Enjoying Osaka’s Famous Food, Without Breaking the Bank

I sat in the passenger seat of a station wagon with my friend Brian, an American who is living and raising a family in Osaka — his cute toddler was snoozing in the back — as he explained local rivalries. We were driving down Midosuji Boulevard, the main thoroughfare in central Osaka. Conflicts between the Kansai region, where Osaka sits, and the Kanto region, which Tokyo calls home, can get intense, he said. People stand on opposite sides of the escalator in the two cities, make fun of how the other speaks, and instant ramen companies flavor their udon broths differently depending on the region, putting a small “E” or “W” on the packaging to denote “East” (Kanto/Tokyo) or “West” (Kansai/Osaka) Brian grew up in Texas: “You know how Texas sort of thinks it’s its own country and plays by its own rules?” he asked. “That’s Osaka.”

One thing both Tokyo and Osaka have in common: They’re both famously expensive cities. I had already spent time in Tokyo on a modest budget (more on that next week) and decided to see if Osaka and its individualism would prove as accessible.

Particularly when it came to food. Osaka has a fantastic high-end dining scene, from places that serve pricey Kobe beef (Kobe is just 40-minutes away by car) to the menu at Fujiya 1935, a Spanish restaurant with three Michelin stars and a spot on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. Where it really shines, though, is in its casual comfort food and street food — inexpensive bites that got me excited to explore the city. I’d also heard Osaka was the ideal place to try pufferfish — the sea creature with lethally poisonous organs.

But before potentially deadly fish, there were lodgings to arrange. Even that had toxic potential: I managed to inadvertently book a room at a “short-stay” hotel — which is a nice way of saying a “love hotel.”

The concept of a love hotel is as old as time itself, obviously, but the actual name “love hotel” originated, according to some, in the 1960s with an old Osakan concrete building called Hotel Love. The modern Japanese love hotel caters to those seeking discretion in their affairs, payable typically in hours-long increments. It also allows for tourists and regular guests too, however, something I didn’t realize when I booked the $89-per-night room on Hotels.com.

I should have been tipped off when I walked into the completely empty lobby. A woman eventually peeked out from behind a sliding panel on the near wall and greeted me. The check-in process at an overseas hotel usually takes at least five or 10 minutes; photocopies of passports are made, credit card deposits are taken. This took about 10 seconds: The woman wordlessly showed me a piece of paper with a bunch of names on it. I noticed my name, and pointed to it. She gave me a room key and slid the panel shut. That was it. I didn’t even have to show ID.

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