Welcome to Lithuania!

When figuring out where to adventure to this summer, I knew I wanted to return to Europe. However, I wanted to explore an area I hadn't visited in my 20s when I lived here. Looking at the map, I realized I knew nothing about the Baltics, and discovered it's reasonably priced, and there's some fascinating history in these (moderately recent) independent nations. Cue Mario voice: Here we go! 

I'm travelling to the popular hubs of Vilnius, Riga, and Tallinn (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia respectively) -- with a few days in Jurmala (a beach town near Riga) and a day and a half in Helsinki, Finland.

Welcome to Vilnius   

Since I arrived late at night from Dublin, I decided to use the European equivalent of Uber, Bolt, to get me to my little hostel. Super easy, even with the Lithuanian-English language barrier. Much thanks to my colleague Paul's sister for recommending I download it before I began traveling, as you need to validate it with a phone number!

My hostel (25 Hours Hostel) is a cute and quirky gem right at the entrance to Old Town, and my little private room is perfect for this 30-something to gain a bit more comfort without sacrificing socialization and a place to make food if I choose. I didn't end up socializing since my social meter was a bit low after Ireland, but it's nice to know that could be an option.

I started the next day with a walk to this "Instagrammable" cafe covered in roses called Augustas & Barbora. A Pink Latte (regular latte sweetened and colored with beetroot) and an avocado toast later, my mouth was agape at the price, but at least I got some cool pictures... I guess.

Pink when I turn out the light...

Old Town

With a full tummy, I headed to my free walking tour of Old Town. I think it's a great idea to try to do one of these first to get a better idea of which things you actually want to check out and which ones you can just say "great, got the photo, and now I'm good". Plus, all the history, local recommendations, and background info is just catnip to this modern history buff. Some facts I recall from the tour:

Many street signs have both Lithuanian languages listed and the language of the community that exists in that neighborhood - e.g., the Jewish quarter has Hebrew street signs written underneath the Lithuanian ones.

Literature Street, a grey wall with objects artistically embedded in it, honors writers, poets, and lyricists with ties to Lithuania. Some are a bit of a stretch, though. For example, they have a piece dedicated to Thomas Harris, the American writer who wrote Silence of the Lambs, just because he wrote that Hannibal Lecter was from Lithuania. 😅

They also really appreciate Frank Zappa, even though he doesn't have strong ties to Lithuania. He is honored on Literature Street and has his own statue (the first in the world) in New Town. My guide said it was because they appreciated his bohemian style and influence. 

Vilnius had a thriving Jewish community... prior to 1941. When the Nazis invaded, they created two ghettos during the occupation, and unfortunately, by the end of the war, only 2-3,000 Jewish people survived out of the original 58,000.

Art indiciating where the Jewish Ghetto was

Lithuanians are accepting of all religions and quite secular, despite the many grandiose churches I came across. To entice people to settle in Lithuania, the Duke or King offered that it didn't matter what your religion was; they would welcome you to their country (quite progressive at the time). All was good until the Crusades came and basically colonized Christianity on the pagan communities in Lithuania. They enticed people to get baptized by giving them a free linen shirt as a perk - even people in medieval times appreciated swag bags.

St. Anne's Gothic Style Cathedral

Pagan religious altars are still present, and we saw an altar dedicated to the God of Beer.

Pigeons love beer?

Cathedral Square

The walking tour ended in the area called Cathedral Square, aptly named due to the giant Catholic cathedral (Vilniaus arkikatedra) and Bell Tower adjacent to it. The cathedral was impressive and opulent inside, and I lucked out by arriving during an organ practice session, with the sounds echoing through the domed roof. As a side note, I also did not burst into flames as a non-believer.

Outside on the Cathedral Square grounds were two unique tiles. The first, called "the Miracle Tile," has the superstitious belief that if you stand on it facing the cathedral, make a wish, and then turn clockwise 360°, your wish will come true. I'll let you know if it worked. 

🤞🤞🤞

The next tile marked the beginning of the Baltic Way. In 1989, over 2 million people formed a human chain in Vilnius, Riga, and Tallinn, protesting Soviet rule and their desire for independence. It must have been amazing to witness. In 1991, they became independent nations with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. 

The Baltic Way - Vilnius

The Republic of Užupis 

After a mid-afternoon reprieve, I headed to explore this bohemian art neighborhood. But they don't consider themselves a neighborhood; they consider themselves their own republic! 

Welcome to the Republic of Užupis. In 1997, they declared, "Hey, if Lithuania can declare its independence, so can we!" and set up their own country based on a "beermocracy" (quote from my tour guide) with a constitution, money, and even a border control where you can grab a passport stamp from Užupis. Some of their constitution rules are absolute gems, and I loved reading through them. Some of my favorites included:

1. Everyone has the right to be undistinguished and unknown.

2. A dog has the right to be a dog.

3. A cat is not obliged to love its owner but must help in time of need.

4. Everyone has the right to be in doubt, but this is not an obligation.

5. Everyone has the right to appreciate their unimportance.

6. No one has the right to have a design on eternity.

7. Everyone has the right to celebrate or not celebrate their birthday.

They say that if you stand in front of the mirrored version of the constitution (written in multiple languages), you too are now a citizen of Užupis. 

Newest citizen

Since it's a bohemian culture bomb, there are tons of artists, writers, musicians, and free-thinkers residing in this area. There is thus street art at every turn - my kinda vibe. Some standouts included incredible wall murals, funky statues in the art incubator (such as "backpack-traveling Jesus"), and some hanging installations. There was also a metallic cat with the superstition that if you touch its ear, you'll have no fear!

Art found in Užupis 

Traditional Lithuanian Food.... all the Potatoes!

For dinner, I had looked into what might be a good vegetarian/pescatarian choice and came across a dish called Cepelinai. They are grated potato dumplings, stuffed with meat (or, in my case, cheese curd) and often served with a sour cream-style sauce. 

I found a restaurant (Bernelių Užeiga) that looked like a little medieval tavern, complete with servers in traditional costumes, which served the vegetarian cheese version. I sat at a large booth solo, which is interesting because I'm slightly less self-conscious about eating alone when I travel than in Toronto. 

Atmospheric, baby.

On the drink menu, I saw "Homemade Lithuanian Cranberry juice" and thought it would be similar to the watery, dark red cranberry juice we have at home. However, I was in for a surprise when it turned out to be more like a watered-down smoothie. It was actually something called kissel, made from water, cranberries, sugar, and... potato starch! I was basically slowly turning into a potato while relishing every delicious bite. 😉 

 

Po-tay-toes!

St. John's Bell Tower

I was moving more slowly the next day, and since my bus to Riga was arriving in the afternoon, I decided to have a chill breakfast (coffee and a muffin at the Baltic chain Caffinate), hang out in my common room, check out the Halès Turgus market, and do one more touristy thing: go up the St. John's Bell Tower at Vilnius University. Built in the 17th century but renovated now (thank you, little elevator), this structure takes you up to the highest vantage point in Old Town for €5.

At the entrance, there was a mini museum about famous lecturers and alumni from the university, as well as a working Foucault Pendulum (which demonstrates the Earth's rotation). Then you take the elevator up 45 meters to the observation platform. I opted to walk down the stairs but am always grateful for a lift up. The rain from yesterday was nowhere to be seen, and the views of Old Town were gorgeous. I loved that I was beginning to recognize some locations after only being here for a day. 

Bird's eye view of Vilnius

Vilnius was a great town, and I know there's a ton more to see beyond Old Town. But that, dear readers, just means I can come back another time. 

✌️ Out of Lithuania, I'm off to Latvia next.  

Dublin - the Return!

Good things come in threes and this mini trip to Dublin was no exception! I've previously traveled to Dublin in 2010 with my good friend Dan Grant and then I came back in 2017 for my first ever solo trip across Ireland. I have nothing but good things to say about this country. 

This time, I stayed with a close childhood giftie friend, Susan Z. Yes, my name-twin (I've never met anyone else my age with my name and the only one I did was in the same class as me for 9 years). Susan Z's husband Eoghan has Irish citizenship so they moved here from Texas, 2 years ago. 

My flight over went well, I purchased a bid upgrade to move to premium economy which helped a little with sleeping on the plane but a lot with the extra leg room (super useful for my 5" nothing, haha). 

I took the bus from the airport (direct!) to Susan & Eoghan's place in Portobello (South Dublin, about 30 mins to city centre) and after way too long of a jet lag nap, we grabbed some Arepas (Arepa's Grill) and headed to a local pub (J. O'Connell) for a mandatory first Guiness of the trip! 

Howth - Coastal Town

The next day, I took a day trip to the seaside town of Howth, recommended by both my host and another friend who recently traveled here (Hilary). Accessible from Dublin City Center via the DART in about 30 minutes, it was a great day trip. It was a gorgeously hot and sunny day (did I bring the good weather? She smugly states).

On the ride there, I was "treated" to a group of about seven 18-year-olds heading to the beachside stop of Sutton (shoutout to my maternal family's last name!). Now that I've seen Derry Girls set in the 90s, this was Dublin Girls set in the 2020s, and my eavesdropping on their not-so-quiet conversations lent quite an informative experience learning about the youths here and how to celebrate 18th birthdays. Side note: They were blaring and singing along to the Space Jam theme song from when I was a kid, so I felt cool (or cringe; either way).

I was sad that I didn't think to bring my bathing suit on this adventure, because I would have loved a dip in the sea to cool off (as I saw some people doing!). I ended up completing the 6km Howth Cliff Walk (Green Route) over a few hours. Now, I'm not in the best shape of my life, but I felt like I could do this hike; while I won't be posting the videos where I'm desperately wheezing at the top, I will post some of the beautiful views I had.

After the hike, I was starving so I popped into the Abbey Tavern for some fish and chips (and five gallons of water). I even got to witness an Irishman blast the bartender for pouring his Guinness poorly. A legendary sighting to be sure. In the end, it was abysmal service but amazing food. 

Also, coincidentally, those same teenagers boarded back on the same car as me when going home and they were VERY tired and drunk. Hahaha. 

St. Stephens Green 

The next day, Susan Z took the day off, and we explored Dublin city. The first step was to purchase a raincoat, since I discovered a week ago in Toronto that my old one was no longer waterproof. We went to the Stephen's Green Shopping Centre, which is definitely one of the prettiest malls I've ever been to, and grabbed a great jacket from Trespass.

We then took a wander through St. Stephen's Green (which I had visited back in 2010), viewing the swan on the lake, plenty of statues, and people having picnics and relaxing on the lawns. I found my favorite Henry Moore statue, which commemorates Yeats, before enjoying some paninis for lunch.

National Print Museum

As two former history nerds (albeit for different eras), we visited two museums next. The first was the National Print Museum, a tiny one-room museum packed with as many artifacts about printing presses and mid-century print as you could ever imagine. The most fascinating thing we saw, in my mind, was an example of the printing press used to print the Proclamation of the Irish Republic in 1916. 

I learned that, since the printing had to be done in great haste, a few small typeface errors had to be problem-solved. There weren't enough "e"s in that font, so they swapped in some other "e"s (and a few were upside down!). Also, some letters had to be altered due to a lack of supply, such as adding sealing wax to a "P" to make it an "R" and altering an "O" to make it a "C" in the "IRISH REPUBLIC" title line. This picture shows all these small adaptations:

National History Museum - Archeology

Next up, bog bodies.

Yup.

Bodies found in bogs. *Murdered* bodies found in bogs from as early as 200 - 400 BC. The Clonycavan Man was the most intact and they even made a facial reconstruction of it.

They were preserved by the bogs, and due to fancy scientific tech I don't fully understand, researchers could determine things like their diet based on their fingernails. It was pretty creepy, but equally SO interesting. We also explored the rest of the museum fairly quickly (seeing some cool Viking artifacts and an exhibit on gold), but were feeling pretty gassed. So we headed home for a rest before heading out to find an Irishman to sing to me.

Devitt's Pub

The first time I came to Ireland, Dan and I looked for some traditional Irish music (basically, I just wanted to feel like I was in P.S. I Love You and have someone sing "Galway Girl" to me). We kept hearing a ridiculous amount of cover songs so when I grilled Dan's cousin Sam on why this counted as Irish music, he said "well they are singing in an Irish way... and they are sitting on a stool". So that now remains my bar for Irish music, accents, fiddles and stools. 😉

Susan Z and I accomplished those criteria, along with a hilarious variety of 90s/2000s pop & rock covers (he knew his audience) at a bar on Camden St. We had plenty of Guinness and a cute Irish twenty-something sing to the bar. I believe the three Irish pop songs he sang were by the Pogues, Cranberries and Aslan.

 

The National Botanical Gardens

Eoghan joined Susan Z and me as we travelled north to the National Botanical Gardens the next day. We explore most of the Gardens (with the exception of me stating, "we have those trees in Canada, we can skip that area") we some special attention given to the hilarious names we came across.

The Rose garden was gorgeous, as were all the succulents and palms found inside the greenhouses. 

There was a calming river bubbling through along the path which allowed us to spot some wildlife when we saw a little turtle and a goegeous heron who would have won first place in a statue contest. 

A Caren Night Out

When Dan and I traveled here in 2010, we stayed with his cousins and aunt/uncle and the boys (Sam, Hugh, and Luke) toured us around. Flashforward 7 years to 2017 when I'm doing my solo trip, I randomly message them and they bring me out to dinner and drinks over a few nights. Flashforward ANOTHER 7 years to 2024, and here I am again, bugging them to show the Canadian around. 

And they obliged. 😊

I met up with Sam and Luke at Cobblestone Pub to hear some traditional music. It was quite amazing! The musicians just gather at the front of the bar and have a little jam session. They don't necessarily know each other, they all have different instruments (I saw fiddles, guitars, flutes and an accordion), and they just like *know* how to play together. It was really impressive. 

Hugh joined us and after some debate and discussion amongst the Dubliners, we settled on sushi for dinner. It hit the spot and our bloated bellies continued onwards to another pub (The Boar's Head), where Luke bid us adieu. We wandered down to Drury Street which had a great open air / pedestrian only bar crawl vibe. Lots of stringed lights, friendly vibes and the interesting experience of Sam and Hugh buying a drink for a random street dude and having him drunkenly serenade me... Well, I did want to be sung at by Irishmen. Sometimes, you take what you can get. 😉

Japan Adventure - Sapporo

I'm off to Sapporo, the last stop on my trip, but the main reason I came! I'm here visiting Amy, one of my oldest friends. We met in gifted in Gr 4 (... 29 years ago!!) and have stayed good friends throughout the years. Amy married a Japanese man, Kentaro a few years ago and moved to Sapporo and had her first child, a daughter, Ritsuko (nick name = Richan) 2 years ago. We were a little nervous about the timing because Amy is pregnant again! But at 37 weeks, little baby stayed where he was supposed to and my visit went off so smoothly. 

Amy, Kentaro and Ritsuko welcomed me into their home, a cute apartment building in Sapporo. Kentaro has a car, so it was my first time driving around in Japan. But thanks and love to him for being our chauffeur on this visit!

I flew over from Osaka on Peach Airlines, a very no frills quick 2 hr flight. Luckily none of the typhoon brouhaha from yesterday affected me. Amy and Ritusko met me at Sapporo Station at the classic gaijin (foreigner) spot... Starbucks! Haha, Amy had a good chuckle at my choice of meet up location. Kentaro picked us up and after we dropped off my luggage went to a delicious sushi restaurant nearby. 

I haven't been used to eating with other people so that alone was a pleasant treat. We demolished many plates and I was quite impressed with Ritsuko's chopstick skills. I'm 100% sure she's more adept at it than I am. And she's 2. 

I was kindly offered the spare room/Ritsuko's play room to sleep on, but this poor Canadian is definitely not used to floor futon sleeping! Too hard for my delicate back. Haha. Luckily, the couch was right next door and I'm small enough to fit comfortably on it! I am so grateful they had space for me!

Sapporo Beer Museum 

The only way I used to remember where Amy lived was because of Sapporo Beer. So, it was obviously the only thing I knew I wanted to do. Amy and Kentaro had actually never been before so it was new for all of us! They had a free tour with informative signs about the history of Sapporo and of brewing beer in Japan.

It was the first brewery built in Hokkaido because of the easy availability of snow/ice and a colder climate to preserve and make German style beer. In 1875, Seibei Nakagawa, the first brew master, went to Germany to learn how to brew beer and brought the idea (as well as a certificate of German beer brewery accreditation) back with him! 

Since beer was such a new concept in Japan, the first advertisements were a bunch of barrels outside the brewery that stated: "The production of barley and hops leads to an alcoholic drink called beer". 

In 1878, Sapporo began selling and producing its beer. The company was originally called "Kaitakushi Beer Brewery", but the labels still said "Sapporo Lager Beer". As beer became more and more popular in the early 20th century, they opened up a brewery in Tokyo, "ushering in a reorganization of the Beer industry".

After the tour, a flight was in order. The 3 flights of beer cost 1000¥ and each were 240 ml! The three were Black Label - the kind we have in North America, Classic - Only available in Hokkaido, and Kaitakushi - a hoppier, closer to the original one. I think my preference order went: Classic, Black Label and Kaitakushi. I'm not a big hops girl.

Unfortunately, as Kentaro was driving, Amy was pregnant, and Ritsuko is a toddler, I was the only one to enjoy the beverages. But, Amy did try a non-alcoholic version (0 stars, doesn't reccomend lol).

Odori Park & Sapporo TV Tower

For lunch, Amy really wanted me to try a Hokkaido specialty, Soup Curry. Kentaro found a place with vegetarian broth and it was delicious! You added some rice to the soup and I could see it being very popular in colder times of the year as it was very warm and satisfying. 

Oh, and in general, Sapporo has had a MUCH nicer summer climate. A lovely 29/30 degrees most days. :)

After lunch, we did some souviener shopping at Don Quiotje and I stocked up on all the unique kit-kats to bring back!

Odori Park is Sapporo's central park, right infront of the TV tower. As I had been kinda "tower"ed out, we didn't end up going up, but collected an eki stamp and then chilled by a beautiful fountain which Ritsuko enjoyed running around in. Japan doesn't really have a patio culture so Amy said she loves coming here to enjoy some fresh air in a social setting.

Our evening was wrapped up with some convenience store snacks for a light dinner and my inaugural viewing of "Fatal Attraction" (Amy was surprised by this fact and excitedly watched me watching it). 

Visiting Shiraoi & The National Ainu Museum

We took a roadtrip to visit and stay at Kentaro's parents place in Shiraoi where Kentaro grew up. It was about 1.5 hours from Sapporo by car and we loaded up on car snacks like melon pan and iced coffees. We drove through green forests and beautiful massive lakes, such as Shikotsuko Lake. Thanks for letting me be a passenger princess!

Kentaro's parents are so kind and lovely. They had a massive snack spread waiting for us upon our arrival (inari, red bean rice balls, pickles, potato salad). While they didn't speak much English, Amy was a great communicator for me and I hope I conveyed my gratitude effectively! They did a great job providing me with pescatarian options. 

Amy and I then ventured to the Upopoy Musuem - The National Ainu Musuem. The Ainu are an Indigenous people that live in the Hokkaido region. They share similariteis with Indigenous communities around the world in that they have faced colonization, assimilation, and persecution. This museum honours their traditions and histories. We saw gorgeous ritual clothing, traditional religious totems/ symbols made of sticks and wood shavings, tools and weapons from the Ainu people. 

The bear is a huge religious symbol for the Ainu people. There are wooden bear carvings everywhere and they even capture and sacrifice bears as a way of appreciating and communicating with thier religious deities. 

They hunt salmon, deer and seals (utilizing their furs and skins for clothing and tools). I saw a pair of skis that used seal skin with "the hairs pointing backwards to allow the skis to slide forward, thereby offering a smooth glide downslope and a firm grip upslope". 

We also got to view traditional dances and singing during a performance. It was beautiful. It reminded me of the Western Indigenous peoples of Canada's culture in a way.

We also had some hands on interaction, like me attempting to shoot an arrow (I did so poorly) and playing with a stick toy where you had to get the circle on a string onto the stick (I'm a pro). 

The museum mascot (because everywhere in Japan has a mascot) is a giant cartoon "turep" ( edible lily bulb) named TureppoN. According to the website: "Japanese, cuteness is often indicated by adding an “n” to the end of a word. TureppoN’s name has a capital N because she’s VERY cute!". 

After the museum, Kentaro and Ritsuko met us for ice cream. Hokkaido soft ice cream is famous and Amy wanted me to try some, but we found a delicious gelato place instead. It old there that it's just a throwback to our high school years at Holywood Gelato in Leaside!

We came back to another feast laid out for us by Kentaro's parents. This time it also included tempura vegetables and scallops! It also had natto, a "fermented soybean superfood", which Amy has been dying to have me try. She absolutely hates it and it almost made her barf the first time she tried it. Her husband and daughter love it though. So with that glowing review for me to go upon, she fervently videotaped my reaction (which while wasn't great, it wasn't THAT bad). Haha. 

The next day, I had to say goodbye to Amy and her family as Kentaro dropped me off at the airport. It was short and sweet and an absolutely lovely way to end my time here in Japan.

Japan Adventure - Osaka

My time in Osaka was short and sweet. I didn't get to see much but I did see a baseball game, explore Dontonburi and experienced a Typhoon Day!

Baseball - Hanshin Tigers vs. Tokyo Yakult Swallows

One of the big things I wanted to do here was go to a baseball game. I may not know much Japanese but I'm pretty sure I won't be tooooo much out of my element even if I didn't understand what was going on.

Much thanks to Amy's husband Kentaro who got me my ticket which Amy mailed to me at my hostel in Kyoto! It was a match between the Hanshin Tigers and the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.

Normally the Hanshin Tigers do not play at the Kyocera Dome (their home team is the Orix Buffaloes), but in August they share it with the tigers? Either way, it was an impressive stadium that holds about 36,500 for baseball games and I didn't see one empty seat.

The seats were slightly terrifying as they did not have any rails or backs to them. I feel like if you got drunk, you'd easily fall. I was situated in center-left Outfield, smack between the Tigers and Swallows cheering sections. (I wasn't sure where I was sitting and if you sit in a cheering section you CANNOT wear clothing or support the other team). Great view of the game and alot of fun fans around me.

Some things I noticed about watching a baseball game in Japan:
- They seem to review calls more than Jay's games. Reviewed at least 2 before the 4th inning was done.
- The Swallows had this fun umbrella cheer/choreographed routine they did whenever they got a runner home. Like legit popped open these tiny umbrellas. Rihanna would be so proud.
- there were at least 2 wild pitches that hit players! And you could hear a PIN drop in the stadium while the fans waited to see if the player was ok
- Theey let each time have thier own 7th inning stretch song which they call the Lucky 7
- They have cheers for individual players like "katobasay oh yo hama" 
- There were LOTS of mound huddles. I feel like they really support their teammates
- Trumpets and drums help to lead the cheers!
- Snacks included a mix of Japanese food (I.e yakatori, tayoyaki) and western food (I.e. French fries). I had draft beer, French fries and a chocolate churrito.

The Tigers ended up winning the game (5-3), so that was icing on the cake.

A night in Dontonburi
After two cancelled food/drink tours (one out of fear of the typhoon and one from a sick tour leader), Daisy (my American travel friend who I met in Tokyo) and I decided to still meet up and do our own thing in the Dontonburi area of Japan.
Dontonburi is the bright lights, bar and good area of Osaka. It gives off a mix of consumerism and Blade runner... and the misty rain only added more to its vibe.

We met up at the Glico Running Man, a very specific and busy landmark of the area. Dodging selfies, we went to a restaurant to try Osaka's version of Okonomiyaki. This time we didn't get seated at the teppanyaki grill but rather they brought it over to us and served it to us on our own hot grill after it was made. It was delicious but didn't have the noodles that the Hiroshima version did, so I think in the end I preferred Hiroshima style.

We walked around and tried some more street food. We ate candied strawberries and grapes (muscat). They were like tiny candy apples and if I find out I got a cavity in a few weeks, this would be it's culprit.

Next snack was the Cheese Coin. It's basically a hot pancake that is filled with hot and stringy white cheese. Basically, my vibe. The sly joke of it being in the shape of a 10 ¥ coin but actually costing 500, is not lost on me either.

Then it started to rain a little harder so we popped into a random alley that turned out to showcase different murals and paintings of Dontonburi! Such luck!

We decided to go get a drink and when pondering where to go, we looked up and saw a neon sign for "bar". Why don't we go there? I suggested.  So we headed it up and it was this ADORABLE kawaii bar with cute neon lights and a partnership with New Zealand Manuka honey? They gave us a phrase book written in English so we could communicate with the adorable servers even better.  The owner was there too to give us tips and his business card for us to check out his other karaoke snake bar ? (We declined). Daisy had some whisky drinks and I had a lychee cocktail and a plum wine with soda and rocks. We never really did find out its name. But wander down the right back alley in Dontonburi, look up and you may find it like we did.

Daisy had to catch the last train back to Kyoto and it was SO much fun to spend a night with a new friend. We were a little worried about the weather because tomorrow was...

Typhoon Day - Tuesday Aug 15th
Typhoon Lan had been in the news all weekend with lots of a fanfare and hype. It was to hit Osaka in the early morning of the 15th and last for the day. I had heard of the devastation it left in the southern tip of Japan at the beginning of my trip so I was a little nervous going to bed.

Trains were cancelled, flights grounded in advance, stores were shut, people were buying everything off the shelves in Family Mart...  but turns out, it was nothing! I heard rain and wind outside in the wee hours of like 5-6 am and it rained consistently until about 4pm, but it wasn't flooding or trees down or power outages. It apparently got downgraded to a tropical stoem. We have had WAY scarier thunderstorms in Canada.

My hostel, Fon Su, was a quirky little place with a comfy bed and a nice little Cafe for breakfast. The biggest quirk I saw was that the entrance to the shower was like half a door that you had to scoot under to get inside and then slide the door for privacy. When I returned home from my Dontonburi night, I saw this posted on the wall.

How fun! I had tried tayoyaki at my bar tour in Tokyo, but to make it here with a local would be next level. So after I woke up, had breakfast, chatted with a dude named Omar from Israel, and sorted through some photos and napped, I went to the common room to try my hand at making takoyaki.

Takoyaki is this famous Osaka street food. It's basically small balls of dough with octopus inside and a delicious sauce & mayo poured on top. Some of the other ingredients inside were tuna flakes, shrimp crunchies (mini tempura crunches?), green onions and ginger. The batter is similar to a pancake kind of batter.

You grill it on a special tayoyaki grill, making sure to rotate them to cook each side a golden brown. I was told that it is likely for most homes to have one of these grills and most people enjoyed them as snacks. At the stalls in Dontonburi, they sell them in groups of 8 which seemed like a lot to me, but I ended up eating 10 of my 16 I made. They were so good and the octopus doesn't really add too much taste, just a bit of chewy texture for that part. They are also piping hot.

After the takoyaki expeience,  I asked the staff where I could go since most everything was closed (🙄). Apparently the mall near the Kyocera Dome was open so I headed back there to Aeon Mall. I wandered through each floor, taking time to notice things I probably wouldn't have if I had been rushing. Almost bought 1000 cute clothes for Hannah but couldn't figure out sizing. I DID buy some of my Korean face moisturizer (Nature Republic) which I got for half the price I would pay for it in Canada!!!

In the mall, I got suckered into a kids Gachapon and claw game amusement area. I tried some vending machine popcorn (meh), won 2 hair scrunchies from a claw game and spent about $25 on a scooping/pushing game to win a Keychain that I have no idea what it's from. But the dopamine rush of finally getting it was worth it! 😅😅😅

I was on the hunt for a Hanshin Tigers shirt but didn't find one there, so figuring that maybe Dontonburi would be open for tourists, I headed back there with my umbrella in hand. No luck. Found the shop, but it was shuttered for the Typhoon. I hit up a Don Quijote, a cheap souviner/catch all store and then headed home to enjoy my soba noodles dish and ice cream from Family Mart. Typhoon Day complete.