2011-02-24

About Osaka

OSAKA, The Kitchen of Japan


I have 24 hours to discover the essence of Osaka. I always balk at the numerous articles condensing places into 24 to 72 hour bullet points. There are many cities which remain illusive even after years. As with friendships, some things must be earned over time not rushed.


So, it is with a certain reticence that I approach my short time in the third largest of Japan's cities.

My hotel is the functional, Swisshotel in Namba, a thriving district with a favored jumble of small restaurants, bars, coffee houses and shops. I head off from the Swisshotel with no preplanned destination. My map indicates a river so I amble in that direction and happen down a covered arcade with knick knack shops, coffee houses, restaurants, cafes, shops and more coffee houses, restaurants, cafes and shops, and then even more of the same. It seems never ending.


Are there enough people in Osaka to make all of these prosper?


While I ponder the city's ability to thrive in over abundance, I happen onto a street called Dotonbori. In this former theater district, the Broadway of Osaka, I find bars, arcades, clothing stores, more cafes, restaurants, coffee houses and discos.


I am getting it. Osaka eats and entertains.

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