A Leisurely Stroll through the Heart of Osaka

After my Autumn Adventures in Kyoto, I decided to stop by Osaka to see a college friend and hit up some interesting cafes with her before heading home to Tokyo. My friend has quite the interesting career history of freelance English teaching in Vietnam and then moving to Japan to eventually accept a software engineer position for Rakuten. She will be moving to Tokyo at the end of this month and I am beyond excited to go on more exciting adventures with her! Crazy how we both met at Michigan State University and ended up here. I’m so fortunate to be surrounded by people who constantly drive me to be a better person!

In celebration of her new job, we bought white wine and chocolates from Family Mart and talked about our recent endeavors. Though I see Osaka as a bustling city full of opportunities, she expressed that there is a lot less to do here than in Tokyo and she can’t wait to make the move. Though Osaka was once a city I considered working in, after hearing this from her it re-affirmed my belief that Tokyo is one of the most exciting cities in the world and has endless things to do and see. More than anywhere else. Despite this reflection, Osaka will always have a special place in my heart as a fun city to travel to. ♥

For more information on Osaka, please see my Super Aesthetic Adventures in Osaka article series!

Cafe Stop #1: TKG Osaka

TKG Osaka, or “tamago kake gohan” as my Japanese friend likes to call it (literally translates to “egg over rice”) is a popular yakitori joint around Kansai. Fortunately it is centrally located and was just a 10 minute walk from my friend’s apartment in Nipponbashi. Though I don’t eat meat, the adorable egg face created with carefully-sliced seaweed completely won me over. This is a dish that you can easily make yourself at home, but this restaurant has special lunch and dinner sets that you can order as a complete meal. I chose a set with vegetables that cost around 1200 yen. Not everyone likes the taste of raw egg over rice, but once you get used to the texture it’s quite the hearty dish.

Address: 〒542-0076 Osaka, Chuo Ward, Nanba, 3 Chome-7, Gems Namba 8F

Cafe Stop #2: Cafe Twinkle’s Recipe

After eating our smiling egg rice dishes, we came across a brightly-painted cafe blaring K-pop with a strong retro vibe called Cafe Twinkle’s Recipe. Not wanting to dash our aesthetic cafe streak, we decided to stop by for a quick drink here. Let me tell you that the banana juice and interior decor was off the chain. Plus the waitress noticed I was wearing a BLACKPINK hoodie so she decided to play “Lovesick Girls” for us. This was the highlight of my trip. Honestly if you have time I would recommend stopping by here because you never know exactly what you’ll walk into. Next time I would love to try their cakes and macarons!

Address: 〒556-0005 4-chōme-17-10 Nipponbashi

Cafe Stop #3 Osaka Panda

Here it is—my main reason for coming to Osaka: to eat panda ice cream!! Osaka Panda is extremely small but serves up delicious baked goods, ice cream, and drinks. I originally discovered it through my Instagram algorithms and was enamored by its adorable design. Though there are panda pies and ice cream drinks galore, we decided to try the seasonal panda parfait. This included ice cream, chocolate, pie crust, granola, and sweet potato flavor which created a rich taste full of flavor. I would recommend this cafe to my friends because it is near Denden Town and offers takeout options. If you go, please tell me what the seasonal parfait looks like! I see the December one had reindeer antlers which really makes me wonder what other new sweets they’ll introduce here.

Address: 4 Chome-13-15 Nipponbashi, Naniwa Ward, Osaka, 556-0005

Pit Stops

Now that we had nearly limitless energy from all of the delicious food we ate, we decided to go sightseeing around Osaka by foot! We first dropped by the Pokemon Center where we were immediately handed a limited edition Pikachu card. The festive kimono it was wearing really fit the mood of this trip. I picked up some Pokemon cookies for my coworkers and then scurried out because it was extremely crowded for the holiday. But really, when is the Pokemon Center not busy? Sometimes you just gotta [politely] push past the crowds to get what you want!

We next walked around Denden Town and looked through the anime shops just for fun. There was an outdoor flea market going on much like the ones you see in Akihabara selling figures, plushies, and DVDs. Though nothing caught my eye, the memories of all the anime I watched between freelancing came to mind and I felt happy. Revolutionary Girl Utena was one of the best anime I had discovered this year. We also stumbled upon a poster with Tifa advertising a game music event called VGM-FUN. Though the event had already passed, we decided we would try to check out a similar one if our paths crossed again in this wonderful city!

Heading Home

Due to the large number of people that came to Osaka through the GoTo Travel Campaign, I decided to head home around 3pm. The reserved seats on the shinkansen were already sold out so I bought a non-reserved ticket. Fortunately there was enough room that I was able to take a seat! But in the future I think I will try to reserve one in advance so I don’t have to stress about it.

When I arrived home, my cat Leo was waiting for me. Though I had a lot of fun and took a ton of amazing pictures, I was extremely happy to be back! This was my last trip of 2020 as international travel is restricted and even domestic travel is discouraged. In 2021, I have my sights set on Okinawa and Kyushu. I would also like to go to Awaji and Aomori in the spring if they are open.

In my next article I will be talking about the limited things I was able to do in Tokyo over the New Year’s holiday. Though there are more things to do here than in other countries, it definitely felt weird to me not spending NYE on a tropical island. However, I was able to make the best of the situation and do a lot of freelance work for extra cash. When the opportunity for travel comes again, I will be more than ready!

Thank you to all of my readers in 2020, and I hope to update even more this year. Please stay safe and look forward to more articles from me!

Aesthetic Food Finds in Nagoya Vol. 3 ft. Meijo Park

A trip to Nagoya is never complete without trying all of the delicious food available. This aesthetic food adventure takes us to many dessert cafes and restaurants that have just re-opened after the emergency state ended. We also drank at Meijo Park near Nagoya Castle which is one of the chillest spots I’ve found in this city with awesome scenery. All of the places I visited this weekend have a lovely atmosphere and I can’t recommend them enough!

I’ll be expanding this list as I find more places, but feel free to suggest any you recommend in the comments! Please see Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 for reference.

Amelie Cafe

When I first saw the pink refrigerator door that serves as the entrance to this cafe, I was already enamored by its aesthetic. Amelia Cafe, located on the 3rd floor of the PARCO building in Sakae, has a large range of fulfilling dishes and beautiful desserts. I ordered the vegetable and seafood salad while my boyfriend ordered the massive curry that had a volcano of cheese fondue in it. I had never seen such a wild combination but it tasted amazing!! We also ordered the strawberry and Orea milk bottles topped with whipped cream and chocolate to go along with our orders. At that point we were already feeling full, but we couldn’t leave without defeating the final boss: The Rainbow Cake Pudding Parfait. It surprisingly had a light texture so we finished it off in now time. Hungry protagonist unite! Next time I come here, I would really like to try the waffles and tiramisu coffee drinks. The portions are huge but the food is actually quite cheap. This is a good place to eat with groups and also the ideal date spot. I’m really lucky that my boyfriend found this place!

Holland

*Tom Nook ain’t got nothing on these cupcakes.*

Around the time that Animal Crossing for Switch was released, these guys popped up in my recommended desserts feed on Instagram. Though I don’t play the game because I value my free time, who could pass up the chance to try tanuki cupcakes!? Holland is western-themed desserts and confectionery shop near Kanayama Station in Nagoya. They sell individual sweets and customized cakes for a pretty affordable price. The tanuki cupcakes come in strawberry and chocolate flavors. They had both a wafer and cake-like texture underneath the frosting. Honestly they hit the spot after traveling over 2 hours here from Tokyo. I am excited to see what other fun cupcakes they design in the future!

Cafe One

Cafe One in central Sakae delivers breakfast of the champions with it’s signature nekopan. Or should I say breakfast of the champio-nyans? Whatever you want to call it, it’s mouthwatering and delicious. I had ice cream milk coffee that was decorated to look like a cat with a mustache and a cookie tail on the side. I instantly felt energized after consuming all that ice cream and sugar. My boyfriend ordered neko melonpan that had no face but was thicc and tasted amazing. I ordered the nekopan with almond eyes that was covered in peanut butter and marshmallow toppings with chocolate whiskers. Honestly is was a bit overwhelming but was also some of the best bread I had ever tasted. There are many flavors of nekopan available here so I’d love to try more in the future!

Dean & Deluca Deli

*Nothing says a balanced diet like nekopan and freshly chopped salad.*

After consuming all of that sugar, we walked around for a while and decided we should eat something healthy for lunch. Not too far from Cafe One is the Dean & Deluca Deli where you can order sandwiches and fresh salad for a healthy meal. They offer juices, desserts, and takeout options here as well. I decided to get the vegetable salad with avocado, grilled pumpkin, potato, lettuce, quinoa, and carrots. It was a good balance to what I ate for breakfast and gave me a lot of energy for the rest of the day. My boyfriend had the chicken sandwich and said it had his stamp of approval too. This place is win-win for both vegetarians and people who like meat because it has a number of options.

Poket

Poket is a Hawaiin restaurant that just moved to the bottom floor of ASTIR Hotel in Sakae. They are relatively new but have a really vibrant and welcoming atmosphere. Poke Bowls are the specialty here which you can order with salad or rice as your base. I customized my bowl to include sauteed octopus and vegetables. For dessert, I decided to try their one of a kind “banana soft” which is vanilla ice cream that is carefully placed inside of a fresh banana. The result is extremely photogenic and Instagrammable. Bananas sure have evolved a lot! The drink menu has Japanese drinks, Hawaiin beers, and pineapple sours. I definitely felt like we were in a tropical place even though we are currently in the middle of the rainy season in Japan. I would definitely come back here again to try more variety of of Poke and see what other crazy desserts they come up with!

杏ZU

For once I wasn’t the one that found this restaurant—full credit goes to my boyfriend for taking us here. 杏ZU specializes in vegan Chinese food but has a non-vegan menu too. I decided to ordered the vegetables boiled with yuba tofu (vegan option). I also tried some Chinese wine on the rocks. It was bitter but tasted just right paired with the food. My boyfriend got a chicken dish that was served in a delicious rice cracker. What makes this place stand out from other Chinese restaurants is the seasoning they use in their cooking. I tasted a hint of lemon in mine and it was very healthy because they didn’t use any butter in it. I would really like to come back here and try some shrimp dishes in the future. This place will be on my watch list.

Iceland Market

This mysterious restaurant popped up in my Instagram feed one day and got me thinking… just what is an Icelandic Market doing in Nagoya!? I looked at their menu and decided I would try their bread bowl with shrimp soup. The other choices were tomato curry and Nagoya spice because that’s totally what people eat in Iceland. Though not completely authentic, this was the best bread bowl that I’ve ever had in Japan! My boyfriend had a hot dog wrapped in bacon which he said was pretty good. This restaurant is about 40 mins from Nagoya Station and is quite small, but it’s worth checking out if you’re looking for something different. I definitely enjoyed the theme.

Meijo Park

Situated next to Nagoya Castle, Meijo Park is one of the ideal places to drink or have a picnic. Unlike other parks and gardens in Nagoya, it doesn’t have an entrance fee and is open 24 hours. It feels like something out of an RPG because it has a giant windmill that looks like it holds secrets, a sundial that could possibly turn back time, and comically huge sunflowers everywhere. Not to mention the adorable stray cats. You could definitely use this place in a game map. Anyway, my boyfriend and I spent 2 hours drinking here before Final Fantasy VII trivia night at Critical Hit. We also tried the new Blue Hawaii donut at Lyrical Coffee Donut which was better than their matcha series. I later came back here to watch the sunset and see the moon before I left for Tokyo. This place has a wonderful aesthetic because all of the trees block the city lights.

That’s all the aesthetic food finds for this week. I’ll have more to write about when I visit Nagoya again later this month! Thank you for reading.

Houtong: Home of the Cat Village and Taiwan’s Tastiest Pineapple Cakes

After hiking Elephant Mountain and paying a visit to Laomei Reef, I decided it was time to travel to Houtong━a village in Taiwan renowned for its high population of cats. Similar to the origin of the rabbit island I visited last month in Japan, this was originally an old mining town that has attracted hundreds of cats (the former was a nuclear testing ground that is now overrun by rabbits). Fortunately there are a number of residents, volunteers, and tourists that look after these cats every day. If you are an feline lover, this is simply a day trip that cannot be passed up in Taiwan.

Getting to Houtong from Taipei is quite easy; from Songshan Station you can take a cheap 40 minute train directly to Houtong Station. When you get off at the station, you will notice there are two exits; one goes up into the hillside of the village where most of the cats lounge around and play, and the other leads to the roadside with nearby souvenir shops and restaurants. If you are eager to see the cats like I was, I would recommend taking the stairs to the hillside first. In fact, you may even see some furry friends lounging around in the station!

There are a number of things about this village that really charmed me. First of all, I loved how the cats acted like they owned the place. They weren’t afraid of humans at all and some of them were actually very friendly despite having to put up with us invading their space every day. I also loved the Neko Atsume cookies and pineapple cakes they were selling here. The shops had so many free samples that I tried every flavor (the chocolate pawprint-shaped pineapple cakes happened to be my favorite). I was informed by the shop owner that apparently these are the most delicious cakes in Taiwan, so I decided to bring back some souvenirs for my roommate and friends in Japan. They definitely had the cutest shape out of all of the pineapple cakes that I had seen here!

I also enjoyed the simple decor of the village. You could tell that the volunteers put effort into making helpful signs and guides for tourists as well. These adorable cat-like ornaments were hung in the station:

It really doesn’t take that long to explore the village; I spent about an hour and a half doing photography and exploring the shops. However, cat-watching is definitely something that you could spend all day doing. You can purchase food for them at any of the shops or cafes (I stopped by one to order a vodka latte for myself so I could warm up). I enjoyed watching this kitty run across the souvenir table:

Houtong truly reminded me of a mountain town in Japan because it was peaceful and had the same kind of atmosphere. Other than the cats, there is a river and a number of temples that you can see nearby. It is considered to be rural but the trains run here pretty frequently. On the way back to Taipei, I decided to stop by the Golden Waterfall that you can reach by bus from the nearby Ruifang Station. You could also combine this with a trip to the Jiufen lantern town if you want!

Unfortunately it was pitch dark when I reached the Golden Waterfall, but this is the best picture I managed to take:

Afterwards, I decided to go back and relax at my hotel. This is trip is a great way to see the countryside east of Taipei and also see the unforgettable village run by cats. Since Jiufen inspired Spirited Away, I can’t help but wonder if Houtong inspired The Cat Returns…