We pulled into Osaka rattled after a bumpy, thumpy flight over the South China Sea from Kuala Lumpur. Luckily, we booked a lovely place called Hotel Monterey which was connected to the subway. It was late, and Japanese go to bed early, so we rushed into the nearest tiny restaurant. The old businessmen were sitting and smoking beside crumpled napkins and the ruins of dinner. We ordered big. Everything was delicious and VERY different from the saucy SE Asia noodles and rice and much less spicy than Korean noodles and rice. It was just a small place so there was minimal attention paid to appearance, and more to the taste.

Pork ribs, sweet BBQ flavor.

Standard fried dumplings.

Shrimp with beady eyes and spindly legs.

We put some salty black sauce all over this dish. It was potato and veg mix inside.

Some fresh bean sprouts in a delicate sauce.

Pop an egg over anything for some added solidity.

This was such a great introduction to Japanese style food. All of these dishes could have been eaten even by the pickiest little eater.

We saw a little street food with Takoyaki- chopped octopus and veg cooked in those little ball molds.