Japan Adventures: Osaka Blossoms and Eats

When last we left off, I was paying my respects at the Hiroshima Peace Park and gawking at the glowing torii gate on an after-dark boat trip on Miyajima Island.  Indeed, a most memorable 24 hours in western Japan.  But then it was time to hop back on a bullet train and return to Kyoto for one final night there, before heading back to Tokyo for my final days in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Zoom, zoom, zoom

Ah but given my penchant for keeping things loose when I travel, as my train whizzed towards Kyoto, we necessarily stopped in Osaka along the way, and I abruptly opted to get off and explore Japan’s second largest city for the day.  Known as “Japan’s Kitchen” (i.e. chock full of especially diverse eats), clearly this avowed foodie couldn’t pass up a chance to sample the local fare.

Plus – I suddenly remembered that the Osaka Mint (i.e. where they make the Japanese currency) is also famous for its annual “Sakura-no-Toorinuke” (translated: “tunnel of cherry blossom trees”) festival.  Furthermore, while I’d missed the window for the cherry blossoms in Tokyo (sadly, the 2018 season had peaked early this year – nearly 2 weeks before I arrived), the Osaka sakura festival was scheduled precisely for the week (April 11-17) that I stepped off that bullet train.

The Adventure Begins…

Trouble was… as my phone battery was dead (note to Self: never embark on a 9,000 mile journey with a phone battery that’s on its last leg), I had no.clue.whatsoever. where the Osaka Mint was, nor how I might manage to get there amid a metropolitan area of nearly NINETEEN MILLION people.  Oh, and did I mention, not knowing but a dozen Japanese words – none of which included “mint”?  Still… as usual, I simply wandered around the train station, mumbling “sakura?” to anyone who might listen, until…

My three Osaka “angels” – who needs language when you have smiles?

A Japanese lad that spoke English magnanimously opted to interrupt his entire day to personally lead me through no fewer than 3 different train/station changes en route to the Osaka Mint (btw, I later learned he’d been on his way to the dentist, so maybe that explains his eagerness to blow off his appointment to help me. 😄)  And even better – at the third station, we bumped into three ladies who were headed directly to the sakura festival, and he enlisted them to guide me the final way.

And omg, my trio of middle-age Japanese “angels” couldn’t have been more delightful.  Though they spoke not a single word of English, nonetheless we had such fun snapping selfies, and making our merry way to the festival.

The Sakura Festival itself proved to be everything I could have hoped for and more:  a glorious promenade along the river with more than 300 cherry trees – all at the peak of “sakura” bloom!

And then there were the EATS!

A cute little “taiyaki” waffle – stuffed with sweet red-bean paste.

As if a half-mile of gloriously blooming cherry blossoms wasn’t enough – after I blissfully ambled beneath the profusion of petals (well o.k. me – along with a few thousand likewise pic-happy petal gawkers), the river was also lined with an endless string of street eats galore!

From sizzling “yakiniku” (translation: “grilled meat”) to giant grilled snails, char-broiled scallops and octopus, “yakitori” (grilled kebabs of most every chicken part – including the skin and gizzard), all manner of stir-fries, curries, and ramens, long, skinny Japanese cukes on a stick (with a boatload of tempting dipping sauces), dainty balls of “takoyaki” (golf ball sized batter balls stuffed with chunks of octopus), and of course plenty of “okonomiyaki” (Japanese pancakes) which originated in Osaka.  And for dessert?  A dazzling array of sweets – whole bananas on sticks drenched in flavored chocolate and confetti sprinkles, uber-thin crepes slathered with fruit sauces and whipped cream, and my personal favorite:  cute little fish-shaped “taiyaki” waffles.

Needless to say, I spent the rest of the day slowly sampling most every delectable dish!

All-in-all – my sudden decision to hop off that train in Osaka proved a most serendipitous and memorable experience.  Given the unusually early bloom of sakura in Japan this year, I honestly thought I’d missed any chance of seeing such a stunning display of blossoms.  But the late-blooming cherry trees at the Osaka Mint proved truly spectacular.  And the endless trail of street eats was this foodie’s dream-come-true!
 

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