Hassho – Hiroshima, Japan.
Hiroshima – the first city in history that was dealt the devastation of an atomic bomb. Today, remnants of the aftermath such as the Atomic Bomb Dome and the former Bank of Japan still stand with honorary and commemorative shrines, bells, statutes and buildings located in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. As a tourist in Hiroshima, one should put down a visit to the Peace Park as one of their top items to do. The next item on my list was as expected, food.
If there is one place you have to eat, I recommend Hassho as it is considered the premier place to eat okonomiyaki out of an estimated 860 okonomiyaki restaurants in Hiroshima, 6 of these part of the Hassho chain. Furthermore, as have not been disproven so far by my belief that the original branch is the best out of the chains, thus I went to the original shop located a short walk conveniently from our hotel in Yagenbori.
Jinen Sushi – Osaka, Japan.
Shinsaibashi and Dotombori in Osaka are two neighbouring areas where you can effortlessly spend a whole day losing your sense of time as well as whereabouts within the endless stretch of shops inside Shinsaibashi-suji, Ebisubashi-suji, Mido-suji and Dotombori-dori to name a few of the popular ones. My travelling partner and I did just that. It’s unbelievable when you juxtapose the bustling shopping streets that open late into the night with the wee hours of the morning when the shutters of the shops are closed and the only sound of activity is the clinking of beer bottles being replenished by delivery trucks.
Kiji Okonomiyaki – Osaka, Japan.
Kiji Umeda has been open since 1970 – that equates to 40 years of okonomiyaki knowledge and hence their claim to be the best spot for Osaka-style okonomiyaki. Located in the maze-like basement of the jaw-dropping Umeda Sky Building, Kiji sits on one of the many corners of the little alleys underneath the building. There is a surreal feeling when you walk on the cobbled pathway underneath the building that is dimly lit save for the neon lights of the indistinguishable line of restaurants with patrons appearing and disappearing into doors.