Did we miss anything?

Osaka, Japan We returned with Pam to Dotonbori today, having signed up for a guided tour of the area.

And while we did have an entertaining, bouncy tour guide with excellent English, we also had heavy rain throughout the second half of our trip. But the humidity was so heavy before the rain that we were already soaked before the heavens opened up.

We covered a lot of the same territory, but there were some added pieces of information.

For example, we saw a restaurant which specializes in the dreaded puffer fish. Natalie, our guide, said that the fact the place has been in business for 30 years is a testament to the safety of the menu. Well, we’re not running back there to try it out based on that criterion. Dead men don’t talk.

We also saw a striking building facade which represented a bit of an error in judgement. What started out as a bungee jumping entertainment had to be closed down because it fronts a quite busy street. Drivers got very distracted by seeing people bounding off the wall. Crashes ensued. It was closed down for three months, until someone decided to repurpose it for wall climbing. Drivers got very distracted by seeing people climbing the wall. Crashes ensued. Today, just think of it as a sculptural design that can be driven past safely. Sometimes they just try too hard.

Then there’s the hotel that wanted to welcome all the peoples of the world, in time for a 1970 world exhibition that also turned out to be a very bad idea, Japan being far too expensive for travelers at the time. These stereotypical faces from left to right represent Asia, Africa, Europe and America. Their backsides face the rear. The original idea was that these images would declare how welcoming the Japanese were to all people. But they receive periodic waves of condemnation and calls for their removal. I just think they’re very ugly and out of scale. Thoughts?

Also, there was a “love hotel.” You pay your money, determine the amount of time you want, from 45 minutes to two hours, and you get your key. Evidently quite private.

Walking next to the picturesque canal, our guide led us to our promised snack — octopus balls, a huge favorite in Osaka. Group reviews proved that octopus balls may be an acquired taste.

We spent a few minutes in a huge vertical mall that featured a pin ball gallery. Very popular. It also featured a vending machine filled with Halloween-themed treats, like bloody fingers and eyeballs. It is particularly noteworthy for the trash can beside it. I don’t think I’ve mentioned that there are no public waste cans in Japan. It’s astonishingly clean because people just take their trash home, or find someplace more accommodating to dump it, like a McDonald’s.

Across the street was a Mipig café, where little piglets wander around and can be petted and bottle-fed. So sorry we didn’t have time to stop for that one.

We took some shelter from the rain next to a small Shinto temple facing a small Buddhist temple. Very charming in such a reduced scale. The Buddha is moss-covered thanks to an old tradition of throwing water on him to get his attention.

We wandered lots of streets which have now become familiar, along with equally wet crowds of tourists. Again, homage to the Running Man. I will have to do some more research to find out why this image is so iconic and even graces a little craft beer bar around the corner from us in New York.

After winding through lots of alleys where we were tipped off to hidden gems of restaurants, we ended up in the fish market, where there were some mighty big offerings.

A good day. We hope to dry out eventually.

Don’s Food Corner

Our three-hour walking tour, mostly through pouring rain, ended at the entrance to the fish market. (My horribly expensive Patagonia jacket, which promised to be waterproof, failed again. Someone is going to wish they were never born when that coat gets returned.)

We were hungry, wet, and tired. The food offerings in the fish market were mostly stands or very small places without proper tables. We grabbed the first place that had a big table and real chairs with backs. We collapsed into it. Because this place was in the middle of the fish market, I thought it safe to order a platter of sushi.

Actually, I’m not sure it was the freshest fish I’ve had in Japan; the flesh of some of the pieces looked a little dried out and aged. But it’s been several hours since eating it and I haven’t gotten sick. I guess it worked out. There were some mystery pieces on the platter, but Pam bravely consumed them.

Jo had an assorted tempura platter. This also contained some mystery items which were further camouflaged by the fried batter. Having heard about my experiences with the fried oysters the other day, Jo is particularly attuned to not taking on anything that looks like an oyster. I think, in fact, there was one oyster. But it was a little one and I quickly ate it in one bite. And, again, I’ve lived to tell the story.