Day #4 – Our Visit To Nara
We planned for a half day visit to Nara which is well known for the free roaming Deer and a paid visit to TODAI-JI Temple.
There Are Deer All Over
Once we were out of the Kintetsu Nara Station, the whole big place (or park) was filled with deer, its poo all over (be careful where you are stepping) and many tourists who were feeding them (one stack of 6 biscuits was around 150 yen) or running away from them – the deer would nimble on your clothes. The park is very big and the deer are all over the place and one could be just following you. Someone tried bowing to the deer and the deer responded with a bow too.
The Visit To TODAI-JI Temple
As we tried to make friends with the deer, we made our way to the TODAI-JI Temple which is well known for its magnificent tall statues and serene surroundings. One popular attraction was this hole in one of the column pillar and it is believed that if you are able to squeeze through you will granted enlightenment in your next life. Our sizes were too big for it so we just stood around to observe some students making their way through it. Other than that, the other attractions were the building structures, the very big and not so big Buddha statues, write ups on the historical background, a small souvenir store and a Fortune Telling corner.
Our Lunch And Bites At Nara
After the visit, we went to look for lunch around the area.
First item that we tried was this Musk Melon Ice Cream (400 yen) at one of the many ice cream store outlets near the Temple Area.
After that we wanted to try one of the popular restaurants here – Edogawa Grilled Eel and this place located at Sennichimae street was a 25 minutes walk from the Temple Area.
Along the way, we spotted the famous Mochi Pounding Process (Nakatanidou) and tried one piece of it. It was still warm when we got our hands on it. Taste was not too bad.
We found the Edogawa Grilled Eel Restaurant at the end of Sennichimae street but we did not go ahead because:
- Reservation was required and there was no one at the counter to inform us and there were many other customers looking at each other wondering what to do next
- Staff and Customers (who ate and paid) went in and out but the queue was still not moving
- We saw many empty tables behind the closed door and decided that it was no longer worth waiting
- Many other customers did the same too
We decided to walk back and try out the Okaru Okonomiyaki Restaurant.
We ordered:
- House Special Okonomiyaki (Pork, Ground Beef & Pork, Squid, Shrimp, Octopus and 2 eggs) at 1,600 yen
- Pirate-Style Fried Noodles (Squid, Shrimp, Octopus and Scallops) at 1,600 yen
- Comes with unlimited free flow of Ice Water
Experiences:
As per many of the reviews online, the service from the staff was warm and friendly. Our ice water was always refilled. Cooking was done entirely by them and this took quite some time before we could start eating. Overall taste was that meat tasted good and chewy but the dark sauce for both was that little bit salty. Do be aware that they are very generous with their serving of onions. The two orders were also a bit too much for two of us to finish, but it did taste good. Also be aware that your clothes will absorb the smell and smoke of that place.
Back To Namba & Trying Out Pablo
After our lunch, we headed back to our Hotel and by that time it was already late afternoon and the raining season also started.
We decided to visit Nipponbashi Den Den Town – a place well-known for all anime and manga fans but before that we visited Pablo Dotonburi to try out the cheese tarts and buy some souvenirs. We ordered three of their Mini’s as takeaways – Plain, Choco and Matcha and a few boxes of their biscuits. If you like to eat in, they have a second level. Our experiences were that the crust was crunchy and the inner fillings were thick and creamy. The taste was not very distinctive but good enough to enjoy on their own.
Visiting Nipponbashi Den Den Town
Nipponbashi Den Den Town was around 25 minutes walk from our Hotel and most of the electronic (and other) stores there were closed when we reached there around 6pm.
If you are into:
- S.H. Figuarts – you can visit Super Kids Land Joshin where you can find a huge collections of them at the second level and they are priced almost the same as those Online Stores like AmiAmi.
- Gundam Plastic Models – you can visit the store (did not take down the name) opposite Super Kids Land Joshin.
- Anime Plastic Figures like One Piece and Dragon Ball – you can visit the store (with the Pirate Cat Mascot) which is near to the Animate Manga Store.
Our Dinner At Isomaru Suisan Dotonbori
We walked past Isomaru Suisan Dotonbori almost every night and the grilled seafood smell was very tempting. and we decided to give it a try on our last night at Osaka.
We ordered:
- Squid
- Scallop
- Sashmi
- Sushi
- Clam
Experiences:
The bowl of sour tasting appetizer started the meal. We were thinking it may be Kelp, but was not sure. But what we were sure was that it did made us hungrier for the food.
The staff would cut and prepared all the food items to be grilled. Food was also delivered promptly after ordering. Sashmi tasted fresh and the scallop was chewy. The sushi we ordered was very different from our usual sushi. They mixed some strong smelling vegetables into the rice and it was too exotic for her liking. Only issue we had was the Squid as it took some time to grill and the staff needed to attend to other customers therefore some of the parts were like over-grilled (there were dark pieces stuck to the pieces). Be prepared to soak in the smell as well.
This ended our last night at Osaka.