Saturday was a “free day” with my host family. We took a nice walk through the park near the house, where the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. Then Hamatani-san and Emiko-san took me to see Sumiyoshi Shrine, a beautiful shrine in Osaka where they were married.
Sumiyoshi Shrine was founded in the 4th century and enshrines the guardian gods of seafarers. Its bridge is a well-known symbol of the city of Osaka.
The roofs of the shrine offer good examples of chigi and katsuogi; chigi are the decorative “crossed swords” at the ridgeline, while katsuogi are the log-like elements laid perpendicularly across the ridge (originally intended to hold down thatched roofs).
After visiting the shrine, we took the chin-chin densha (vernacular term for the cable car) to a cafe that Emiko-san likes called Maronnier, located in an old Japanese house. Tasty lunch of bacon and omelette sandwich. Our next stop was "Den Den Town," Osaka's electronics hub. It was quite a contrast with the peace and quiet of the shrine, and we walked quickly through to our main destination, Doguya-suji, the place to go to buy all things kitchen-related.
I really like the form and heft of the takoyaki griddle for cooking octopus balls (an Osaka favorite and no, it’s not what it sounds like) but it would definitely weigh down my luggage.
Another store sold an incredible variety of knives, many for very specific purposes (like deboning a particular river fish that is typically caught in the summer). Beautiful implements, but I think I could only afford a vegetable paring knife…
After a stroll through Doguya-suji, we headed to Takeshimaya department store to buy a few groceries. I had promised Hamatani-san and Emiko-san that I would cook dinner, and wanted to find the ingredients for “southwest chicken stew.” Only later did Emiko-san casually mention that both of her parents had been professional chefs and written cookbooks—her dad, Doi Masaru, was basically the Julia Child of Japan, the first and best-known TV chef here. Her younger brother is also a chef, with his own TV show.
Fortunately the meal went over well, with my host family going back for seconds. A very enjoyable last evening with the Hamatani family, though unfortunately Nobuko-san (Hamatani-san's mother) and Toshiki-san (15-year-old son) weren't able to join us. Nobuko-san tried some leftover stew for breakfast though!
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