Naoki

Before we set off separately for the afternoon, we had tea and cakes at the lobby lounge of Hotel Nikko

Naoki

Food presentation and decoration in Japan’s always fascinating.

Cake selection at the Hotel Nikko lobby

Coffee, tea or Naoki

Petit fours

I had tea and petit fours which consist of a berry tart, butter cake slice, soft meringue filled with creme and berry jam, dark chocolate truffle and a citrus sorbet.

Gateau aux figue

Naoki had siphon coffee, and a fig sponge cake slice.

Dude, I can see your junk.

We had so much to eat in a span of an hour – Japanese breakfast and now, tea and cakes.

A groggy Naoki

With only one full day in Osaka, we didn’t waste time sleeping in.

Naoki has to meet up with a client before noon, then a dental appointment after so I will have a few hours on my own.

Shinsaibashi

The concierge recommended Shinsaibashi Shokudo (Shinsaibashi Eatery) for breakfast. This restaurant specialises in home cooked-style dishes, and has been around for decades.

Shinsaibashi Shokudo

The range of dishes vary throughout the day. Naturally, these selection are typical Japanese dishes for breakfast. The rice, cooked in a special cast iron pot called taki, is known as kama-meshi.

Chicken Hamburg in teriyaki sauce with poached eggs

Grilled fish in teriyaki sauce

Stewed hijiki, abura-age, konnyaku, carrots and peas

The pictures start to get a little blurry because I was starving.

Battered fish in teriyaki sauce

Fresh tofu, topped with grated ginger, scallions and dashi-tsuyu

Battered octopus in a sweet chilli and soy-based sauce

Salmon sashimi

Acerola drink

This is the first time I’ve come across acerola. Its taste is somewhat like a cross between an apple and sour plum.

Hotel Nikko Osaka

We’ll definitely return to Hotel Nikko Osaka if we’re ever back here in Osaka. Service is impeccable, and the hotel sits right in the middle of the shopping strip in Shinsaibashi.

View of Shinsaibashi from Hotel Nikko

The staff offered an upgrade to the “L Floor”, one of the better rooms in this hotel, after they discovered the Internet in the first room we checked in wasn’t working. Sweet. Here are some things we love about Hotel Nikko:

• Right in the middle of the shopping strip, and sits above the Shinsaibashi station. Our elevator heads straight down to the subway.
• Nikko Hotels Group is part of JAL, so excellent service is a given.
• Friendly staff, and they always try their best to assist us. Even if they don’t speak English much, I got what I needed.
• Jawdropping views from the room.
• Salvatore Ferragamo toiletries.
• Colour-coded toothbrushes.
• Toto toilet (warmed seats, bidet for my vajeene and booty shower with variable pressure)
• Free cable internet

Starving and cranky

After our shower, we headed to one of the late night ramen restaurants in the laneways at the recommendation of the concierge.

Chashu Ramen

Kara-age

Gyoza

Yummy