Dotonbori: An Overture to Osaka

"It's not as crowded as I originally thought it would be," I thought to myself as I stepped through the famous "Doutonbori Street" sign, and unto the cobbled dimly lit street one cold Thursday evening in April. It was half past ten. Some shops were already closed. Their roller shutters lowered down, but their dazzling neon lights shone persistently, inviting late night tourists like us to draw close and admire their impressive signs. A bicycle is casually parked in the middle of the street, leaning on a street light post. No evidence of its owner around, and yet no one is giving it a second look. A few steps within the district, a few more unattended bikes lined a railing. Borgy and I went further down the street, intent on taking in as much of the place as we can.

Dotonbori Street

The crowd wasn't as huge as I'd expected, but I was still overwhelmed. Everywhere I looked I was greeted with illuminated billboards and gigantic signs of food, food, and more food. I can smell the savor coming off of takoyaki being prepared at stalls around the area--their aromas playing tricks on my hopped-up senses. I can hear the jovial mingling of people around, completely oblivious to the wonder and muted excitement of a pair of Filipinos standing among them. The place was an absolute delight to my senses. By then it hadn't sunken in yet, but there begun our gustatory exploits in Japan.

Disclaimer: I went to Japan not realizing that I would blog about it after a few months. My excitement during the trip distracted me, and so I did not make the effort of remembering every single detail about the place. Nevertheless, I tried to write down everything I can remember. I apologize if there are mistakes on restaurant names or associations to pictures. If you found a mistake on any restaurant or food info below, leave a comment and I'll edit accordingly. :)

All photos are mine, otherwise duly credited. So, please don't steal them. ;)

●● Tako Hachi Dotonbori Souhonten ●●

The smell and a small group of people (understandably, it was 10pm on a Thursday night!) surrounding this takoyaki stall lured us into buying. I realized then how hungry I was (the last time I ate was at the airport in the Philippines some 8 hours prior). The cooks greeted us, chanted and sang in heavily accented English while they turned and flipped the balls with ease. Their friendliness and willingness to engage in conversation with their customers no matter the difficulty in language constantly draws in a curious mob around their stall. Even on the next few nights we've frequented Dotonbori, their jolly banter with their customers is a sound that stood out despite the busy central.

Takoyaki

Tako Hachi Souhonten

Their takoyaki (grilled octopus) is the first real-deal I've eaten in Japan. These are fresh rubbery pieces of octopus coated in a special batter. They are cooked to a ball using moulded pans, and served piping hot to their customers. They drizzle it with takoyaki sauce, mayonnaise, and top it with a generous amount of (dancing. lol) bonito flakes.

Piece of advice: no matter how excited you are to try it, be patient enough to gently break one takoyaki open with your chopsticks, and then let the heat dissipate for a bit (breaking it open is fairly easy to do since the ball is so soft--it's almost gooey). Look at the picture below. My eyes rolled back. Ha. Ha. :( Don't wait too long, though or you'd end up with cold and soggy balls (hehe)!

It almost burned a hole through my mouth! :'(

You get six pieces of takoyaki balls for ¥250

I do not know the exact count of takoyaki stalls within Dotonbori alone, but let me assure you that there are a lot of them. Almost all of them have long lines well up to their closing time. Aside from Tako Hachi we've tried during our first night there, we've also tried two others: Takoyaki Dotonbori Kukuri (with that huge octopus sign) and Wanaka Takoyaki (a stall that has a long line of customers every time we pass them, and who offers their takoyaki either plain salted or with takoyaki sauce.) Almost all stalls sell their takoyakis 6 pieces for ¥250.

With Takoyaki sauce and plain

●● Osaka-Ohsho ●●

A few paces before the iconic Glico sign stands an effigy: pair of chopsticks grasping a piece of gyoza. It's something you won't miss when you're there. Behind that sign is a building with a facade decked with a huge plate of gyoza. Again, you won't miss it once you're there--it's enormouse. ¥300 gets you 6 pieces of fresh dumpling gyoza.

Osaka Ohsho

Slightly seared on the outside with a thin film of sesame oil coating each piece. Inside are steamed ground pork and minced vegetables. It can be enjoyed on its own, but usually eaten with condiments of soy sauce and chili.

Osaka Ohsho

●● Ramen Shitennoh ●●

It was almost 11 pm (Japan time) and Borgy and I were tired from the wait at the airport and the cramped cabin of the plane. We were still hungry. Sharing 6 pieces of takoyaki and 6 pieces of dumpling gyoza just didn't cut it. As we walked back to the Doutonbori street sign entrance, we spotted an unassuming open ramen shop. Outside the shop, a ticket machine is standing beside their menu.

According to Osaka-Info, "Shitennoh" translates to Four Heavenly Kings. These four kings represents the key features of their ramen: light soup, simple sauce, juicy roast pork, and thin firm noodles. Their menu is divided into three categories: sho-yu (soy), shio (salt), and miso.

Ramen Shitennoh Ramen Ticket Machine

Ramen Shitennoh

From the menu, you choose the ramen you want, punch in the ramen's number on the vending machine and insert your payment. The vending machine will print out the ticket. Queue if there's a line of customers outside, but if there isn't, you can already proceed inside and give your tickets to the crew, and they will start preparing your ramen. I personally think vending machines for ordering is a great way to speed up the process of eating at a foreign restaurant, especially if you're a tourist knowing very little Nihonggo. It eliminates any embarrassment you might have at mispronouncing names, items, or gesturing wildly at them to get your point across.

Borgy ordered Salt Noodle Egg Topping (¥820) for himself and Soy Sauce Noodle Egg Topping (¥800) for me. The service was pretty quick. No less than 10 minutes, our ramen was served to us in hot heaping bowls smelling of heaven on earth.

Shio Ramen

Shoyu Ramen

So that was my first taste of an authentic Japanese ramen. Their soup was light and it goes down your throat with satisfying smoothness. You can already taste the pork on the broth. Generous slices of pork are included in every bowl. Borgy even noted that the soft-boiled egg is different--richer in taste than what we've come to know and love in the ramen shops in the Philippines. The noodles were springy and firm despite the heat of the soup. I wasn't even halfway through the bowl and I was already full.

As I finished my ramen, I looked at my phone to check the time: 11:00 pm back at home, but it was already 12:00 mn in Japan. So technically, at that moment, I'm already 25 in Japan. :P

●● Kani Doraku ●●

It was our second day in Japan and we just came from Shinsaibashi Centre after hunting for teapots. We decided to traverse the length of Dotonbori for lunch. Throngs of people were on the street. It was definitely packed. There were 10x more people that day than our first night. "Now, this! This is the crowd I keep seeing on TV," I thought to myself. The bustling streets packed with tourist, businessmen, students, and locals trying out food samples and checking out drugstore items gave the area a festive mood certain to infect you with more vigor than you need; you'd find yourself more tolerable to the noise, more inclined to smile, chuckle, and nod at every seller smiling your way, more prone to stopping at every step to inspect every curious little thing.

From Shinsaibashi, we passed the famous Glico man and a smell made us stop. It was coming off of Kani Doraku's outside stall. Kani Doraku is one among many well-established restaurants in Japan. They specialize in crab, and what baited Borgy and me was the smell of grilled crab.

Quick back story: I was brought up in Zambales and my dad [I miss you daddy :'( I hope there are grilled crabs there in heaven] spoiled me with seafood including Blue Crabs, and I know how it smelled. My mouth will water whenever I come across that smell in the kitchen.

And that smell tugged at our hypnotized minds towards Kani Doraku's stall. They sell two grilled crab claws for ¥900. It's expensive, I know! But the smell was something Borgy and I couldn't pass up.

Kani Doraku

In all honesty, this is the only regretful yen we spent during our entire trip in Japan. It was ¥900 yen (roughly P400) for two sticks. The crab meat was so difficult to pull off, we barely got any to eat. :( Given their popularity, I don't want to doubt them based only on what they sell on their stalls. Maybe they have a better selection on their restaurants. :) We'll try that some other time. If you really want to try Kani Doraku, you might be better off actually dining in and sampling other crab dishes.

Grilled Crabs from Kani Doraku

It was difficult to eat :(

●● CHIBO Okonomiyaki ●●

The crab did nothing to alleviate our hunger, so went further towards the Dotonbori entrance for food other than takoyaki (we've been binging on takoyaki non-stop since we got to Japan!) We came across a restaurant tucked besides bigger buildings. This same restaurant was packed the previous nights we were at Dotonbori. Imagine our surprise when we we got there at around lunch time and there were no lines at all. We were seated as soon as we went inside.

Chibo is best known for its okonomiyaki or Japanese pancake. They have been established in 1973 and continue to open stores worldwide. Aside from their okonomiyaki, they are also known for serving delicious soba (fried noodles).

For appetizers, Borgy and I ordered their pork egg roll (¥580). It was an unexpected dish that blew our minds. It was served hot, and tucked within the folds of pillow-y egg omelettes are pieces of pork. Each omelette was drizzled with a sweet savory sauce.

Pork Egg Roll from CHIBO

CHIBO Pork Egg Roll

Borgy and I tried their Dotonbori Okonomiyaki (¥1,500) and Seafood Okonomiyaki (¥1,300). The pancakes were cooked on a separate flat iron viewable from our seat. After preparing the pancakes, they were brought to our table where we have our own mini version of the flat iron skillet. From there they put the final touches (a flair of art here and there) on the pancake. Their okonomiyaki can be enjoyed alone or shared.

Okonomiyaki Ahhrrt :p

●● Daiki Suisan Sushi-Go-Round ●●

After spending two hours lazing and exploring around Osaka castle's grounds, Borgy and I took the train back to Shinsaibashi to do another round at Dotonbori. After trying other Japanese street food that are not takoyaki and gyoza, we found ourselves seating in line outside Daiki Suisan Sushi-Go-Round.

The waiting time was reasonable considering it was a Saturday night. I was personally worried at the price of our would-be dinner. After two days in Japan, I'm still really slow in converting between currencies (no one's fault but mine! Aside from directions, numbers are also something I'm especially NOT good at.) I was thinking of maybe taking around three or four plates only since I'm almost full from the different street food we've devoured before Daiki Suisan.

Fresh sushi were being served on the belt one after the other the moment we sat on our seats. A plate bearing the sushi name and price will be put on the belt first. Prices range from ¥150 to ¥400+. Behind it will follow the sushi plates themselves.

To be honest, I've only tasted three different sushis from the belt: grilled salmon, squid, and eel. The first sushi I got off the belt was the grilled salmon, and it was love at first taste. It was the most heavenly piece of salmon that has graced my unworthy tongue! And so every time I see the grilled salmon pass across me, I get it. It became instinct. :D

Grilled Salmon Sushi

The downside of the kaitensushi (conveyor belt sushi) set-up is if you're unlucky and you got placed behind a lot of customers, you'd end up waiting for a longer time before your sushi rotates over to you. Sometimes, no sushi would ever get to you anymore. But don't worry, you can ask the polite servers to bring you the plate of the sushi you want! :) I didn't like the squid sushi very much as it was cold. However, the eel was good! We had to ask the server for it since no eel ever comes to our side of the belt.

Complimentary Green Tea! :D

Soooo I ended up having six plates of sushi, while Borgy ended up having seven.

●● Hanamaruken ●●

I'm no stranger to Hanamaruken. I've tried their famous Happiness ramen here in the Philippines once. I knew then that they originated from Japan, but I didn't know where their branches are located. That's why I didn't expect that we'd actually come across it during our vacation.

Hanamaruken, Dotonbori

As with our other food adventures in Japan, we got lucky. There was only one other group in line when we decided to try the place -- a family of three. And it was this very nice Korean family (Hi Che Lee!), who offered to take this picture of us. It was supposed to be a normal picture with Borgy and I both smiling, but before snapping this picture, Che Lee insisted I kiss him. Hehe. :")

Since I was so full already from our food stint in Shinsaibashi shopping street (my next blog post), I opted for their gyoza and fried rice instead (I'm full and I still ordered rice! Hahaha! I know!) while Borgy-the-bottomless-pit tried their famous Char Siu Ramen (aka Happiness Ramen).

Hanamaruken's Fried Rice

Char Siu Ramen

Hanamaruken Gyoza and Fried Rice

The fried rice is rich in flavor, and probably one I would order again on my next visit. The gyoza was good, too, although I don't think I'd compare it with Osaka Ohsho's. In all fairness to the Hanamaruken branch here in the Philippines, the Char Siu Ramen that Hanamaruken Osaka is serving tastes the same! :) That long slab of slow-braised BBQ pork rib peeking through the ramen soup is fall-off-the-bone-soft and tasting so flavorful. The rich shoyu-based (soy sauce) brought out the meaty flavor. But of course, Borgy and I prefer the Osaka branch's ambiance. It's more authentic (duh! of course!) than that here in the Philippines. Hanamaruken PH exudes a more...high-end mood, while Hanamaruken Dotonbori dominates in it being a good ole' traditional ramen shop.

Hanamaruken (Hi Che Lee!)

Hanamaruken

●● More of Dotonbori ●●

It is impossible for Borgy and I to try every dish and to try every restaurant in Dotonbori within a 4-day trip. As much as this would be an awesome idea, it's simply not possible with our time, itinerary, and budget during that time. We did sample a few other stalls other than those mentioned above around Dotonbori.

Grilled Octopus tentacles. Too...firm for my liking. :(

Chicken Yaki

Yakipon or chestnuts

World’s second best freshly baked Melon-pan Icecream

Melon bread (¥200)
(sorry for my face lol)

Yes, they are humbly proud for being the second best, and I love them for it! It was a sweet crunchy (almost as if it was glazed) spongy heaven. Would've loved it if I wasn't on the verge of getting full. In case you're wondering, no, it doesn't take like melon. It's "melon pan" name is because of its shape resembling a cantaloupe. You can have it with ice cream, but I opted for a plain bread to fully appreciate its taste. :)

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It's no secret to my Facebook friends who have already seen my pictures that my Japan trip consisted mainly of eating. Dotonbori became an important part of our trip in Japan. It served as the prelude to my amazing Japan birthday trip. It introduced me to Japan's luscious and fascinating food culture. It was where we spent most our evenings before heading back to our rented Airbnb apartment a few blocks down. It was where Borgy and I went to wind down every day. Overwhelmed, overjoyed, and overstuffed--that was my state before leaving Japan. And it was largely because of this food district haven.