Osaka Rainy Blues

Welcome to the midst of the rainy season, and one of the wettest weeks I've experienced yet in Osaka. I have spent the past few days daydreaming about a pair of overpriced, polka dot gumboots that are sitting tantalizingly in the window of a nearby shop. But then if I succumb to the gumboots, I will need a new umbrella to match (my current one is about the same colour bright pink as a 1980s aerobics leotard). Rainy season = fashion crisis.

Osaka experienced the tail end of a typhoon on Tuesday, which didn't end up being as exciting as it sounds. I went to class at 9 in the morning, as usual, and by lunchtime we were told that university was cancelled for the afternoon due to the weather warnings. A lot of the shops around Kandai-mae boarded up their doors and closed for the day, too, but all it amounted to was a little bit of thunder, a little bit of wind, and quite a lot of rain. This was good for the pathetic little river that runs past our apartment - we call it 'Vom Canal', because every Friday night there are always inebriated Japanese students vomiting into it. It's nice to see it flowing with actual water, and not regurgitated ramen, for once.

There is one reason to love the rain though, and that is okonomiyaki. One of my favourite restaurants in Kandai-mae is an okonomiyaki shop called 'Kyabetsu' ('cabbage'), and every time you go they give you a coupon that offers 50 yen off next time, and 100 yen off if it's a rainy day. I get excited over bargains. Especially weather themed ones.

Kyabetsu coupons to save for a rainy day.

Kyabetsu in Kandai-mae.

I know what you're thinking. "She's managed to turn this post into something about food... again." But when it's grey, damp and miserable outside, there's nothing better than seeking refuge in this cozy little shop, planting yourself in front of the heated tabletop, and being served up a hearty feast of savoury pancake goodness... that you know is gonna be 100 yen cheaper than usual. That's how you survive the Osaka rainy blues.

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