Osaka follow up


There was a great response to my blog post at the Guardian yesterday, still continuing today. The comments seemed to be divided between people who know Osaka and were really glad to have their thoughts confirmed, and those who were really keen to know more and wanted to go. And, of course, the odd nutjob with time on their hands and a gnawing sense of worthlessness, who are always good for a laugh (and, again, were ably dealt with by the grown up visitors to the site).

Anyway, there were calls for photos, so here are some:

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Tako yaki stand on Dotonburi.

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Appetisers at Kahala, an amazing counter restaurant.

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And here is the chef, Yoshifumi Mori, who has stood at this counter for 35 years turning out breathaking Japanese haute cuisine.

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Inside Sammy Ebisu Plaza, a kind of 1950s-themed indoor food mall, packed with amazing ramen, okonomiyaki and tako yaki restaurants.

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The amazing Dotonburi food street.

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The next generation of Japanese chefs, hard at work a the Tsuji Culinary Academy, the largest, most expensive and best cooking school in the world.

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  1. 1
    meemalee

    Hi Michael – this is meemalee who asked for photos :)
    Anyway, I’ve just started “Sushi and Beyond” and I CANNOT believe you got to be on the set of Bistro SMAP.
    I LOVE BISTRO SMAP! I can’t understand Japanese so don’t really have any idea what’s going on (and neither do the guests) but the programme is still a joy :)
    Kusanagi is my favourite (the one you said was eating rice quietly in the corner) and I was so gutted when he got in trouble – “what’s wrong with being naked?”
    Do you know if you can buy Bistro SMAP DVDs?
    Cheers,
    meemalee

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