Eating Takoyaki in Osaka

Activity > Osaka > Eating > Nanba

I believe food is the heart of every culture. People love to eat and some even make a big show of savoring the delight it brings while some cultures will view such appreciation as hesitation and feel offended. Nonetheless, in all my travels, I made it a point to savor the specialty of every locality and what I discovered was this ? the yummiest gustatory offerings are out there in the streets and not in the confines of a classy restaurant.
When Hajime, a friend I met on one of my travels, invited me to travel to his hometown in Osaka, I definitely was not one to say no. In a matter of days, I had packed up my belongings ? I always packed lightly, anyway ? and got on a connecting flight to Osaka.
Osaka was blessed to be located right where the sea and river ports. Since the ancient times, traders from Japan and other countries in Asia mingled in the prefecture. With this kind of history, I was pretty sure a lovely food adventure would be waiting for me when I landed.
I spotted Hajime's tall, lean figure almost immediately the moment I stepped out into the waiting area. He pushed his glasses up his nose and grinned at me, waving wildly as I laughed and ran up to him. He had that adorable nerd next door look right down pat but deep inside, he was as adventurous as I was. Our friends kept telling us the whole time in Stonehenge that we should both at least try dating but Jim, as I liked to fondly call him, and I were pretty fine with our situation right now. If we should ever care to venture beyond the safe boundaries of friendship, we both figured it would come in its own time.
"Sarah-chan, you have grown!" he laughed as he took my bag. At six feet two inches tall, Hajime fairly towered over me. If it wasn't for my distinctly Caucasian looks, I could be mistaken for his daughter and the man liked to lord over his height advantage almost all the time. "When last I saw you, you were just knee high to a grasshopper, as they say in America."
I rolled my eyes and made a move to kick his shins. "Get outta the way of my steel-toes, Jim. Last I checked, your shins had nerves connected to your brain still."
He laughed and hailed a taxi. "I bet you're wondering what we're going to eat."
I grinned back at him as we squeezed inside the cab. This was a man after my own heart. "You got that one right."
"I figured you would like a snack first, after that long flight," he nodded and gave instructions to the cab driver. After several minutes, the cab halted to a stop by some marketplace and Hajime nudged me out of the vehicle.
He ushered me to the front of a stall where several balls and octopi were proudly displayed in the front. A delicious smell wafted from deeper within the stall and I smiled when I recognized those characteristic balls. Hajime had taken me to a takoyaki stand.
Hajime spoke to the stall owner like an old friend and I figured he and the old man running the show saw each other regularly. A few more words and he held out a carton tray with six steaming balls covered in a brown sauce and topped with what looked like dried seaweed.
"Careful, it's hot," he warned me.
The warmth seeping from the thin carton was enough warning for me. I poked a few holes into one of the balls and watched in fascination as steam came out. Hajime grinned in approval as he poked at his takoyaki with a toothpick.
"Make sure you spear it right through the octopus inside or it could fall apart," he told me.
When I was certain the takoyaki wouldn't burn the taste buds right off my tongue, I took a tentative bite and almost sighed in bliss. This was pure street food perfection. It was a little crunchy on the outside, the batter soft on the inside, and the octopus in the center chewy. The wonder of it exploded in my mouth and the old man running the stall smiled as I gobbled them up and looked to Hajime for more.
My friend only laughed and in the next few seconds, six spheres of perfection were headed my way.
"I take it you liked the takoyaki," Hajime grinned as we walked to the apartment he shared with his sister.
"If the rest of your food was like that, I might consider moving into Osaka!" I exclaimed.
He laughed and ruffled my hair a bit. "Tomorrow, I'll take you out for some sushi, I think."
I nodded excitedly. It seems that my trip to Osaka started out on the right foot. I couldn't wait to see the rest of it.