A Familiar Face

After grabbing some breakfast from the nearest Lawson, I set off towards Osaka. I’ve decided to spend a couple of nights back in the city so I can enjoy some decent food and check out a few arcades. I booked a pod hotel right next to Namba Station in Osaka, which was advertised as men only—always worth double-checking that places like that are actually hotels rather than brothels…

The sun was shining as I hit the expressway out of Nara, and after paying a couple of thousand yen in tolls (as is standard on all expressways), I turned off into the hectic backstreets of Dotonbori—the tourist and food hub of Osaka. I found what I thought was a cheap overnight car park, checked in at the hotel, and then searched for the nearest Ichiran on Google Maps.

Ichiran is one of the most famous ramen chains in Japan, known for its solo booths and custom order sheets where you can choose exactly how you’d like your soup, garlic level, spiciness, and noodle texture (I usually go for rich broth, half a clove of garlic, spicy, and extra firm noodles). After eating, I wandered back along the canal towards the hotel—and completely by chance, I bumped into a mate from uni who’d also done a season in Niseko!

Eddy and Jess are also travelling around Japan, and we agreed to meet up for a beer later that day. After a shower and change at the hotel, I met them by the canal. We had a couple of chūhais as the sun set, then headed to The Hub for a pint of Guinness. Eddy and I then sampled some of Osaka’s nightlife before calling it a night. The best place we went to was called Rake?Raka?—an underground bar/club that serves the infamous Okinawan snake liquor. Definitely worth a try if you’re ever in Osaka.

No real plan for tomorrow, but I’ll see where the day takes me.