73: OSAKA

We had to wake up at 6am to attend the morning Buddhist prayers. It was cool - one monk chanted and banged on a drum while another monk slowly built and lit a fire. It was intense, especially when the smoke started billowing up towards the ceiling. After our vegetarian breakfast, it was time to leave the temple and head to our next destination - Osaka. We met up with Phoebe's friend Miyuko, who immediately took us to an okonomiyaki place for lunch. 

"Is there anything you want to do in particular in Osaka?" she asked me. I said no, and she said,  "There's nothing to do in Osaka except eat. Are you ok with that?" Of course I was okay with that! But I had no idea how serious she was. Right after we finished our okonomiyaki, we headed straight to a takoyaki (octopus balls) stand. Then right after we finished the takoyaki, we went to a pork bun shop!

We were pretty full by the time we finished the pork buns, so we walked around a bit. But then it was time for dinner at an izakaya place, where we had lots and lots of dishes to share. I forgot to take pictures except for this one, which is a tower of cream cheese with sauce drizzled over it.