Day 11 - Nishiki Market @ Kyoto + Osaka

Today, we are suppose to leave Kyoto for Osaka so we went to downtown Kyoto to do some last minute sightseeing at Nishiki Market. I read that Nishiki Market is a vibrant market that stocks Kyoto's freshest produce and how true.





We went back to K's house, checked out and got ready for our next destination - Osaka! K's house Kyoto is about the best hostel in Japan I think. Coincidentally, It's voted the No.1 hostel in Asia by Hostelworld. In my opnion K's house Kyoto was even better than Andon. Immaculately clean and friendly with superb facilities. Highly recommended.





Anyway we took a limited express train from Kyoto to Osaka and reached at about 3pm. Osaka struck me as garishly fun with a sense of humour. Just take a look at this dog plaza opposite my hotel. 12 storeys of dog related services and the building even has a pug head sticking out!



Our hotel was conveniently located in the Shinsaibashi area, a few blocks away from Tokyu Hands. Shinsaibashi is a covered walkway that stretches from near my hotel, towards the Dotombori River and all the way towards Namba. It's jam packed with people, pachinko parlors, tako ball stalls, food, shops etc etc. I really liked the festival vibe I got at the main Dotombori stretch near the Kirin Plaza where they had a microbrewery. Fun and filled with loads of Ah Lians!



Me and CK went on a street food rampage. We started at the Kirin Plaza for beer and some bratwurst, then had tako balls and teppanyaki beef stomach, moved on to have ramen at this famous stand up stall and then we finally wound up at our last stop, Jiyuken, a place Anthony Bourdain visited on one of the episodes of A Cook's Tour.

Jiyuken is famous for its curry rice which is actually a very very delicious simple dish. It's literall rice mixed with curry sauce and served with a raw egg on top. You mix up everything and the result is this very lovely home cooked taste. Most people also order a serving of tempura to go with it. Simple, yummy and memorable. Mmm...I like it very much.