Time out in Osaka

Having not even arrived at our hotel until 1am, we are understandably reluctant to be up and out again before dawn. But duty – or more literally, Endo Sushi – is calling and no one wants to miss the chance to sample the best sushi in town if not the country at Osaka Central Fish Market. 

Originally, sushi was a term for fermented meat or fish. Sushi as a combination of vinegar-flavoured rice and the raw fish is relatively new, a product of the Edo period, which ran from 1603 to 1868.

The first Endo Sushi was launched in 1907 at the end of the Meiji period (1865-1912) and moved to its current location in 1931. A humble restaurant, it has just four tables and five seats at the counter, facing a kitchen of sushi chefs.

The mouth-watering smell of warm miso soup fills the tiny restaurant and despite the early hour my stomach starts to growl. Hamachi (yellow tail), toro (the fatty tuna cut), uni (sea urchin), hotate (scallop) and anago (salt-water eel) start to arrive non-stop at our tables and disappear almost as quickly. Even the appetite of this vegetarian is quickly sated with a large plate of tamago sushi (sweet egg sushi).

At Endo Sushi, every table has a wooden brush and two porcelain pots, one containing shoyu (soy sauce), the other fermented ginger. To add more flavour to the sushi, we dip the brush in the shoyu and apply it to the raw fish. Munching on fermented ginger between each kind of sushi both cleans the palate and aids digestion. 

While aware that sushi is more correctly enjoyed starting with the most delicate flavours and building up to the stronger tastes of tuna and eel before finishing with the sweet egg sushi, my breakfast companions choose to stick to their favourites.

“The pinkish tuna melts in the mouth and the scallop is really nice. I wouldn’t mind more,” says one friend glancing hopefully at the kitchen.

With such fresh ingredients from which to choose, it’s not hard to understand why Osaka has long been known as the kitchen of Japan or why its people – all 2.5 million-plus of them – love their food.

Sated but not uncomfortably full, we make our way to Universal Studio Japan (USJ) in the Osaka Bay Area. The 39-hectare theme park boasts eight themed lands: Hollywood, New York, San Francisco, Jurassic Park, Waterworld, Amity Village, Universal Wonderland and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. 

Our first stop is the Park’s latest addition, Minion Plaza in the San Francisco Area where we are scheduled to meet the Minions, those tiny yellow round-headed creatures with googly eyes that took the world by storm in “Despicable Me”.

The weather though has other ideas. With rain starting to fall heavily we are told that the Minions Fever parade has been cancelled. Disappointed, we walk to Hollywood to check out The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man The Ride 4K3D. The Minions are quickly forgotten as we ride the new newsgathering vehicle, the “Scoop”, and join Spider Man in covering the five supervillians led by Doctor Octopus who are holding the Statue of Liberty hostage. The ride itself is fascinating, especially when the villains attack us with their superpower. The 3D goggles make everything so real. 

It is still raining as we walk to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and the miserable weather simply adds to the mysterious atmosphere. 

We have lunch and the famous Butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks, an inn and pub in the all wizarding village of Hogsmeade. A trip to the ladies just by the Three Broomsticks is amusing as Moaning Myrtle, a ghost with a penchant for bathrooms, makes her presence felt. 

Later in the day we check out the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride. A must for anyone who loves the books, the ride takes you through the familiar passageways and corridors of Hogwart School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on your very own Nimbus 2000 broomstick. Those who enjoy the roller coaster experience can board the Flight of the Hippogriff just around the corner.

We end the night at Universal Studios with the festive performance known as “The Gift of Angels III: The Voice of an Angel” featuring music by Japanese composer Takatsugu Muramatsu and vocals by Libera, the English boys choral group from South London.

The next day is dedicated to exploring Osaka. Armed with |the Osaka Amazing Pass, which gives you access to discounts at many attractions and shops as well as rides on trains and buses citywide, we stop first at the Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum, where we learn the history of instant cup noodles and, for a small fee, |discover how to make our own cup noodles.

At the Osaka Museum of Housing and Living, we rent kimonos and walk around the life-size re-creation of housing in Osaka when it was known as Naniwa in the Edo period. The scale models showing Osaka after the Meiji Period is on the eighth floor.

From bygone days we shoot forwards to the new at the Umeda Sky Building Floating Garden Observatory, where we peer at the cityscape from 170 metres above the ground. We also have time to hop on the Tombori Cruise on the Dotombori River, which passes the famous Glico signboard installed in 1935. 

Our last stop is Namba station from where we are due to take a super-comfortable Limited Express Rapi:t train to Kansai airport. Here we stop at a standing noodle shop and feast on kake udon to warm us up for the journey. 

As I sip the clear and sweet broth and munch the thick smooth udon, I am reminded again of why the people of Osaka are so fond of their food – and why I will be returning before too long.

 

IF YOU GO

< Thai AirAsiaX (www.AirsAsia.com) flies daily between Bangkok and Osaka.

<Tickets for a one-day Universal Studio Japan pass can be purchased |on board the Thai AirAsiaX flight.

<Find out about the Osaka Amazing Pass at |www.Osaka-Info.jp/osp/en/index.html.

<For information and the timetable for Limited Express Rapi:t, visit www.HowTo-Osaka.com/en/.