Osaka of a thousand sights

We had a taste of Japanese winter during an after-Christmas  visit to Osaka — 7 degrees Celsius, sunny — most of the time with a 20-percent chance of a slight drizzle on some days. Nothing that a delicious bowl of comforting ramen can’t neutralize.

Osaka is a foodie heaven, with literally countless restaurants, markets and food stalls to suit one’s taste and pocket.  In the south part of the city is Dotombori-bashi, which is lined with wall-to-wall sushi, yakitori, teppanyaki restaurants and more.  It is easy to gain weight just by trying pieces of  irresistable Japanese confectionary delights: lovely light cheesecake, crepe, ice cream and fried sweet potato. 

Shinsaibashi and Ebisubashi-suji are long covered walkways with food, clothes and gift shops and stores that sell Japanese lacquerware, robatayaki stoves and numerous cooking utensils.

Near the Nipponbashi Station is Kuramon Market, a fresh  seafood  market which is featured on TV every New Year’s Eve. This is where the locals buy the food to  welcome the new year with. Food is prepared in a three-layer lacquer box and includes sweet black beans for health, egg roll for fertility (more descendants), tamago (omelet) to symbolize gold or wealth and soba noodles for long life. Mochi, with either a bean paste, fish or vegetables, is also part of the traditional meal.

On Dec. 26, the Japanese clean their homes in preparation for the new year. On the 31st, they go to the Buddhist temple and listen to the sounds of 108 temple bells to cleanse themselves of their sins. On Jan. 1, grandparents give money to the children, who, in turn, go shopping.

Touring Nara, Kyoto, And kobe

Nara and its famous deer park is a 40-minute drive from Osaka. The 1,200 deer are protected and considered sacred. The Todai-ji Temple  has the Great Buddha Hall (Daibutsuden). Until 1998, it was considered the world’s largest wooden structure.  It is a Japanese heritage site.

Also in Nara is the Kasugataisha Shrine with 2,000 stone lanterns and 1,000 hanging lanterns. We learned that a Shinto shrine always carries a happy red color, and cleansing is done with water, before one enters the shrine. A Buddhist temple is more formal, where incense smoke is used to cleanse oneself.

My husband has, therefore, concluded that it is better to be a Shinto priest than a Buddhist monk. The Shinto shrine accepts donations of sake and is served by shrine maidens.

Kyoto was the second capital of Japan for 150 years. Its location satisfied the feng shui conditions of a mountain in the north, a river in the east, a lake or big pond  in the south, and a big road (that leads to Osaka) on the west.  Tokyo, the final and current capital, possesses the same important conditions.

Kyoto is supposed to have the best quality  water in Japan, which makes its products like sake, whiskey, and green tea  the best in the world.

We were told that the Japanese, even in the arrangement of sushi, follow the colors that symbolize guardian animals, believed to guard the temples: the black nori ( black turtle), the green wasabi (dragon), the red tuna (red bird), the white rice or squid (white tiger),  and yellow  tamago  (golden phoenix). By eating sushi arranged in such a way, you will be protected by these guardian animals.

The trip to Kobe is, of course, purely nutritional. (There is a Kobe Premium Outlet which is a good-enough stopover if shopping is a must).

Just a note regarding the Kobe cow: beef — to be called Japanese beef — must come from a cow from Tajima, Kobe. For Kobe beef, the cow must be raised in Kobe. Beef can be “rebranded” when the cows are raised in Matsusaka, but the origin of the cow must still be Kobe.

Every day, the Kobe cow drinks the high-quality water that comes from Mt. Rocco, eats the grass in Tajima, is showered with Kobe water, drinks one liter of beer, is massaged with sake for that beautiful marbling, and sleeps on new grass  which is changed every day. Now, that is a stress-free life — until the poor cow is slaughtered before it gets pregnant. Lastly, the female Kobe cow is more delicious  and commands a higher price.

We left Osaka with a renewed sense of respect for the Japanese people.  The people are friendly, soft-spoken, polite, so willing to be of assistance, disciplined and honest. Their packages are wrapped with the same eye for beauty as their gardens. 

Ceremony and rituals are part of their lives even in this century: as one cleanses himself  and prays in shrines and temples,  as they welcome the new year with traditional food, as participants in the  Catholic Masses that we attended.

While there is some kind of affinity for European and American food and products (all of the world brands are represented there — massive buying power!) the stores still are first and foremost Japanese with signs in Japanese characters, selling to a Japanese market.  As in their private living quarters, the public toilets are clean. The wet markets are sparkling.

There is a sense of national pride in everything they do — our bus driver was very efficient and drove with white gloves, our tour guide kept us informed and entertained about the different sights and aspects of Japanese culture, the waiters were polite — and none of them ecpected a tip!

Osaka is worth every yen! Photos by CECILIA R. LICAUCO