We decided to stay in Osaka and use it as a jumping off point for the next few days but unfortunately the Yamaatoya Honten didn't have rooms so we went to the tourist information Center to find another hotel. They had a handy list of hotels with their distance to the station. Our main concern was witch's broken luggage was hauling our stuff to a new location. We need to travel lighter but it is hard given the fact we are here for three weeks.
After camping out at the Starbucks at Namba Parks (for the WiFi) we got a good deal on a hotel in Umeda. Lugging everything on the subway and the maze of streets and train stations and subways. It took us nearly an hour to get to the hotel.
Supposedly, the hotel was designed by Aldo Rossi, but I have trouble believing that. Maybe he did a sketch for the facade but there is really nothing special about it. The room is nice enough, but is a bog standard business hotel. The benefit is it is close to the station and a very fun neighborhood.
Umeda is a hyperactive shopping area and a warren of small streets. Supposedly it is also the hub of gay life in Osaka but that is hard to see.
We found a great Okonomiyaki restaurant in one of the covered alleys. It was basically a long bar with stools. Sliding glass doors separated the stools from the pedestrian way. To get to your seat, you slid the door and sat down. Behind the bar was the chef who prepared the okonomiyaki and the slid it the steel hot plate that ran the length of the bar. I ordered yakisoba and J the ordered Negiyaki which is basically okonomiyaki with spring onions instead of cabbage. Both were delicious!
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