November 17, 2023: Osaka Socks It to Ya

 

Osaka is a lot like Vegas: Lotta people, Lotta lights

“The guidebooks aren't wrong; Osaka is not a textbook beautiful city. Not a seamless stretch of civilization, but a patchwork of skyscrapers and smokestacks, Gucci and ghettos, that better approximates life as most of us know it.
With all this in mind, it's not surprising that Osaka is a center of casual food culture. Its two most famous foods, okonomiyaki (a thick, savory pancake stuffed with all manners of flora and fauna) and takoyaki (a golf-ball-sized fritter with a single chewy nugget of octopus deposited at its molten core), are the kind of carb, fatty, belly-padding drinking food that can sustain a city with Osaka's voracious appetite for mischief.”
― Matt Goulding, Rice, Noodle, Fish: Deep Travels Through Japan's Food Culture

     It's our final stop in Japan: Osaka. I think the above quote sums up pretty well what we absorbed about Osaka in our 36 hours there.  It is the "kitchen" of Japan, we were told by a local guide. And it is the mall of Japan boasting a covered arcade of both high and low end shops that is 4 kilometers long without a break. That doesn't account for the "uncovered" side streets along the way with fish markets, tea merchants,  pickle shops and restaurant supply stores.  We skipped the Castle, definitely a more haute culture option and chose instead to wander the streets with a local. 

     Osaka means "large hill" (although I didn't see one on this coastal town) and is the 3rd largest city in Japan. A major financial center of Japan, it is recognized as one of the most multicultural and cosmopolitan Japanese cities. The city is home to the Osaka Exchange as well as the headquarters of multinational corporations such as Panasonic. Osaka is an international center of research and development and is represented by several major universities. And yet, it still looks like Vegas to tourists.

Pokemon at one of the many shopping malls

Long live Pokemon

Superhero central

And let's never forget Godzilla

Not sure what this is but it was BIG. BIG is a theme.

Big bird and American Tourists.

Buddha at Lego store. Malls are chocked full of major brands from all over the globe and apparently, Asians from all over the Far East come to Osaka for shopping weekends. 

This place served octopus. Takoyaki--octopus fritters shaped like a golfball are considered an Osaka specialty.  Big advertising reminds me of ktichy restaurant signage in Wisconsin and Michigan!

Not sure what this one serves but you might have to fight for it. 

Osaka Tower. All three major cities boast a tower.

From a prior Osaka Expo: Far East, Africa, Middle East, Europe. Osaka will host an expo in 2025.

Fun lamp post in Dotomburi

We saw the statue of liberty in Osaka and Tokyo

Bowling pin on the roof. 

     If you are into "Atlas Obscura," you can stay in Osaka for days! One other kind of unusual thing we saw was a string of "maid cafes." These cafes are frequented (mostly) by young men who are into gaming or Anime. Young women (and there are also young men cafes) dress as maids and welcome home their "master" serving coffee and food. They will even kneel down beside the master and stir his cream and sugar into his coffee or in some cafes, feed him (for an additional fee.) There is no sexual contact (in fact, not allowed to touch the maid) and no photographs. In some cafes, maid sing karaoke.

As we walked down the streets of Dotomburi, we saw numerous young women "touts" inviting people into their cafe for maid services. 

     We didn't go into the maid cafes and generally you couldn't see the action as they are mostly second floor and higher, but we did see inside one on the ground floor and it all looked pretty benign.  These appear to be a spinoff of the 'hostess clubs" frequented by the older salarymen crowd where Japanese businessmen gather after work and buy overpriced liquor while good-looking women flirt with them, but aren't sex workers. Prostitution is legal in Japan as well, but is controlled by a totally separate regulatory agency as the entertainment and dining industry. We also ambled past a few houses of "ill repute" in Dotomburi district. 

A cake vending machine in Osaka. They also have an entire vending machine for Sriracha because many Japanese love this sauce and it isn't sold in the grocery store. 

This is a restaurant known for its sake. Sake is often preferred "young," so when new sake comes into the restaurant, they hang out this ball , which is initially green. As it grows brown, the customer knows how long it has been since young sake arrivals.

     Overall, this was very much like going to Vegas for the first time and wandering the streets with an overload of sight and sound stimuli! And in Osaka, smell too, mostly food cooking.  Maybe it wasn't a  "cultural" tour,  in the typical sense of the word, but we certainly learned something. 

     In the evening, we opted for a somewhat less garrish experience and dined at Fukutatei Steakhouse. This little place has only 6 counter seats where you can watch the chef prepare Grade 5 Waygu beef over charcoal. Paul found this place on a list of the Top 10 Steakhouses in the World (according to the Robb Report) and had to jump through a few hoops, but was able to get a reservation. 

Chef Ukai rests this meat no less than three times during his preparation

Appetizer course

The charcoal oven and all the meal prep easily seen from the counter where you sit and get a live Food Network presentation. 

The chef serves a 150gm portion. You can choose from filet, rump or aitchbone or elect to have your 150 grams split from any combination thereof. They do all taste slightly different. 

A mini- hamburger is the amuse bouche. It was pretty danged good. 

     This was an amazing meal and we were the last customers. The chef speaks Japanese, Italian, French and English. We talked to him for a while and he asked how we found him. We told him we read the Robb Report and he was in the top 10 steakhouses in the World. He asked to see the article and when we showed it to him, I swear he started crying. He was so overwhelmed and said, "I experience emotion." Of course, no one cries alone at my house, so we both cried!! We invited him to Knoxville and he says he's coming. I don't know how he'd find the time when it's a one man show at Fukutatei, but maybe he will show up....

Since it was our last official tourist night, Paul wanted to experience another Japanese whiskey (or two) and we ended up at a very tiny kissa nearby that had the desired libation. 

The name of the Bar is Heather Honey. Seats about 12 which is typical of these establishments. By the way, hedgehogs (fake one seen here holding a bottle) are a thing in Japan too. You can dine or have a drink with a cat, hedgehog, pig or even an entire zooful of animals. 

The samples at Heather Honey. Paul can speak more expertly on the nuances of Japanese whiskey. I found my sips to be less peaty and more smooth than Scottish or American versions.  I'm not really much on whiskey though, so maybe Paul can ponder more on this topic...

    So in conclusion regarding Osaka and Japanese vacations: WOW! Something for everyone. You should definitely go ! We will have a  next, short blog after this one with TIPS and TRICKS while visiting Japan for anyone contemplating that. 

“When the sun dips, Osaka’s neon heart illuminates the sky.” – Yoko Ogawa

Paul's Ponderings:   We had a limited time in Osaka, but it was great.   It's quite different than Tokyo and seems a lot more dense and urban even though it is half the size (but still huge by any standard).   The shopping areas and alleys seemed way more crowded and busy than anything we saw in Tokyo; maybe that's an anomaly, but we did go to Shibuya in Tokyo. We did a walkaround with a guide and learned a lot about these backstreet areas. The highlight was the evening meal at an incredible small steak restaurant.   The cities in this country are full of very small restaurants with great food.    

We've tried some Japanese wines -- I was very surprised to see anything beyond sweet wine existed -- and found them to be highly drinkable.   I can't name the producers but the grapes were recognizable.   However, whiskey is a big deal here and it's pretty good.   Obviously foreign whiskey (and more spirits) is available, but whiskey and to some degree gin seems to be what the locals are producing.   The taste ranged from very peaty to a bit more oaky and in between among the ones we tried.   Finally, there are a lot of very small bars -- 12 seats or so -- that are in various basements, buildings, etc, sort of like the small restaurants, although the latter seemed to be more at street level.    

From here onward, we start the slow slog back home, flying back to Tokyo for a night and then onward to the USA.    This has been a spectacular trip and we are looking forward to coming back and seeing more of this amazing country.   

November 11-16, 2023: Kumano Kodo Hiking

 

Our hiking group on the Kumano Kodo trail. Thirteen people: 1 Estonian, 1 Irish, 2 US and the rest UK. Our trip guide was a Hong Kong national living in Tokyo who spent a lot of his life in Vancouver, BC. The local trail guide was Filipina and seen in the bottom right. 

"The path to enlightenment, I discovered, began with a blessing, a wish, and a series of jumping jacks on an unseasonably warm morning in April."  ---Lale Arikoglu regarding the Kumano Kodo Trail.

Our hike was predominantly on the Nakahechi trail and we stayed in Tanabe most of the way and shuttled to trailheads each day. 

     Leaving from Kyoto, it took a bullet train, a regular train, and a very overcrowded bus to reach the rugged stretch of the Kii Peninsula, where the Kumano Kodō unspools across the mountain range like veins on a leaf. We started at the quiet Takijiri-oji shrine that marks the entrance to Kumano’s Nakahechi route. Our guide for the trail, Jennifer (a Filipina turned Japanese citizen) said a prayer for us. Little did we know how much we needed it to get through Day 1! The trail had us winding our way along 10th-century trails, past crumbling and abandoned structures, small stone oji shrines (99 in total along the way, many of which are overgrown)-- all easy to miss when you’re sidestepping bulging tree roots and slippery moss-covered rocks. (Reminiscent of numerous East Tennessee hikes!)  These days, the routes are popular with both local and foreign hikers, but it was once where Japan’s retired emperors and samurai chose to go to repent their sins. The isolated routes are notoriously steep, and pilgrims would walk for months with their entourages to pray at one or all of the three Grand Shrines (the actual goal of the walk), some members dying from exhaustion along the way. We weren't sure at certain points if we wouldn't meet a similar fate. 

Oji are encountered frequently as there are 99 on the way to the temples.

A teahouse on the first day. The walk was so steep (1450 feet over 1.8 miles), we were ecstatic to sit down and get a warm drink. The price was FREE but you could donate if you wanted to. 

Shinkasen, or bullet train, achieves speeds of > 200mph and gets you part of the way to the Kii peninsula.

Panorama photo of the forest trails.  Most of the trees are tall cedar or cypress with a generous smattering of bamboo.  

We were told NOT to take pictures on day 1 because they wanted us to watch our steps on the roots and stones. This was a sneak peek on the rare flat stretches.

A view down into the valley where we started the hike

Paul at the beginning marker for our hike still looking unscathed. The trail technically starts in Kyoto and takes 80 days, but at this point in time, you would be walking through urban Kyoto and most modern pilgrims prefer to start in peaceful Tanabe and hike the Three Great Shrines: Hongu, Hayatama and Nachi. 

 We often walked for long distances without encountering another soul, though Shinto worshippers would disagree: They believe that spirits congregate among the trees in this sacred part of Japan, and small markers punctuate the paths to acknowledge the deaths of fallen pilgrims, like Koban Jizo, who died from fatigue in 1854 with a single gold coin in his mouth—payment for transporting his body back down to the town below. The shrine for Koban Jizo was built by the villagers to let future pilgrims know the village is only 100 meters ahead. 

In 2004, Kumano Kodō was registered as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO as part of "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range." This was the first time in Japan that a road was registered as a World Heritage site, and the second case of a World Heritage site as a whole, following the "Pilgrimage Route of Santiago de Compostela" in Spain which is considered a sister pilgrimage. In fact, you can get a compostela as a Dual Pilgrim. Paul and I qualified but could not find the office to get our certificate. Next time?

I rarely include a hotel owner in a blog, but this guy was so nice and friendly. He ALWAYS looks like this. We slept on tatami mats and futons at this hotel and enjoyed the onsen (mineral hot springs). I needed a hot tub at the end of the day!

Start of the walk, Day 2 to Hongu temple. 

Dinner attire for our hotel. The ladies imitated the Rockettes.

Our Kumano guide, Jennifer. 

The first of the three great temples is Hongu. Hongu, a very small town of less than 4,000 people is located among the mountains in the interior of the Kii peninsula in the middle of network of pilgrimage routes that link the shrines throughout the peninsula.

This steel Torii gate at Hongu can be seen from up on the hilltop before you walk down. It is the largest one in Japan and if you see the people at the bottom of the photo looking like little ants, you get a perspective on size. 

Hongue Shrine 

Main entrance to Hongu Shrine

     For most of its history the shrine-temple complex was located nearby on a sandbank of the river called Oyunohara. In 1889 a severe flood seriously damaged or destroyed much of the shrine and so it was relocated to its present site on the hilltop. A long flight of stairs leads up from below to the main gate. Inside the main compound the shrine buildings are lined up beyond a large area of white gravel. What is noticeable here, compared to the other two Kumano Shrines at Shingu and Nachi where much of the architecture is vermilion, is the dark, almost sombre use of natural dark wood, allowing the shrine to blend in with the forest surrounding it. One symbol you will see around the shrines is a three-legged crow which is also the symbol of the Japanese National Soccer Team. 

Kumano Kodo is a great place to look up as cedars tower above you. Smells great, too!

A typical path with oji nearby

This afternoon we passed numerous tea growing areas. 

Typical entry to a Shinto Shrine. Torii gates guarded by lions. One lion will have the mouth open and the other will have the mouth closed. The open mouth represents scaring away evil,  while the closed mouth represents “keeping in good.” These iconic statues are found all over Japan and they contribute greatly to Japan's culture and history.

There were numerous fruit trees on the route: mandarin, sanboken, tangerines and apparently 80 varieties of citrus. We didn't see ALL of them but did see a bunch. Also there are BEARS and SNAKES on Kumano Kodo and we didn't see any of those either!

Ah, yes. Persimmons. So tasty.

Small flowers along the path. 

Three footed crow. 

     All in all, this was another hard hiking day with some long, rocky/rooty, uphill stretches but there were many flatter areas and just being in the tall forest was very relaxing and gave one a sense of peace without interference from trouble of the outside world.

     The next day was a big treat in our journey to Shingu Shrine: A boat ride along the Kumano River. This is the traditional way that pilgrims travelled to the Shrine over the years and it was sunny day to boot. 

The city's name of Shingu, which literally means new shrine, is recorded in an old historical text from the 12th century. Legend has it that the gods of Kumano first landed on a rock on Mount Kamikura that is in Shingu and made their dwelling there before establishing the three shrines of Kumano. In the time that passed, they decided to move their abode from Mount Kamikura to where Hayatama Taisha is located and built a new shrine there, resulting in the name of the city. As you can see, the colors are livelier here. 

People write their prayers and hopes on wooden cards and the priests burn them at intervals. The belief is that the prayer gets taken up to the heavens in the smoke. 

A diagram of the temple grounds.

We were treated to a flute concert along the river ride. 

The boat on the Kumano River

Paul enjoying his day on the water. 

But first he had to ride in the jump seat over the wheel of the bus!

     This was a beautiful and impressive shrine. After admiring it,  we walked into town afterward to get a lunch and catch the train to the coastal seaside town of Nachikatsuura, the staging point for the hike to the last temple. 

The view out to the bay in Nachikatsuura, a small fishing village where we "overnighted."

Long shadows late in the day

Harbor area. The big catch here is tuna and there is a 5 AM fish market. (Yep, I stayed asleep.)

Train ride. Tired hikers. 

Satisfied customers of the okonomyaki pancake restaurant

The restaurant had traditional low tables. 

The owner's son cooking the pancakes for us. These pancakes are savory, not sweet and predominantly made of cabbage, flour, eggs and aromatic herbs and veggies. You can add meat if you want.  They were yummy.

     We got a good night's rest before setting off to the third and final Great Shrine of the pilgrimage: Nachi. We were stoked because the guide told us it was not much elevation change and we would only be walking about 4 kilometers. We felt that we were ready for a "light hiking" day. Haha. Joke on us! Most of the walk was STAIRS. And not nice stairs either. Slippery, moss-covered uneven rock stairs in a drizzle. My glutes were screaming at the end of it. I kept looking to see if there was an elevator somewhere. But the reward of seeing the shrine, a Buddhist temple, a pagoda and a waterfall essentially all on top of one another made it worth the effort. 

     The veneration of the Kumano shrines as holy sites of Shintoism predates Buddhism's introduction to Japan in the mid 6th century. Once Buddhism arrived in Kumano, it took root quickly, and rather than competing with the indigenous religion for religious authority, it began a long process of harmonious mixing. A product of this congenial relationship can be seen at Nachi Taisha. Directly beside the eminent shrine is the Buddhist temple,  Seigantoji. In fact, for most of their history the buildings were not even under separate control and functioned as one religious institution. The buildings of both the shrine and the temple are impressive, and among the buildings of Seigantoji there is a three-story pagoda. The shrine and temple were separated during the Meijii Period by the emperor and now these structures are no longer built together.  (That doesn't mean, however, that you don't often find them side by side. )

Waterfall close-up. About the size of Fall Creek Falls, for the East Tennessee crowd. This is the tallest waterfall in Japan. 

Paul hanging out with Buddha.

Pagoda with waterfall in the background

The Buddhist temple. Generally, the Shinto and Buddhist use their religious structures interchangeably. This is a rare major shrine associated with a large temple. 

Statue outside the temple. 

The Shinto priests get saki donations from various distillers. The Buddhists don't get alcohol...

Nachi Shrine grounds. Paul admiring them on the far right. 

     

This is a large tree trunk and there is a small altar where you can literally STAND UP STRAIGHT and say a prayer before exiting the back side. There are many trees hundreds of years old (up to 800 in some cases) in these temple sites and the trees are thought to be ancestral spirits and worshipped and protected.

Torii gate of the Nachi Shrine

Stairs, stairs and more stairs. Up, up and up till your butt cramps.

Every time I thought I had ascended the last stair case, another one arose from the forest. 

A deer crossed our path which was nice to see and I was told it was a good omen. 

     This pilgrimage was harder overall in elevation gains and losses than the last 100 miles of the  Camino Santiago, but also more peaceful and in November at least, not really crowded in most spots. I really enjoyed this opportunity and am very grateful that I had the opportunity to walk through these beautiful, quiet forests and reflect on life and all my good fortune. It was a great prelude to Thanksgiving. 

“It’s good to suffer some." Jennifer, our local guide, when someone complained about their feet hurting. (After all, it is a pilgrimage to repent your sins!)

Paul's Ponderings:  Lots of tough walking the last few days, mainly due to the terrain and ascents/descents, which is along rocky/rooty paths and various assemblages of rock posing as stairs with moss or moisture on them.    We all made it and saw some incredible scenery and temples.    The Japanese mountains in the clouds were a high point of the trip.   We've been really lucky on weather, with just a tiny bit of moisture from above while we were out (it seems to rain a lot overnight in the mountains).     This area is the heart of the old pilgrimages and is extremely attractive -- reminiscent of the Appalachians in various ways.    We definitely earned our dinners these days.