Japan's kitchen, loud and proud
Where Tokyo is polished, Osaka is playful. The city's unofficial motto is kuidaore, roughly 'eat until you drop', and Dōtonbori delivers: griddles of takoyaki, sizzling okonomiyaki and neon signs reflected in the canal. People are famously chatty, nights run late, and prices are a little kinder than the capital. Kyoto is about 15 minutes away by bullet train, and Nara's temples and bowing deer are under an hour.