Osaka Adventure: Day 2- Dotonbori and Shin-Kabuki Za

Hi Everybody!  We had a long day yesterday.... well, maybe not that long.  We ended up sleeping very early, but I guess we needed it!  More on that later.  Right now we are on a shinkansen to Hiroshima/Miyajima, so I have some time to work on my post.

We started off the day by going to the Family Mart Combini and a neighborhood supermarket to find breakfast.  If you follow me on facebook, we did a facebook live to show you our haul.  After filling up on musubis, we headed to the Shin-Kabuki Za to see if we could still get tickets for the Kodo performance that afternoon.  Paul had found out at the last minute that they were playing in Osaka, so we had to try!

While on the train to the Shin-Kabuki Za, we found our first weird subway sign.  This one gave me the creeps.  I like how you can see Paul's expression in the reflection!

We had to wait till the box office opened to buy our tickets.  The website said that tickets would be available on the 7th floor.  The 7th floor was blocked off, so we couldn't even get up there.. Paul was disappointed, so we walked around to see if there was another elevator somewhere.  Luckily, he found the box office located downstairs right outside the station!  We were still able to get tickets, so he was now a happy camper.  

Since we now had a few hours to kill before the show, we got back on a train and headed to Dotonbori to try to get that grilled crab.  When we first got out of the station, we saw "The Walk", which is an underground shopping area.  At a glance, I saw Mister Donut, so we had to backtrack and get me one.  They had some cute seasonal ones, but we opted for our favorite pon de ring!  So ono!

After we got out of the station, I saw this cute Oni.  Not ure why he was selling okonomiyaki, but we took a fast pic before heading off to find the crab.

Made it!  Paul grabbed us an order each.  He took the one with the leg but he said it was not that juicy.  His other piece was better.

Mine on the other hand was super juicy!!!  I was in charcoal crab heaven!  I think Paul said it was 900 yen each.  He thinks when we make at home is just as good, so looking forward to new years!

 

We had some time, so we ventured down the street a bit and kept running into this guy.  I think his name is Taro, or something like that.  He has all these snacks with his picture on it.  Not sure why, but I decided to take a pic with him.

 

See this truck?  I want to go back.  It wasn't open when we were there and when it finally opened, we didn't have a lot of time to wait since we needed to head back to the theater.  I think its funny that they made it look like one of the cars characters.  Its a melon pan ice cream sandwhich lunch wagon!!!  I thought it was funny that it says they are the "second best" melon pan in Japan.  That makes me wonder.. where is the best?

See, Paul was trying to wait in line to see if we could get one before we had to leave, but we ran out of time.

While we were waiting for the melon pan truck to open, I ordered one of these tornado fries, or something like that. It came in 3 flavors, chili, sour cream and furikake salt. I had the furikake salt one and it was ono! I think it was 500 yen.

After our snack, we headed to the theater.  On the way, we passed the racetrack.  I have to take a picture with every sign.  So cute with Hello Kitty!

We made it to the theater and my husband was in Taiko heaven!

So, we weren't allowed to take any photos or video, so no pictures of the actual performance.  But I need to warn you that it must be the Japanese version of Thunder from Down Under.  Its all young, half naked, sweaty males.  And they would make a lot of these funny poses that were kinda feminine.  But it was still good! Don't let that stop you from going.

OK confession time... I totally fell asleep during the performance!  Please don't take that as a reflection on how well they did, cause the parts that I was up for was really good.  I think I was just really tired and it was a little warm, so that combination makes for a guaranteed nap time for me.  Sorry Kodo. Hope I didn't offend anyone.  I kept waking up that after awhile I just said to myself, "screw it" and pretty much slept through the entire second half.  I'm sure Paul was thinking he couldn't take me anywhere. Sorry!

When leaving the station to head back to Dotonbori, we saw the Manneken kiosk that sold these Belgian waffles that smelled so good!  I wanted to try one, so we stopped really quickly to get one.

I opted for the chocolate.  It was good!  I think it had a little crunch but not from being crispy.  Hard to explain, but I would buy that again!

When we got back to Dotonbori, we decided to eat.  It was only about 3:30pm but we were hungry.  I think its cause we were only snacking all day.  We had seen a hot pot place the night before, but when we tried to go there, they weren't open yet... so we walked back to the area with the crab and was going to look for the kushi katsu place.  On our way, Paul found a place that was upstairs. It had a sign that said all you can eat yakitori or shabu shabu, so we decided to give it a try.  So glad we did! The shabu shabu really hit the spot. 

The first thing I really liked was that we were put into a private (fake) tatami room.  It was nice and quiet away from the hustle and bustle of the street below.  We were able to relax and enjoy our meal.  They even had a sliding door for privacy and a call button when you wanted to order something.

So, you could get the 70 minutes of all you can eat goodness with the "western beef" for 2000.  Or you could pay an extra 1000 yen and get some japanese beef, so we opted for the japanese beef.  Not sure I could really tell the difference since it was all really good!  To start off, they ask you to pick two broths, we chose the sukiyaki and konbu but you could also pick the kim chee one too.  Then they bring you the beef, dipping sauces (ponzu and goma) and two eggs. 

The rest of the goodies were located at the front of the restaurant, which included tofu, udon, long rice, two different mushrooms, cabbage, and mizuna, You could go back as many times as you wanted for those items.

Look who was a happy camper! 

I was done eating and Paul proceeded to be the clean up crew.  I think we ended up with like two rounds of the beef, a small order of chicken, and two rounds of the freebies.

There was also ice cream in the front with all the freebies, so Paul went to get some green tea ice cream. I (thought) was done, so I didn't get any. I still wanted that melon pan!  When he came back with his ice cream, the server came back with panna cotta.  It was really good, so I ate that.

By then, we were ready to go and were pretty stuffed. I knew that the melon pan would have to wait till later.  As we were getting ready to leave, another server came by with another tray of dessert. Whaaaaat?  We didn't want to be rude, so we ate everything!  LOL!  They had lemon jelly, more panna cotta, and chocolate mousse.  After that we were done!  Even the clean up crew was full!

I guess I wasn't full enough, cause I really wanted to try this cheesecake.  I saw it while passing by and there is always a line!  I left Paul there while I went to find a restroom.

We decided to go back to the room and relax, pack for Hiroshima, and then go back to Dotonbori.  Saw these cute breads at the station- so cute yah?

So much for our plans to pack and go back to Dotonbori!  We both crashed out! Tried waking up a few times and then just gave up. I guess we are still jet lagged. That was all worth it though!  The food here is awesome!  Catch us tomorrow to see what we end up doing in Hiroshima/Miyajima!  Sayoonara!