"Devil take me! Is it true that there's a kingdom that's so vast that it's made up of 7,000 islands but only 400 of them are inhabited by people?" I shouted after Senor Quixote told me about our plan to travel to a distant kingdom they call the Land of Rising Sun, which was once ruled by local knights called Samurai. "Surely, master, in a kingdom like that, there will certainly be abundant of adventures that a noble knight such as yourself can prove his gallantry so that you could be rewarded favors from the king?"
"Yes, Sancho, what you are saying is correct. However, we will only have a brief overnight stay there as our ultimate destination is a kingdom that's just north of it, which some have called the Hermit Kingdom. I have dear old friends that I need to see there."
"But, your excellence, could we not just stay in the Land of Rising Sun instead and seek adventures that will reward us handsomely?" I argued, hoping he would reconsider. "Ever since I was relieved of my governorship of that island due to wicked enchantments, I've been seeking a new lordship so I can have others working to serve me. Surely, with 7,000 island, we could at least get one for ourselves!"
Senor Quixote assured me that there would be sufficient adventures for us in future in the Land of Rising Sun. But for now, we were needed in the Hermit Kingdom.
According to Don Quixote, we'll be traveling to Osaka, kingdom's third largest city that's located about 2 hours south (via Shinkansen/bullet train) of its capital city Tokyo.
From Osaka, it’s very easy to visit other major cities like Kobe, Nara and (my master's favorite) Kyoto. In fact, Don Quixote told me that when he was an undergrad participating in a summer exchange program in Tokyo, he used Osaka as the home base while traveling around Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto area.
Throughout its history, Osaka served as a major commercial and cultural hub, being known as the City of Merchants and Kingdom’s Kitchen. And it’s the latter that Don Quixote enjoys the most about the city.
We flew into Kansai International Airport and took a train to get to our hotel near the Dotonbori area, the main entertainment and tourist area of Osaka. After checking in and getting settled in, it was about 5PM - perfect time to start on our eating quest!
Dotonbori, like other entertainment centers in Japan, is famous for its striking lights, sounds, smells and activities that can overwhelm your senses. You definitely won’t find many places like this in the US! The area is also famous for its local street food, such as takoyaki (a ball-shaped Japanese snack with small pieces of octopus), okonomiyaki (a tasty pancake) and kushikatsu (deep-fried skewers).
Heading into Dotonbori area, we were greeted by the Glico Running Man, a famous illuminated sign that's probably the most recognizable symbol of the city. The sign features a man in red and white running across a billboard and it was first installed in 1935 as an advertisement for Glico, a local confectionery company. The sign has been updated several times over the years, but its iconic design has remained largely unchanged.
Another famous scene is Kani Douraku restaurant and its famous giant moving crab. This restaurant looked tempting for a place for dinner, but Senor Quixote thought it was too early to settle. Few steps away, there were couple guys busy making Takoyaki, a ball-shaped Japanese snack with small pieces of octopus, and Senor Quixote insisted that we grab a few.
"These Takoyaki are bit more gooey than I remember, Sancho, but they are still good and bring back many fond memories," stated Don Quixote while chomping down another ball.
After walking around the strip and enjoying its energy for a while, I was ready to eat. "Your excellence, should we select one of these fine restaurants to break our fast? I don't know about you, but my stomach is begging for some food."
We found a sushi restaurant with good looking selection; it seems that many restaurants in this kingdom display plastic menu sets outside. Once seated in Sushi-dokoro Nishiki restaurant, Senor Quixote stated: "my friend Sancho, did you know that I studied two years of this kingdom's language, which they call Japanese, in college? Well, let me try to speak to the servant girl and get us some food."
Well, it didn’t work out too well. I am an uneducated simpleton so I am not sure what was said, but more Don Quixote tried to speak the foreign tongue to the servant girl more confused she got! After few minutes, she left annoyed and came back with a pictured menu, which my master ended up pointing at to order our food: a sashimi set, Sapporo beer and sake. Yummy! When the waitress brought sake, she brought the entire 3L bottle and poured a big cup full for each of us!
The meal was excellent with sashimi being very fresh! Salmon and tuna were soft and tender, almost melting in my mouth, and flounder was soft but chewy. Raw shrimp added an element of uniqueness as I rarely ate these in the States. We ordered a second round of beer and sake about halfway through the meal.
During the meal, Don Quixote told me about other famous scenes that a new visitor could experience while wandering around Osaka.
"Osaka Castle is a must, Sancho! Located in Chuo-ku district, the castle was build in the late 16th century by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of Japan's most famous warlords and samurai who's gallantry in battle could rival those of Catholic Spanish knights!", stated Don Quixote who continue to tell about his previous trip to the castle: interior, which has a museum displaying historical artifact and exhibits about the castle's history, beautiful gardens, which is famous for cherry blossom in Spring time, and main tower that offers panoramic views of the surrounding city.
Other cultural sites in the area for history buffs are Sumiyoshi Taisha (a Shinto shrine) and Hozen-ji Temple.
For those looking for more modern fun, Tempozan Harbor Village could be a fun way to spend a day in Osaka. The area has a giant Tempozan ferris wheel, Legoland and Osaka Aquarium.
Or, spend a day taking thrilling rides and immersing yourself with beloved characters from popular movies and TV shows at Universal Studio Japan!
Towards the end of our meal, I could tell that Don Quixote was in a good place with his belly full and beer and sake starting to work their magic. He started to pontificate about life, errantry, and lady Dulcinea, telling the servant girls that his lady must be pleased and eagerly waiting for his triumph return so he can present himself before her after hearing all the stories of his gallantry from the people whom he rescued and sent to present themselves before her.
To be honest, though, I don't think of any those servant girls understood what Senor Quixote was saying. They just giggled and probably thought he was a good-natured delusional fool who had one too many sake.
My master insisted that we stay and drink more, but I knew anymore would push the Knight of Sorrowful Face into a state of no return. So I dragged him out of the restaurant all the while he was screaming about lady Dulcinea.
"Hey, Senor Donkey Hote, who is this lady Dulcinea del Toboso you speak so highly of?" asked a local gent. "From Senor Cervantes' accounts, she is a simple peasant girl with stout shoulders and arms, a voice that can travel at least 2 leagues and a mole with seven to nine inches growing out of it!," laughed the local gent with others.
Hearing this, Don Quixote became enraged, challenging to a dual anyone who would dare dispute that lady Dulcinea is the most beautiful and most virtuous dame in all the land.
I, knowing the type of beating one could take from restaurants and inns from our past adventures, dragged my master out of the restaurant and back to the hotel, telling him that we had an important cross-kingdom flight to catch in the morning.
This ended up being a good decision because not only did this save us from a sure beating, but also we were able to get up in the morning refreshed. We even had time to check out a small hole-in-the-wall near the hotel for breakfast before heading back to the airport.
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