Victoria E.
Yelp
Osaka is not a great place for Yelpers. Best of the best places are often written elsewhere. I came here because I had wanted something different, and according to 36 hours in Osaka, there is a section in town in Osaka that was from before WWII. My grandparents had gone to grad school in Nara, which is not far from Osaka, so on a Sunday morning I decided to take a stroll to the old part of Osaka. It had a very low ceiling and the houses had been kept from before the WWII. It was super quiet, which was a nice surprise because less than a mile away was the busy Osaka station.
I sat down and ordered a wheat coffee. Freshly brewed, $2. I arrived at noon and was the first person to arrive. Some other people soon showed up, and they too wanted some freshly brewed coffee.
I understand many Americans are strangely addicted to the Starbucks, and not just Americans, seemed like the world just couldn't get enough of Starbucks, but for me, it's small coffee shops like this makes me happy. I held back in tears as I drank my wheat coffee, thinking about and missing my grandparents, who were the best things that ever happened to me. I had been on my own since I was barely 12, and decades later, I find myself drawn to places where my most favorite people met more than 70 years ago. I pictured them speaking fluent Japanese, living in places like this, falling in love in this strange land. And that image made me so happy.