist Information staff who speak a little English and will go to any trouble to make sure you know exactly where you are going. 

The ride was smooth and fast. It took an hour from the airport to the Namba station. With our luggages and hand carry in tow, we had to figure out what exit we should use. As we reached the street level, a Japanese girl seeing that we were lost, approached us and to our surprise -- talked to us in Filipino. We gave her the name of our hotel and she asked a cab driver for directions. We tried to ask the driver to take us in his cab to the hotel but he refused since he told us it was only a 10 minute walk from where we were. It took us more than 20 minutes trying to find the hotel. 

I was pleasantly surprised with how central our hotel, HOTEL MONTEREY GRASMERE OSAKA was, and found it reasonable for the price. After checking in at our hotel, we decided to go and have a quick meal before retiring for the evening. We went down to the subway station ( we discovered one subway entrance which was outside our hotel ). At the end of the escalator was a grocery where we bought our take out food and decided we will start our adventure tomorrow.. So join me as I take you around Japan, with photos of some of the most incredible places I’ve ever been to encourage, inspire and share this amazing place with you all.

Kumbawa everyone!