Ken Boddie

6 years ago · 3 min. reading time · ~10 ·

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Gourmand Bankruptcy in Osaka

Gourmand Bankruptcy in Osaka

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It may be said that the Japanese love and have a healthy respect for good food, but the Osakans take things to a completely different level. Osaka's relatively outgoing and down-to-earth citizens, compared to Tokyo's colder and more reserved populous (as assessed by Osakans, of course), are undoubtedly and absolutely obsessed with food. 

Osaka is where the term "eat till you drop" could have easily been first coined, but the local word "kuidaore" actually means to eat until you fall into financial ruin. And where are you more likely to find your archtypical bankrupt gourmand than in Dotonbori Street, a restaurant and street-food strip, parallel to the Dotonbori Canal, and which runs between Dotonboribachi Bridge (to the west) and Nipponbashi Bridge (to the east).

There's no mistaking this Foodie's Disneyland, which is copiously decorated by large three-dimensional eye-catching symbols, snapped by my itchy fingers below, including:

  •  prepared food (such as sushi or gyoza pancakes);
  • the creatures from which the food is sourced (such as fugu blowfish, crabs, octopus, or a beefy Aberdeen Angus); 

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Or even completely non-food-related characters such as:

  • Spiderman, seen below climbing above a Kobe beef, steak outlet; or 
  • the odd (very odd) dragon. 
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These ballsy blow-ups draw the eye away from, or rather stick out like a sore 'tongue' beyond, the backdrop of large colourful signs and billboards.  To the uninitiated, like myself, these visually polluting posters appear variously classical and/or cartoon-like in their depicted combinations of Kanji, Hiragana or Katakana scripts, with the occasional English translation, or rather the odd English embellishment or punctuation.

One of the oldest 'posters' in the area is Glico Running Man, seen below perched to one side of the Ebisu Bridge, with my good lady wife imitating his pose, arms raised in mock Olympic victory.

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This famous Osaka landmark is 20m high and was originally installed here in 1935.  It is the sixth version since then of this advertisement for the Ezaki Glico Co Ltd, famous for a candy caramel product containing glycogen. The Glico Man is now a popular meeting place for Osakans, and many locals and tourists alike can be seen taking 'selfies' with this icon strategically placed in the background.

So, after this visual bombardment of food lookalikes, acting in total conspiracy with wafts of appetising aromas, aimed unashamedly to tease the olfactory glands and taste buds and hence have the stomach scream for attention, what then to eat from this gluttony of food, glorious food? 

Were we to partake of 

  • sushi and sashimi, unparalleled in its freshness here in Japan? 
  • yakiniku, wagyu beef charcoal grilled before your eyes? 
  • ramen noodles in a tantalising broth, or thick and chewy udon noodles? 
  • the ubiquitous lightly batter-fried tempura, be it fish, eggplant, sweet potatoe, pumpkin, mushroom, bamboo shoots, carrot, green beans, or onion? 
  • takoyaki, golf ball sized batter balls stuffed with octopus?  or
  • yakitori, pub-style grilled skewers of chicken or chicken offal? 
In the end the decision was taken away from us, as arrangements had been made for us to visit a small, but select, eating establishment specialising in okonomiyaki, one of the flag-foods of Osaka, and which locals passionately love to eat.  This was in essence a batter of flour, eggs and stock, with finely shaved cabbage, cooked on a hot griddle in front of us, topped and decorated with various items of choice. We were then encouraged to cut it into pieces using our individually allocated sharp metal spatulas and to eat without ceremony or decorum, much in the fashion of pizza. 

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So there it is ..... Osaka's Dotonbori Street .... a must visit for foodies and a place that has got to be one of the ultimate food destinations of the world.  

" ..... a city with passionate food lovers and an abundance of things to eat." 

https://migrationology.com/osaka-food-guide-japan/

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befec4d1.jpgWhen not researching the weird or the wonderful, the comical or the cultured, the sinful or the serious, I chase my creative side, the results of which can be seen as selected photographs of my travels on my website at:

http://ken-boddie.squarespace.com

The author of the above, Ken Boddie, besides being a sometime poet and occasional writer, is an enthusiastic photographer, rarely leisure-travelling without his Canon, and loves to interact with other like-minded people with diverse interests.

Ken's three day work week (part time commitment) as a consulting engineer allows him to follow his photography interests, and to plan trips to an ever increasing list of countries and places of scenic beauty and cultural diversity.


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Comments

Ken Boddie

5 years ago #27

#33
But there's no missing Dotonbori Street when you're in Osaka, Pak Paul.

Ken Boddie

5 years ago #26

#32
Then you're headed for serious bankruptcy in Osaka, Claire L Cardwell

Paul Walters

5 years ago #25

Ken Boddie for re-sharing

Lisa Gallagher

6 years ago #24

#30
haha!

Ken Boddie

6 years ago #23

#29
You might say, Lisa \ud83d\udc1d Gallagher ..... His spat with that rat, Left him feeling quite flat, But that food coated rat, Made a treat for the cat. 🐱

Lisa Gallagher

6 years ago #22

#25
haha, I have to admit, I don't think I've ever asked if my butt looks big. I think I have a bad habit of asking how a shirt looks on me or if my hair looks ok? So petty, eh? Even when I hear, it looks good, or you look fine... I get mad and say, "Just fine, are you avoiding my question because it doesn't look good?!" My husband, "I can't win." Am I proud that I react like that, no LOL. Not sure what I'd do if I was told my butt or other body parts look big? Ok, back to food! Actually, I think I lost my appetite after reading your comment to Dean about the binge drinker/eater. Throwing up on a large rat, good thing the guy was too drunk to be freaked out ;-)

Ken Boddie

6 years ago #21

#22
Oh the joys of binge eating and binge drinking, Dean-san. Reminds me of the drunk who over-indulged in an unfamiliar restaurant and had to rush to the rest room with the intention of paying penance in front of the porcelain goddess. Well he turned right instead of left and ended up in the alley. But his stomach, by this time, had its own schedule, and he involuntarily threw up all over a large rat. Looking down at the results of his technicolour yawn, he scratched his head and was eventually heard to say, "Funny, I don't remember eating that?" 🤢

Ken Boddie

6 years ago #20

#24
Now therein lies the problem, Joyce. What to choose?

Ken Boddie

6 years ago #19

#23
Can I assume, then, Flavio, that you are, consequently, close to financial ruin? 😂

Ken Boddie

6 years ago #18

#21
Three things I've learned from bitter experience, Lisa: - Never guess a lady's age - I'm always wrong; - Never comment on a lady's weight - I like my head just where it is, thank you; and, most of all - When asked "Does my bum look big in this?" the answer is always "No, you look great!" Recent studies reportedly indicate that women who ask about how their derriere looks live longer than men who give the wrong answer. 🙁
Hunger strikes me as I read this buzz. I find myself rubbing my eyes in wonder, wishing I could peruse those streets with you. But wait! I have! You have taken me there through your travels. Now--Let's eat!!

Dean Owen

6 years ago #16

That is so cool! I learn something new everyday. In this case I learned that the caramel candy I basically grew up on was named after a rather ominous substance called glycogen! Underneath the large cow the sign reads Hormone which is a Japanese foreign word they use to mean innards such as offal and intestines. I love Okonomiyaki, and suspect you were given a choice of either that or Monjayaki. Similar dishes famous in Osaka, but you chose wisely as the latter very much resembles what comes out of your mouth after a night of binging.

Lisa Gallagher

6 years ago #15

#20
In my case, loss!! I never gained weight until I hit midlife and I swear something blowing in the wind did it overnight. ;-) I'm cool w/my age, but not the extra lbs.

Ken Boddie

6 years ago #14

#19
Ha Ha. No pain, no gain ..... or should it be loss? 🤣

Lisa Gallagher

6 years ago #13

#15
I think I was asking myself that question "Does my bum look big in this," after our road trip to Colorado ha ha. I wish there was a laughter icon, your poem was great and made me chuckle Ken Boddie. Put me in a district where there is an abundance of great foods to choose from and forget it, that's my weakness which I need to CHANGE!! We just purchased an incumbent bike for various reasons. So, I now have almost an entire gym in my bedroom with no excuses, well except.. ouch- this is painful!

Ken Boddie

6 years ago #12

#16
Not to mention the beautiful food, DLE. Thanks for stopping by. Care to join us for lunch?

Ken Boddie

6 years ago #11

#14
Well, Lisa \ud83d\udc1d Gallagher..... Dotonbori's very good, If you really love your food, But if you'll take my advice, In this foodie's paradise, Count your cals and watch your spending, So much choice, it's never ending, If you eat until you drop, Munching, crunching cannot stop, You'll be asking with a hiss, "Does my bum look big in this?" 🙁

Lisa Gallagher

6 years ago #10

A foodie's paradise it appears Ken Boddie. The meal looked delicious and I enjoyed the photos with descriptions. Pamela tagged me so I could see your new "Author" photo, love it, what was the inspiration? Your wife looks so happy and she's cute Ken! I'm glad Pam tagged me because I love travel and foodie blogs.

Ken Boddie

6 years ago #9

#11
A peristaltic pump, Ian, might be the ideal bioengineering solution for continuous ingestion of miso soup? Although I'm not sure if this would cure or exaserbate the borborygmi. 😫

Ken Boddie

6 years ago #8

#10
Ha ha, Vincent. Perhaps you could buy more time by telling her the best time to visit is in Spring, for the cherry blossom season. Should be long enough to organise a second mortgage? 🤣

Ian Weinberg

6 years ago #7

Thanks Ken Boddie for sharing this Gastronomical Secretion and Peristaltic inspiration. I'm rendered a moist borborygmus!

Ken Boddie

6 years ago #6

#4
I trust, Gert, that the dawn of a new day finds you full but still financially viable?

Ken Boddie

6 years ago #5

#5
Perhaps s logical fallacy indeed, Deb. On reflection, these gourmands appeared to be stuffed but still pecunious. As for the shogun regalia ..... stay tuned. 😀

Ken Boddie

6 years ago #4

#3
Hope it's not a case of 'economy-yucky', Pam?

Gert Scholtz

6 years ago #3

Ken Boddie From Spiderman to the Glico Running Man, a sumptuous run-down of Osaka's delights. What an interesting local term: "kuidaore" actually means to eat until you fall into financial ruin. I must run now... restaurants are closing.

Ken Boddie

6 years ago #2

#1
Luckily, Pascal, only the food trail is unusual. The food is to die for. Horns? What horns? 🙄

Pascal Derrien

6 years ago #1

a fascinating photo reportage on a very unusual food trail :-) :-) btw you have horns on your head :-)

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