The Over 30 Girly's Edit

Friendly warning: this blog won’t provide a detailed itinerary for a Japan trip. Our quick hop to Japan was rather short – a total of 6 days in Osaka and Kobe, and definitely very minimal tourist activity done. My family decided on a last-minute trip to Kobe (from Vietnam) to visit my 88-year-old grandfather, and although a 6-day trip to somewhere that is almost 5,000 miles away from Seattle sounds absolutely daunting, I had to get on that plane and go see my family.

This trip was spontaneous, so fun, and filled with so many fond memories. We also got to visit a brand-new city and were well-fed. The trip somehow became one of the most memorable holidays in my lifetime.

Where we stayed

Coincidentally, the Four Seasons hotel had just recently opened in Osaka, which may be the reason my husband decided to accompany me. He went to Japan for the first time in 2022 in July, and the heat combined with an absolute tourist nightmare truly steered him away from the thought of coming back, unless it was family-related. Osaka used to have zero proper luxury accommodation, and I mean the real top-notch service with attention to detail and personal touches. Yes, there are the Ritz, or the St. Regis – and I apologize if those are someone’s favorites, but I really think this Four Seasons hotel Osaka has no competition in the city. Simple as that. Stunning property – the wood slats detail throughout the lobby and into the guest rooms, perfection. The earthy tone creates a very zen atmosphere despite being located in the middle of Umeda, where business buildings and luxury residences surround. Right through the entrance of the hotel, there is a water feature with a floating sculpture that immediately calms you down, and you will instantly feel at ease.

Our room was simple – a corner king with a view of the city. Not the largest, but in Japan’s room size standards, there is no complaint. The view here did remind me of the Four Seasons San Francisco at Embarcadero.

As a gym-lover, their gym checks the box. Again, not the largest, but enough machines to accommodate the flow, even during the peak hours. The only downside here is that the space for floor workouts or free-weight workouts is limited. Still, considering the real estate limitations in Japan, this gym is significantly better than many others we’ve stayed at. The view does take the cake easily, though. I recall being in the much larger gym at the Four Seasons Kyoto or in the similarly sized gym at the Tokyo Edition; both are located in the basement, and I felt a lot more suffocated doing the same workouts there.

We didn’t have time to spend in the spa here, but I’ve heard many good things about it. Bath houses are also available in the spa for folks to enjoy after their workouts if desired. Next time! Quick tip: Having a good, sweaty session at the gym does help with the jet lag.

What we ate & drank

Osaka is the kitchen of Japan, and rightfully so. Yes, food stalls in Dotonbori or Namba, as well as fish markets like the Kuromon Market, offer a wide range of options to choose from, but we didn’t eat there. This time, I will provide their names and addresses, along with my brief reviews of each place. Still, the places we went to were: a place to splurge on sushi, a touristy (maybe) place that may or may not still be around (!), a very local spot that you may or may not want to go by yourself, a place that we just stumbled upon, a cantonese cuisine type of place, and a few mall restaurants. I mentioned it at the beginning, and I’m saying it again, but this isn’t an Osaka’s trendy food guide (I hope you still find it useful!).

But First, Coffee

If you like coffee and enjoy a cup of cappuccino, Pause Coffee can’t do anything wrong. According to my husband, they did the best job out of the three coffee places we visited on this trip. I have not had coffee in about 4-5 months, and since Pause does not serve matcha lattes, I was “forced” to have a perfect cup of latte again. And, if I had to pick which spot to break the matcha streak, it would have to be at Pause. Very smooth and creamy foam, with strong espresso, made a well-balanced cup. I felt a bit uneasy during our Shinkansen ride to Okayama right after, as I hadn’t eaten breakfast, but I wouldn’t do anything differently that morning.

Pause Coffee – Address: 6 Chome-12-19 Fukushima, Fukushima Ward, Osaka, 553-0003, Japan

Another great option that serves both coffee and matcha, along with delicious taiyaki, is The Roasters Coffee Shinsaibashi. This is a perfect spot if you are wandering around the Shinsaibashi, Dotonbori, and Namba areas. They tend to get busy, though, so go early in the morning when they open at 9am. The breakfast options were great, featuring a single serving of taiyaki in different fillings (ham and cheese, sweet purple potatoes, or the traditional red bean), or a ham and cheese taiyaki with green salad as a full plate. The taiyaki is toasted to order, so they are warm and crunchy at the same time. The sweet potato filling has just enough sweetness to it so that I, who prefer a savory breakfast, really enjoyed it. No notes on the matcha latte!

The Roasters Coffee Shinsaibashi – Address: 1 Chome-10-1 Nishishinsaibashi, Chuo Ward, Osaka, 542-0086, Japan

Another coffee spot that we frequented, but I would not recommend for coffee, is, sadly, at the Four Seasons hotel. Both my matcha latte and Toby’s cappuccino were very bitter, while the milk was not steamed well. It was convenient for the mornings when we had to get going, though. Another slight inconvenience was that, although there were seats available in the lobby where you could sit and drink the coffee, it wasn’t a sit-down type of coffee spot. Alternatively, we would have to eat at their restaurant, Farine, for a sit-down service. Not the biggest deal, however. Now, you must go for their pastries, and that alone was worth the try. Anything baked in that bakery was divine and scrumptious: the chocolate croissant, the pineapple croissant, the savory croissant, the lemon cake, and the scones! Heaven on earth. We did stop by for lunch at Farine on our last day, and their bread service was so good – not surprised because their pastry chefs were legit!

The Mall Food

I’ve read all the top lists for eating in Osaka and watched many YouTube/ Reels/TikTok videos, and I don’t recall seeing people talk about the food at the mall in Japan. That is insane, as I honestly remember a lot of eating involved the food courts or restaurants inside a mall ever since I was growing up. Fine by me, as I only had to compete with the local Japanese ladies who went shopping at the mall during the day. And, I’m not talking about the insane food halls inside Hankyu, Hanshin, or Takashimaya department stores that resemble Harrord’s food hall in London. You can find these food courts or restaurants in the basement of any department store, but we generally went to the top floor for those. The only downside of that is sometimes we’d have to take the elevator up, and somehow, elevators inside a mall in Japan don’t operate well. (They took forever just to get up from street level to the 8th floor.) Anyhow, up there, regardless of what mood you’re in, you will find the food for it. I did not look these up online to see reviews or anything else; I simply browsed their food displays outside and went in. Perhaps they didn’t have a lot of foreigners dining there, even though they usually would have English menus, the language barrier could be intense but not impossible.

We had pork tonkatsu lunch set in Parco Shinsaibashi once; the pork was tender but lightly crispy on the outside. The katsu sauce paired perfectly with their amazing Japanese white rice, along with a side of seafood miso soup. We came in for an early lunch, but when we left, the spot was busy with a lot of locals, both mall goers and office workers. That’s a great sign, isn’t it? Our other visit to one of these establishments, which specialized in omurice, was at Hankyu Department Store in Umeda, where we were again joined by mostly Japanese people. I had an eel donburi instead of omurice, as everyone else in my family had that, and the food was delicious and filling. I don’t know, maybe skip the lines at Dotonbori and go to a mall?

The Nostalgic Spot

If there were only one ramen I was allowed to eat for the rest of my life, it would definitely be the tomato ramen at Ramen Taro in Kobe. Forget Ichiran or whichever popular ones everyone lines up to, Ramen Taro is the best ramen on this planet, and all of my family members will agree with me on this. I think my older sister, who studied and worked in Japan for a few years, ate there 2-3 times in her first 4 days of this trip. Unfortunately, they only have two locations in Kobe; the newest one is located by the central Kobe train station, Sannomiya, while the original one is somewhat difficult to access. It’s in the city of Kobe, but it’s not near any convenient train station for us. Nonetheless, why else would we have uncles if not to drive us all to Ramen Taro?! Their specialty is shockingly tomato ramen, and by the name of it, the broth is tomato-y. Rich and creamy (without any cream) broth with perfectly cooked ramen noodles and 2-3 slices of pork, plus an egg as an add-on if desired. Another highlight of this store is its free kimchi. A metal tub of kimchi shared among their guests in their tiny ramen restaurant in the most unbothered neighborhood is what we call “home”. You enter the restaurant, select your meal from the vending machine, pay, pick up the ticket, wait until there is a seat available, give the cooks the ticket, sit down, set up a kimchi station for yourself, get in awe by watching them cook in the kitchen, get the ramen bowl given to you, and savor every single out-of-this-world greatness bite. I cry thinking about it. It’s not just the food, and the food is f***ing delicious, but it’s also part of the community for many years. Pick either one of their locations in Kobe and go next time you’re in Osaka. It’s easy, 30 30-minute train from Osaka to Kobe, and then figure out the way to get to the ramen place. Just don’t flock the restaurant, please, so I can keep going back to it. And, be respectful of their way of doing things. We’re the visitors, not the other way around.

Ramen Taro Daikaidori-Shop – Address: 兵庫県神戸市兵庫区水木通6丁目1-8

Ramen Taro Sannomiya Honten – Address: 1 Chome-10-10 Nakayamatedori, Chuo Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0004, Japan

(Maybe) The Touristy Spot (But 1000% Worth It)

They also may or may not close for good – I haven’t looked it up to really confirm because I cannot face the truth, so check Google if interested.

This one is a random spot – Toby loves yakitori and after having an extremely bad experience at a popular place in Kyoto, I was very wary of famous yakitori with many good reviews on Google. If there are hundreds of 5-star reviews on Google, you have to know those are filled with tourists. I don’t have any issues with tourists, by the way, as I was one, too. I am just skeptical with the high praises (LOL) with first-hand experience on a lot of top reviewed places in Vietnam vs. the reality. Anyway, here I go, digressing again.

The Four Seasons Osaka’s recommended food list included this spot. Since it was within walking distance of the hotel, and they took reservations with availability on the date and time we needed, I went ahead and booked it. And to say that my expectations were blown away would be an understatement. The restaurant is located on a side street, an alley-like area that houses many salaried men’s clubs. Yup. (Walking through that street at night after dinner was bizarre and fascinating at the same time.) When we arrived, a man stood waiting in front of the restaurant, greeting us by name. Shoes were taken off as we sat on their wooden floor right in front of the charcoal grill setup. We were the first guests of the 7 total counter-only seats for that night. The restaurant was small and intimate, and we were greeted by all the staff with a friendly and warm welcome. They referred to us as “Ichiro”, as Seattle’s baseball team is the Mariners, where Ichiro Suzuki played for 12 years. I thought that was hilarious and unique! The staff could mostly converse in English, with one staff member speaking fluent English, so we know they often dealt with foreigners. However, the night we were there, we may have been the only 2 non-Japanese speaking guests.

The food was yakitori, but in an omakase style. The plate was presented neatly, with a chicken bone cleaned and served as the chopstick rest. There was mustard and green onions as a palate cleanser in between courses. A lot of chicken cuts were served, after being grilled to perfection by the head chef. They used high-quality chicken Hinaidori from a farm with a certificate that was shown to all the guests, and those chicken bites had to be the best chicken meat I’ve ever had. Juicy and tender, even the chicken breast. There were intestines and other parts offered as well, but not included in our courses, as I did not choose them. They saw me looking at the chicken ovaries with my admiring eyes and grilled me some as well.

Besides the amazing food, these guys were the funniest ones we were served. The head chef was playful with every guest from the beginning until the end, besides being so great at his job! Toby had beer and I was plum wine with soda, and although he was not a beer drinker, nor was I a plum wine drinker; the restaurant vibes, the hospitality, and the great food had kept us companied so well. So much that, yes another beer or another round of this plum wine soda drink, please.

The sad news is that we think they might have closed and that was their last week running the joint. If that’s true, I will be so sad and disappointed as I truly thought I had found a great gem and we would keep coming back every time we’re there. I don’t know, if anyone reads this and knows what’s going on, please enlighten me. (Or lie to me that they are still open.)

Yakitori Taimatsu – Address: Japan, 〒530-0002 Osaka, Kita Ward, Sonezakishinchi, 1 Chome−7−21 エスパス北新地８

The VERY Local Spot

Our family has a tradition of going to a yakiniku – a Japanese BBQ restaurant as our last meal together in Japan. Sometimes, we’d go for a few times in between, but always the last meal together would be a yakiniku. It’s the type of meal that brings us together, laughing, and enjoying food for a much longer period of time. There is a great spot in Kobe that we have frequented for years now, but this time, as we have 9 people total before my dad left to go back to Vietnam, we went to another spot. Either one, I would not be a help there. They have no English menu, and they’re not in a popular area to get to. The one we went this time don’t have a sign, either. Or there could be a sign in Japanese that is so un-sign that I did not even notice!

Anyway, we got seated upstairs in the 3-connected rooms with this big group. The menu was a set dinner and all-you-can-drink for 90 minutes; all ordering was done before we even arrived at the restaurant, as it was required for group dining. Similar to Korean BBQ, which is more well-known in the West, we had a variety of beef cuts and parts to grill. There aren’t as many banchans (side dishes) as in a Korean BBQ, just simple kimchi and pickled cucumbers. There was no Kobe Beef, and you know what, it wasn’t needed. Some pieces were incredibly tender, while others were intentionally chewy. Belles were full, a lot of laughs were had, and a lot of fond memories were secured.

羅州はやしや – Address: 3 Chome-2-5 Matsunodori, Nagata Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 653-0841, Japan

The Splurges

If you want to spend $$$$ on the best views of Osaka, and very great food with absolutely impeccable services, well, you’re in for a treat.

If you haven’t noticed, I have not mentioned a sushi meal at all until now. Yes, there are many ways to eat sushi throughout Japan, in any city. But we like to splurge on omakase sushi. And we did just that at Sushi L’Abysse Osaka, located right on the top floor of the Four Seasons Osaka. The view, no words. Sunset was a scene to remember for a long time. Even the night city view was beyond words. The food – there was a lot of food, not just nigiri but also cold and hot dishes as part of the menu. Obviously the fish was super fresh, but the technique to sear the fish was very cool. Their desserts (yes, 4 desserts) were prepared in unique ways as well – very impressive. I don’t think I can use words to describe this meal – it was perfectly done. Food cooked or (not cooked but) presented very well. Every bite was delicious; and the wine & sake pairing worked well with the dishes. The service was as expected, attentive but friendly. We were lucky to serve by chef Yasuda Itaru and he was a subtle funny guy. Thank you, chef!

Sushi L’Abysse Osaka – Four Seasons Hotel Osaka

Then, as I thought I could not possibly be surprised anymore in terms of the fine dining scene at this hotel, I was pleasantly surprised again at the Jiang Nan Chun. You may think, why on earth would anyone spend so much time (and money) to eat at hotel restaurants in Japan? Well, we do, LOL. Simply because we tend to have dinner the night before at the hotel, so that we can have an early night and be ready for a long journey home. Or simply because we look at the menu and think that this food sounds great, and yes, we would be eating there. We don’t tend to chase after restaurants just because they appear to be trendy or popular online; we go because it’s the food we want on that day, and it’s not a hassle to get from point A to point B to eat. Back to Jiang Nan Chun, oh, the space was stunning. High ceiling, amazing view (same floor as Sushi L’Abysse), super done-up decorations in the most modern but Cantonese style. White cloths on the table, staff more than enough to assist their guests, and most importantly, the very delicious Cantonese food. We took recommendations from the restaurant manager, who came to say hello and changed our minds about the food we were to order (thankfully!). Starting with a glass of champagne as a welcome drink from the restaurant, then their complimentary amuse bouche, and then corn soup, two-way cooked shrimps, peking duck, fried pork belly, and fried rice. Although the food is served in a fine dining portion with artful presentation, we were very full by the end. The only minus point here is that the “half” Peking duck was definitely not half, maybe 1/4? Where were the meat and skins? Hahaha. Regardless, the 1/4 of the duck we had was juicy. I couldn’t choose my favorite dish there as everything was tasty. This is one place to be back for sure.

Jiang Nan Chun – Four Seasons Osaka

Quick shout-out to their Bar Bota – the drinks were great. There were many East Asian-inspired elements, which were obvious since we were in Japan. Their own version of margaritas was so interesting that I kept coming back for more. Most of all, their customer service was excellent. Thank you!

Some of my personal tips

Take it or leave it, ha! JK. If you find my post helpful or not, leave a comment!

1. If you head to Osaka to attend the Kansai Expo 2025, be prepared as if you are going to Disneyland. Personally, taking a taxi from central Osaka to the Expo site was the fastest, as the West gate was a breeze to get through. Book the pavilions that you want to go see well in advance (good luck with navigating the website) and bring food – the lines at all the food courts, food trucks, 7-Eleven, Lawson, or Family Mart were insane on a weekday.
   • Wear shades for sunny days and rain jackets for rainy days – there aren’t many shady rest stops, and they will fill up too.
   • There are kids’ school field trips to the Expo during weekdays, and a lot of visitors on weekends, so pick your battle!
2. The fastest and easiest route to walk from a subway/train station to a destination may be … underground. Follow the sign and you can avoid so many street traffic lights, crossing the street, even in the sun or the rain! Google Maps said it would take us 15-17 min to walk from the hotel to Umeda Station, specifically the Hanshin railway but in reality, we entered the Nishi-Umeda station that is 2 min away from the hotel, and breezed through the tunnel in 10 min or less to get to Hanshin.
3. Use Google Maps for train routes, and be sure to take the express train vs. local when you’re supposed to take the express one.
4. Suica is a lifesaver. So easy to use. So worth the mentions.
5. Taking a Shinkansen is definitely a must-do. A day trip from Osaka to Okayama to walk through the Kurashiki ancient town is a day well spent. So much less touristy than Kyoto, and the scenery is out of this world.
6. There are many debates on the Konbini (Convenience stores) and I don’t dare to insert my own opinions, but 7-Eleven for their corn-on-the-cobs, Lawson for their coffee, Family Mart (obviously for their chickens) for their chicken & mayo onigiri. Egg sandwich is honestly good anywhere, but I may prefer the Lawson ones over the rest.
7. Try this sealed egg sandwich, TRUST me.
8. Try this chocolate ice cream, THANK me later.
9. Just wander the street (or mall) and try out the restaurant that speaks to you the most. You’ll find the most memorable places that way.
10. Dotonbori is OVERRATED (yes, I did take a picture of the Glico man, and now looking at it, I don’t know what it’s for.)
11. Be respectful of the local people. Always.

And if you’re still reading, here is my final thought that I hope you could laugh with:

The public restrooms in Japan are in a different league. Clean, yes. Bidet, yes. But, do you know that in women’s bathrooms (at airports, or at department stores), when you sit down on the toilet seat, there is music playing automatically. There is an option to turn it off, but I thought that was such a cool feature, and perhaps a thoughtful one. Meanwhile, the public restroom situation back here in the States is just yikes!

Japan is a fantastic country, and Osaka is a fun, vibrant, and friendly city. I had a great time, even for a short 6-day trip, with the family that I will cherish for a long time.