Travel for December 2017
I decided to go out of Osaka market with Tockey. In overseas trips, shopping malls, supermarkets and traditional markets are very interesting places for foreigners and one of the most enjoyable ways to travel. It is the place where I can see the most clear view of eating and living of locals, and where I can see both the familiar and different things. I joined Tockey's guided tour via Airbnb. Tockey suggested me a different date than I had requested. Because I could see more stores in the market the date Tockey proposed than the date I requested. It was the day I returned to Korea, but since it was my flight schedule in the afternoon, I accepted her offer.
I was late for twenty minutes! OMG!
Since I was supposed to meet her the day I was heading back to Korea, I had to leave my luggage somewhere while touring with Tockey. I could go to Tennōji station when I got on the nearby subway after tour with her. So I decided it would be better to leave my luggage in the coin locker at Tennōji station. And when I went to the airport, I thought it would be nice to stop at Tennōji station and board Haruka. By the way, I didn't know Tennōji station was that wide. And the coin locker at Tennōji station cannot handle 500 yen coins and bills. I was in shock. In addition, there was no a coin changer machine near the coin lockers. Eventually, Because of the process I was changing coins and finding the coin locker again, I ended up being late 20 min. Fortunately, I was the only one who had joined for her tour that day. She told me to come slowly, saying it was okay, but I was so sorry.
"I'm fine, but we had to consider the time to go to the airport so we couldn't go to some places we're going to look together. "
Wow! It's so delicious, Croquette!
The first stop of tour was to visit the croquettee house. I don't like croquette. Because It's greasy. And croquette's contents were not very tasty to me either. A long time ago, I went to Yufuin from Fukuoka. I bought and ate a croquette well known for being awarded a gold prize. Even then, it didn't taste good for me.
I headed about the croquette which is well known to Tockey and the locals. The croquette store was really small. I wonder if croquette is delicious. But after taking a bite of the croquette, I thinks that It was good! Just my style. Actually, the croquette here was not the kind of croquette we could easily think of. It was a crispy hash Brown style. I don't know what the ingredients were, but they weren't greasy and had a crispy exterior. After looking around the market and heading back here, I found a long line of locals in front of that shop. It is famous place!
TOCKEY SAYS
" Croquette here is very popular. Later, as it gets closer to lunchtime, people are in line to eat. Once anyone eat it, They can taste good and very crispy. "
Real OSAKA specialty, a souvenir shop
Enjoying delicious croquette, We started Tockey's tour. I enjoyed talking with her. She stopped in front of a shop. It was a small souvenir shop.
TOCKEY SAYS "Many tourists usually go to Dotonbori. and also buy many souvenirs there. Here is not well known to forein tourtist, but there are many genuine products or souvenirs here from Osaka. Various items are made in Osaka, and they are not for sale elsewhere. Of course, the craftsmanship is still very expensive compared to other souvenirs. But there are also many cheap products here. There are many cheap but unique products "
It was a really small place to look around. She stopped in front of a frame in the store. The frame was a map of Osaka long ago. It was very complicated, but it looked very different from the map of Osaka today. She explained the old view of Osaka in front of this map. In Osaka, where there are many rivers, many bridges. Now Osaka has modern road construction and some have covered rivers to make it easier to get around. So, we can not see many old bridges. When I looked at the map, I could tell the difference between the bridge in size and Tockey told me the hidden history of it.
P.S. Osaka was also famous for its wine a long time ago.
In the picture above, the shape of the bridge is maintained. Long ago, it was a bridge. However, it now appears to be an extension of the road, as the river has been covered up for a long time. That is, it was not a bridge on the road for design, but an original bridge.
The market that Tockey and I were walking that day was actually the place where I visited in the evening a few days ago. I happened to find this arcade on my way to the subway station. It was an old traditional market. Now, most traditional markets have made modern renovations. This allowed many people to shop conveniently regardless of the weather. (The same goes for Korea. Still, there are places that maintain the appearance of traditional markets from long time ago.) In front of the old kimono house I met while walking, I was impressed by the luxurious and beautiful kimono.
