Osaka!

The reason for my absence for the last few days: Osaka!

(and a little side excursion to Kyoto)

The train we took from Osaka airport to Namba station. Doesn't it have such a futuristic look?

Our hotel: Dotonbori Hotel.

What an eye-catching exterior! The faces are supposed to represent various different races. The location was great - just minutes away fm the Shinsaibashi shopping district. But the rooms were tiny. And they had this very busy 3rd floor karaoke/event hall - one night, we could hear the music resounding all the way fm the 3rd floor up to our floor on the 7th level. Other than these cons, it was a pretty good hotel. In my opinion, one of the best things of this hotel was it had a fabulously well stocked Lawson's just across it!

We had ramen for dinner on our first full day there (near the Shinsaibashi shopping area).

I was with the in-laws, so we kept to cooked food, and simple stuff. This is the shop front.

First, we had to pay for our food using this machine. After putting in our bill, all the tabs lit up. Then, we had to choose what we wanted. This is when I absolutely love the Japanese way of ranking their most popular items. Makes life so much easier when faced with too many choices!

Preserved ginger to go with ....

Gyozas!

These, in my opinion, were delicious! Crispy on the top, and juicy inside, with the skin being not too thick or too thin. And I loved the generous amount of cabbage in the filling as well.

My Miso Ramen with half-boiled eggs and Japanese char siew/roast pork.

For dessert, we had these delicious cakes from another stall (in my eagerness to see what to buy, I forgot to take pics of the storefront ... apologies!).

These were really fabulous! The "buns" are actually wonderfully light sponge cake. They sandwich a layer of light fresh cream. I'm not usually a big fan of cream, but this was good! Before I could take a pic of the chocolate one, it was devoured!