Day 13: Osaka
10 November 2006
Today, we went on a walking tour. The tour was only my mom, me and the tour guide. It was nice as we got personal attention and got to ask questions. The tour itself was alright because she took us to fresh food market. Well, that’s Osaka for you. There’s little craft shops. So, we quickly went around the places to check out the central town. Then we had a local lunch, Takoyaki. It was very interesting.
You choose a filling (mainly octopus, I chose prawns) and then you sit in front of this hot plates with holes. You basically cook it yourself. You put the filling inside each holes (about 10 holes), some chopped spring unions and then the staff will pour liquid dough on the plate. Once the dough starts to cook, you use a stick to cut it up into 10 squares. From the 10 squares, you push the fillings+dough into the holes – like making a snowball. Once the dough is cooked, you use the stick to turn the “ball”. So, you keep turning the ball until it’s cooked. It’s hard work alright. The most difficult part is turning the balls. If you’re not good at it, the balls would not be round. I did alright. My mom did OK too. But, our tour guide needed a bit of help. 
She was very nice.
After lunch, the tour guide and us went our separate ways. My mom and I went back to a famous shopping district called Ebisu-suji near Namba area and shopped till 8pm. I bought a lot of anime figurines from Den Den Town as there’s little to shop except this, plus I still have some cash left so I thought I’ll start spending it. I’ll shop more tomorrow, maybe on clothes.
