Osaka, Day 14 - Sushi Dreams Come True

Goodbye, Osaka!

Though it was dreary when we woke up, the rain had dried up by the time we left the hotel. We walked north, passing by many high end retailers to the renowned ramen restaurant, Matsubaya. The downstairs tables were full, so we ate in the small, empty upstairs. Broth soup is never my first choice on a menu, but I knew the ramen here would be outstanding, and I was excited to eat it.

I had Ojiya Udon which was half rice, half udon, with squid, eel, chicken, and an egg. It was delicious. It would be a joy to eat this on every cold, rainy winter day in L.A.

Hubs had Kitsune (fox, no it isn't actual fox meat!) Udon which had super sweet fried tofu. It was too sweet for me, but he loved it.

Our two udons were around 1500 Y.

Absolutely stuffed, we walked north to the green line and took the subway to the Osaka Castle. We walked through a gorgeous park along the moat that dripped with cherry blossoms.

The cherry blossoms blew through the air like snow. Even the birds were cooperating with the photography.

Had I known the neighboring park was so pretty, I would have brought food for lunch.

The castle itself was impressive with its gold trim and towering height.

The temperature was so perfect we walked around the entire perimeter of the moat. We ran into a food truck and couldn't resist, since they're so trendy in L.A. right now.

I don't really know what this was, but it wasn't too offensive. And it looked pretty.

After resting in our hotel room for a bit, we went back to Ichiba Sushi for dinner and had a great sushi experience.

No tables, only the sushi bar. We slid into the last two open seats at the end of the bar. Popularity is always a plus.

We ate a good amount of sushi and drank a bottle both hot and cold sake. Hey, it was our last dinner in Osaka. The sushi was cut in large pieces, much bigger than in the U.S. Some of the cuts, such as the yellowtail, still had pieces of skin on them, so they were more chewy than I'm used to.

But other cuts were skinless. The salmon was the best salmon I've ever had. Like butter. A big hunk of orange butter.

My other favorite was quail egg with yam, which had the best presentation. The egg yolk burst in my mouth, directly followed by the crunch of the yam, all the textures working perfectly together.

It was the sushi experience we had wanted and expected from Japan. And it came at an affordable price of under 4500 Y.

Since it wasn't raining, we took a romantic walk down the river, looking at all the lights, a little buzzed from the sake.

Dontonbori at night is so much fun.

Just whimsical.

I bought an order of takoyaki for late night snacking.

We headed back to the hotel for my bottle of cold sake waiting in the mini fridge and more Suntory times.

View from our hotel room