Open Air Museum and Kaiseki

I’m so lucky to have such a great husband. Knowing that I was disappointed by Osaka castle he found the perfect museum for us to visit, Open-Air Museum of Old Japanese Farmhouses. It has twelve traditional Japanese farmhouses moved there from all over Japan.

We were a bit short on time so we didn’t get to see them all but it was a great visit. At the first house there was a volunteer English guide who explained how the house was held up with grooves and pegs so it could easily be disassembled moved and reassembled. We got to see where the main kitchen was and where the family would have lived. It had a high roof to keep it from getting smokey. However, when we went into another house that had a fire going the high roof helped but it was still pretty smokey.

I always enjoy seeing how people from different eras and cultures lived. I’m also very happy to live in a time with indoor plumbing, cell phones and electricity.

After the museum we walked about a half hour to Kashiwaya Honten, a 3 Michelin star restaurant for a Kaiseki meal. The restaurant had a lot of character and really highlighted wood in it’s decor. The flooring was even done in wood tiles.

We were seated in a private room. When we got there the heat in the room was on making it much too hot for us. But after they turned it off it was very comfortable. One of the biggest differences between this restaurant and other Michelin star course menus it that I didn’t feel overfull afterwards. I also felt that much of what I ate was healthy. I often eat too much bread at restaurants.

We liked the crab dish, spinach tofu, and rice with lily bulb the best. The crab was really fresh and sweet. I have never had spinach in a tofu sauce before but loved the simple richness of it. I will definitely try making it. Last was the lily bulb rice. The lily bulb had a soft texture that made the rice decadent. They offered to let us take extra home but staying in a hotel made that impossible.

One thing I noticed in Osaka is their use of yuzu. They tend to utilize it to elevate dishes rather than having it be the star. It is the most I have enjoyed yuzu and now I understand why it is so popular.

One thing I missed, and this won’t surprise you, is chocolate. At the Michelin star restaurants I have previously visited they always have a little surprise chocolate at the end of the meal and this one did not. Overall, I enjoyed the meal though.

Once the meal was done we walked back to our hotel. Along the way we came across Umeda station. This was a huge underground complex with several large department stores, lots of restaurants, shops and train lines. We were too tired to do a lot of exploring but we checked out a few shops on our way home.

By the time we got back outside it was dark. This meant we could enjoy the festive lights during the rest of our walk. In total we walked about 11 miles.

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