Shinsaibashi & Dōtonbori ♥

This was the combo I ordered for dinner in Dōtonbori :)  The ramen consisted of char siu (pork), veggies, a soft boiled egg and of course its soup base.  On the side, I had some dumplings with sweet/sour sauce.

After walking for hours and exploring one of Osaka's historic landmarks, Carlos and I decided it was time we did some shopping.  And by shopping, I mean buying souvenirs for others.  And what's a better place than Shinsaibashi and Dōtonbori, where the streets are filled with every shop you can think of.  There are alleys that stretch as far as one can imagine in all directions, and at some point, we gave up and stopped walking because we couldn't guarantee that we would be buying from all those shops.  However, I'd personally hand it to the genius behind these two shopping districts as they're shopping havens for tourists (like ourselves).  One would go gaga over the stuff they sell which include souvenirs, snacks, branded and local branded pieces of clothing & accessories.  These districts are a MUST-SEE and a good place to buy Japanese gifts & souvenirs, since there are a lot of shops where you'll be able to get a tax refund.

There's an alley particularly for restaurants and food stalls, so if you'd like to satisfy your cravings, I'd suggest for you to head over there (if ever you're in town) and select whichever restaurant has a lot of people because that just means they serve good food!  Carlos and I were both craving for ramen when we spotted this restaurant.  It was packed, but thank God it's the kind of restaurant where people enjoy their meal and leave asap, so we only had to wait a few good minutes.  One thing I liked about ramen shops in Japan is that we could choose what we wanted, pay by inserting cash through their machine outside, get the receipt(s) and then hand them to the servers inside.  It, not only saves time for both the guests and the servers, but it's a cool way to order food too.  Very efficient, I should say.  You most should definitely try it if ever you're in Japan!