At 10 hours, the flight isn’t too horrible and since we were lucky enough to fly United Airline’s Business Class, the flight was actually pretty darn great. Plus we arrived in the late afternoon, which means that our only immediate obligation was an informal (or at least as informal as the Japanese can get) welcome dinner, after which, we were pretty much able to get some sleep right away.
Our entire group would eventually be comprised of five journalists and three local hosts (babysitters, as we called them.) Three of us flew together from Los Angeles, and upon our arrival, enjoyed personalized motor coach transportation (yes, a whole 48-seat bus just for the three of us) directly to the Hotel Nikko Osaka.
The hotel was as deluxe as you’d expected a Nikko property to be, but truthfully we weren’t given a lot of time to enjoy it. Upon check in, we had a whole thirty! minutes time to freshen up for dinner. How quickly my fantasies of a short nap were dashed. This probably should have been foreshadowing of exactly how packed our week would be, but high on little sleep and sake anticipation, I had not yet tuned into my psychic “oh my gosh this is going to be a crazy week” premonition vibe.
For dinner, we feasted on Shabu Shabu, sushi, beer and sake. It was like being on the Star Ship Enterprise. If we wanted something, all we had to do was ask for it, and whatever we wanted appeared before our very eyes. Somehow my desire always ended up being some version of sake or another.
Japan’s Sake Culture
In fact, it was here at this restaurant that I learned that most Japanese tend to look down on warm sake. Imagine my surprise! The logic behind this is that most sake that used to be imported out of Japan was of a lower quality. So people would warm the inferior sake up, in order to improve the flavor. Thus, in Japan, warm sake is nearly synonymous with cheap sake. Dandy, with me, I have no problem drinking my high-quality sake cold.
Shinsaibashi Street
After dinner, we did a little walking through Shinsaibashi, an entertainment promenade through the center of Osaka. Look out 99 Cent Store, Japan has the equivalent in its 100 Yen store. I however, have vowed to behave myself, shopping wise this year, as I have no desire to repeat the shopping mania that made up my trip last year. So, I was pretty good on my first day of watching my Yen. No random acts of shopping for me. Or at least not yet.
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