Day 18 - Osaka and Curry Rice
I woke up early this day and jumped on a set of trains back to Osaka..
This is an older map I posted which highlights my travels heading away from Tokyo.. Now I was travelling back, but instead of transferring in Osaka I would spend 1 or 2 nights there.
The journey from Beppu to Osaka, with a transfer in Iktakyushu, is about 650km and took 4 and a half hours. According to google maps the same journey by car would have taken over 8 hours, although that probably depends on the time of day and other factors.
I know I've said this before, but the Shinkansen is really quite a delightful experience.. It flies at 300 km/h and you can just sit back and sip a beer, which will not spill standing there on a flimsy looking fold-out shelf in front of you. It feels more like flying (with 0 turbulence) than being on a train.. You don't hear that constant rhythimc beating sound you usually hear on a train.. it's more like a sort of buzzing hum. It feels futuristic and amazing and you can just sit back and look out your window, and everyone is quiet, and you can read your book or take a nap or order some more snacks or food.. and best of all you know that the train you're on will most probably arrive almost exactly on time.
At the Osaka train station I saw a restaurant that specializes in Japanese curry.. I couldn't resist
I believe that is a Pork Katsu Curry, which is essentially rice with a sliced fried breaded pork cutlet and tonkatsu sauce, which is made from worcestershire sauce, soy, sugar, and a couple other spices..
Curry was introduced to Japan in the late 1800s, brought from India by the British. It was adopted by the Japanese navy to prevent beriberi disease and became popular in the country. It is consumed so widely in Japan that it's now the national dish.
And even though this one you're looking at was made at a train station, I remember it being delicious