We were surprised to discover that Osaka has quite a number of outdoor dining options. Our first meal was okonomiyaki of course, and my partner found a okonomiyaki restaurant with outdoor seating:
Sometimes before getting to a restaurant I get a bit worried that the limited outdoor seating may be all taken, but in reality nobody wants to eat in the cold except us. It was about 9 degrees celsius.
It also seems like the restaurants still keep the outdoor area active despite the daunting cold. Today we had breakfast at a cute cafe that has heaters and blankets even:
…and for dinner we stumbled upon a omurice place around dontonburi:
Though we are cold we are just thankful to be able to sit and eat at a restaurant.
We also walked the longest (2.5km) shopping street in Osaka today. It is supposed to be more local-oriented versus the touristy Shinsaibashi-suji. Some people on google reviews said it was boring, but we liked the quaint local shops:
Finally, my partner was in sewing heaven at the giant ABC Craft store. I also liked that they had classes, and that wow everyone was masked:
After a week of travel/photo-blogging I’ve actually really enjoyed the process even though I don’t think there is much readership. It is quite a departure from my usual depressive tenor. I like seeing more of the world through people’s eyes/blogs, so I hope there are some out there who will enjoy seeing some of the world through mine.
It is also an exercise in mindfulness I guess, to review my photos and take the time to document them properly instead of stashing them in my photo library almost never seeing them again. It is a lot of work, and usually by the end of the day I get pretty fatigued so the last thing I want to do is to sit at my laptop (eg. I am really sleepy now). Still, I feel like my future self will appreciate this, when my memories get hazy or when my movement becomes restricted, all I will have left is these scribblings from my past selves.
That I tried my best to live, once upon a time.