It was a short trip, but here are photos of the places I dropped into in Osaka.
Rikuro Ojisan’s cheesecake
Rikuro Ojisan’s cheesecakes always have a long line, but you can also eat one right away in the café on the second floor. Though it felt like there’s less cheese in it than before… I didn’t think it was especially better than the ones in Korea. Hmm… is it the recession?
Coffee
Nothing special
Fruit à la mode
Kind of a snack-bar menu… It isn’t very expensive, but as for a reason to go out of your way…
Den Den Town
It’s a small neighborhood compared to Akihabara, but it has everything it needs. There are even maid cafés…
Sunset…
Otaku…
Osaka isn’t all that different, but I still prefer Akihabara.
A Western-style restaurant run by Harijyu, famous for sukiyaki
I couldn’t find a good place to eat in Dotonbori, so I gave this one a try.
The Beef One, said to be as famous here as the curry
Hmm. It’s a gyudon with egg added… Not bad, but the beef in a gyudon doesn’t really need to be wagyu…
I went to Tokyu Hands in Shinsaibashi to buy a garlic press, and on the way stopped at a place called Victoire, known for its croissants. Maybe because it’s a little tucked away, there weren’t many people.
Their most famous item, the croissant, 160 yen
Crisp without being greasy. The balance is superb. It would have been nice to eat one fresh out of the oven, but unless you live in Osaka it’s not easy to time your visit like that. It reminded me of the fresh-baked croissant I had at Pointage a while ago.
Brioche, 180 yen
This one’s good too, but the croissant suited my taste better. There’s a good variety of bread, the overall standard is high, it isn’t packed with people, and they run a café as well as takeout, so it’d be a nice spot to use when you’re hanging out in this area.
Orange juice, 290 yen
The juice tastes like juice…
This is what the place looks like.
It felt like a waste to just go home, so I decided to have a bowl of ramen.
I was going to the well-known shio ramen shop Berashio, but when I got there it had turned into this ramen shop -_-
Taiyo no Tomato Men
It’s a chain and I’d seen a few in Tokyo, but the Osaka branch had quite a few people in it too, so I gave it a try.
Taiyo no Ramen
The noodles
When you hear it’s made with tomatoes you might imagine something Italian, and the shop really does show plenty of effort to give an Italian impression, but it was a Chinese-style ramen. A fresh sourness like hot and sour soup takes the lead, with thin noodles to back it up. For the price it isn’t bad… but who knows… quirky ramen like this lives and dies by trends…
I ate well, but this trip was really under-prepared. Next time (and I don’t think it’ll be too far off), I’ll make sure to eat better.