Our Last Days!

Today we were on our own again. In the morning we walked across the Dojima River.

We were trying to get to the Nakanoshima Kosetsu Museum, to see the works from the Ohara Museum that we missed in Kurashiki, but despite the information we found online, it was closed. So instead we went to Tenjinbashi-suji.

This is the longest shotengai, or covered shopping street in Japan, stretching 1.6 miles in total.

Not far from the southern end we paused on a side street to visit the Tenmangu shrine, dedicated to Tenjin, the Shinto deity of scholarship. The shrine dates back to the 10th century, but has been destroyed by fire several times. The main hall was last reconstructed in 1845 and they seem to be undertaking another major renovation, as the honden was completely shrouded in scaffolding.

Tenjinbashi-suji crosses many streets along its path and facing the larger intersections are Omukae Ningyo. These “welcoming dolls” are inspired by the figures that welcome the spirits during Osaka’s largest annual festival, the Tenjin Matsuri.

Each block of the shotengai has its own character, but unlike markets we've visited in other countries, the shops are not strictly grouped by the goods they offer. And while many of them are clearly leaning into the tourist trade, they are primarily catering to the needs of local shoppers and that's who we mostly saw on our walk.

Many of the restaurants have fun signs to attract attention, like the fish flying out of the bowl above, or the tanuki (lucky Japanese raccoon dogs) standing guard below.

We passed a few different kimono shops and this one had the most beautiful designs on display.

There were several bakeries and restaurants offering Taiwanese specialties, which the internet thinks is driven by a current Japanese trend for Taiwanese breakfast culture. It had been too long since Alice last had soup dumplings, so we stopped at a dumpling house. I got Today's Steamer Basket, which included a wide range of delicious dumplings and came with a small bowl of lu rou fan, traditional braised pork rice.

After lunch we made our way across town for a calligraphy class I had found online. Our instructor, Ryusho Tanabe, has been teaching calligraphy for almost thirty years and is a practitioner of “spiritual writing,” in which he performs large-scale calligraphy at shrines and other sacred spaces to draw attention to the need for peace in the world.

He was certainly very patient and helpful as he broke down beginner calligraphy into basic strokes. We each chose characters from a set of templates Ryusho had created and went through several sheets of scrap paper practicing before committing to a final version on thicker board.

Ryusho gave very helpful feedback as we were learning and skillfully guided us through the process of creating kanji that we could be proud to display.

For dinner we walked back across the river to the same building we visited in the morning.

We wanted to celebrate our last night in Japan with some fabulous sushi and the hotel recommended Misuji.

We took our seats at the counter, selected the Futou Sushi Course (Appetizer, 11 Pieces of Sushi, Sea Urchin, Egg, Roll, Soup, Dessert) and watched the chef work.

The appetizer was steamed squid with pickled daikon, a steamed snail with very nice flavor, and salmon layered with seaweed and radish.

Our sushi included squid, red bream, flounder, mackerel, Spanish mackerel, blackthroat sea perch, saltwater eel, sweet shrimp, and three kinds of tuna: akami, chutoro, and ootoro. Each was extraordinary, but I think my favorite was the akami, lean tuna dusted with yuzu zest.

The egg course was fascinating; rather than the usual layered omelette-like tamagoyaki, this was more like an incredible light, savory poundcake.

The roll was a simple tekka maki, but we watched the chef pull out the three cuts of premium tuna and slice strips of those for the rolls, which were easily the best version I've ever had.

The soup was a very pretty bowl of crabmeat and flower-shaped fishcake garnished with fennel and yuzu in a wonderfully flavorful clear broth.

For dessert we were given a strawberry with a tiny frozen matcha mochi, served with a perfect cup of hojicha. The whole meal was like that: simple, precise, and incredibly delicious.

In the morning we walked across the bridge again and this time the Nakanoshima Kosetsu Museum was open. We got to see their fascinating exhibit of works from the Ohara Museum. Several were paintings by Torajiro Kojima, the artist whom Magosaburo Ohara sent on buying trips to Europe.

The piece above was especially interesting, as it depicts the Dotonburi, which looked very different when we visited it on our first day in Osaka

Torajiro also visited Egypt and we enjoyed this painting of Giza in the style of a Japanese scroll.

His choice of paintings was also very interesting. The collection includes works by well-known European artists--he was big into the Impressionists--but also works by painters whose names were new to us, like this striking Italian Woman with Tambourine by Charles Guerin.

Works by Matisse, Munch, Degas, and Picasso were very typical of their styles, but I enjoyed this unusual landscape by Cezanne. The curatorial notes wonder if the unpainted areas might echo the “unpainted whole” common in Japanese art and reveal an attraction to Eastern thought.

The final room in the museum houses a replica of the tea house from the former home of the museum’s founder. Inside the open door they are currently exhibiting one of Giacometti's Venetian Women for a final juxtaposition of the different cultures meeting in this exhibit.

We walked back to the hotel and had lunch in their pleasant restaurant, where Jason could get one more serving of his favorite Japanese beef curry and rice.

By the time we finished lunch there was less than an hour until our pickup, so we hung out in the lobby and enjoyed the view of the rain.

We'll be flying to Seattle tonight and spending a few days with family before coming full circle back to Boston. It has been exactly six months since we set off. We have had so many incredible experiences and gathered so many indelible memories to carry with us into the next phases of our lives.

We are deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to make this trip and really appreciate you all for following along. I will be writing at least one wrap-up post, so if you have any questions, please leave them in the comments.