We’re not done with Tokyo: we’ll be back at the end of our stay, patience!…

…But for the time being, we’re taking the train to Osaka! (I heard that Osaka is Tokyo’s rival city, kind of like Marseille and Paris here in France…as for me, I like all 4 of them!)

During our stay, thanks to the JR Pass (I can try to answer all your questions regarding this topic in the comments below), I enjoyed travelling aboard the Shinkansen, the japanese fast train.

For one because it is extremely rare for trains to be late in Japan (did you hear that SNCF?) and also because the food in the stations is incredible (here we go again: did you hear that SNCF?)!

Ekiben (駅弁)

Light-years away from our horribly expensive and not all that tasty mayonnaise-drenched sandwiches: here, the food trays served in train stations is almost art (an art called Ekiben = an abbreviation for the term eki-uri bentô, chich means “food tray served in train stations”)!

You can easily find shops selling all kinds of bentos at incredibly cheap prices (ranging from 800 to 1500 yens, which equals to 6 to 10 euros) and if the prices are cheap, the quality certainly isn’t!

In any case, wherever you go in Japan, I found that there was absolutely no room for hastily prepared meals or tourist traps restaurants. Quality is omnipresent in food: I was truly blown away! Here are some examples of what I ate in the train.

 I actually ate quite a many, that I’ll very probably share on Instagram.

I even tried the auto-heating bento (that I forgot to take a picture of): when I ordered, the saleswoman told me I had to pull on the string before eating. I thought it was probably to open the box! And what a surprise as I was preparing to eat my rice with stir-fry beef. I pull on the string and my bento starts boiling from the inside, with steam coming out: quite magical!

I was able to eat a warm meal while sitting in the train. I’d so love for this concept to be exported to France: it’d be so cool to be able to eat bourgignon beef from inside the train!

DOTONBORI (道頓堀)

Once in Osaka, after dropping our luggage off, we went for a walk in the famous Dotonbori street, reknown for its brands and its restaurants.

I’ll be back very soon to share my good addresses in the city (fyi: okonomiyaki (cabbage pancakes) and takoyaki (octopus balls) are Osaka’s signature delicacies!).

UMEDA SKY BUILDING (梅田スカイビル)

In the meantime, I’ll let you enjoy Osaka by night, and the superb view we had from the Umeda Sky Building.

We had the Sky Tree in Tokyo, here in Osaka, the Umeda Sky Building is also worth visiting! (English translation by Bleu Marine)

Previously on MY JAPAN TRAVEL DIARY :
Notre appart à Tokyo
Day 1 : Sumida Park & Asakusa
Day 2 : Namco Namjatown
Day 3 : Omotesando & Harajuku
Day 4 : Ueno Park
Day 5 : Errances gourmandes à Omotesando
Day 6 : Odaiba お台場
Day 7 : Tsukiji market, Meiji & Yoyogi
Day 8 : Tokyo Skytree

Wake up! Because, if I tell you that on the seventh day we woke up at 2:30 am (got to bed at midnight FYI) to go to the auction of Tsukiji’s fish market, you think we are: Brave/ Crazy? (Delete as appropriate). When I think about it now I think the answer is yes indeed…

I have always been told that this place had to be seen in Tokyo and as I haven’t got the chance to do it last time, I gave in to the waking-up duty.

TSUKIJI Market (築地市場)

I asked our wonderful concierge about it and she told me that we needed to get there very early (meaning 3:30-4 pm tops) to get a chance to see the auction at 5 am. Because yes, only 120 privileged (or early birds, as you wish) are admitted to the market, divided in 2 groups of 60 to get to the famous tuna auction (one session at 5 am and another one at 5:25 am).

Picture this : we arrived at 3.15 (we took a cab, as the metro wasn’t opened yet at this time of day) and thought we were the first ones to be there, we finally ended up in the second group of 60 (there were only around 20 spots left after us)… this shows the extreme motivation of tourists !

OK, so? Was it worth it? I can proudly say “Yes! I have been there!” but I must admit I was a bit disappointed. I heard everything about this auction: “fantastic”, “spectacular” …

Yes it was quite “folkloric” thanks to the master of the auction (let’s call him that), shaking his bell, gesticulating and yelling like jay-Z at a concert. He seems to be yelling the prices and most probably the number of each tuna displaced in front of him: a real Wall Street for tunas.

But it doesn’t last very long (15 minutes) compared to the effort made by the waiting / waking up. So I don’t really know what to recommend you.

If you want to say “I have done it!” then get up early otherwise it is not a big deal if you miss it, the market opens at 9 am and it is quite nice to wonder around its alleys.

That said, it is also customary to carry on with a sushi tasting in one of the market’s restaurants: the fish is therefore so fresh. I had never had sushi so early in the morning (a platter of sushi at 6 am: are you in?), but I really enjoyed the quality.

That said, I thought the sushi chefs tended to force your order (you order the sushi as you go) so if you have a limited budget, say it from the start so that they don’t constantly offer sushi and so that you don’t end up broke, as well as exhausted.

MEIJI-jingū (明治神宮)

What did we do next on this freshly started day? Next stop: the Meiji shrine next to Harajuku: as beautiful as it was back in 2007. I thought about you and put a votive plate (Ema 絵馬) to wish you luck!

In Shintoist shrines, it is customary to write on these wooden plates something that you wish to happen to you (at the costs of thank you messages by the way): So I have made a group request!

YOYOGI Park (代々木公園)

Then, we began to feel very tired so we headed up to Yoyogi Park to admire the flowered cherry trees.

This time, the picnic was cut short as we have fallen into the arms of Morpheus in the shadow of a cherry tree and woke up at the last moment right before a raven had decided to bless us (phew, what a good idea to move at this very moment).

SHIBUYA (渋谷区)

Quick stroll to Shibuya at the end of the day for a private karaoke (I so whished there could be the same thing in France!) and bam! straight to bed!

Previously on MY JAPAN TRAVEL DIARY :
Notre appart à Tokyo
Day 1 : Sumida Park & Asakusa
Day 2 : Namco Namjatown
Day 3 : Omotesando & Harajuku
Day 4 : Ueno Park
Day 5 : Errances gourmandes à Omotesando
Day 6 : Odaiba お台場