Rikuro Ojisannomise りくろーおじさんの店 (新)なんば本

Rikuro is the ultimate Japanese cheesecake in Osaka! Unlike the typical dense and heavy cheesecake, the Japanese style cheesecake is super rich but light and fluffy; kind of like a sponge cake! This Rikuro shop in the Namba district is the busiest so they always have the freshest cakes!

The line up outside is for customers that’s buying the whole cake (only￥675). So if it’s your first time and want to see what the hype’s about, you can go inside and order a slice to skip the line up. While you’re seated, you can see the whole production line. There’s nothing as satisfying as seeing those bouncy cheesecake come fresh out of the oven!

There’s quite a few locations but this one is most popular and convenient. But if you’re just making a pit stop at the Shin-Osaka station, you can find a Rikuro booth on the 3rd floor. It’s just a booth so the cheesecake are pre-packaged. Although it’s not freshly made, but it’s still damn good after you heat it up a little.

When in Osaka, Rikuro is a must for me! Highly recommend it!

Address \\  3-2-28 Nanba Chuo-ku Osaka Osaka
Phone Number \\  0120-57-2132 (Takes reservations)
Hours \\ Monday – Sunday: 9:30am – 9pm (Last order)
Average Price \\  ￥999
Payment Method \\   Cash Only
Rating \\   3.54/5
Website \\   Rikuro Cheesecake (Japanese Only)

Rainbow Pancake レインボーパンケーキ

Rainbow Pancake is a really local pancake shop hidden in one of the back alleys in Harajuku. Lots of locals would line up for their fresh batter pancakes. They would take your order at the door and once you’re seated, they’ll start whipping a fresh batch of batter and cream for your pancakes.

I loved how the pancakes wasn’t too sweet even with the mountain of whip cream. Although, I would’ve liked it more if the pancakes were fluffier but nonetheless, still one of the best pancakes I’ve had in a while.

If you need to take a break from shopping in the Harajuku fashion district, Rainbow Pancake would be a great place. There’s a lot of pancake places in the busy streets but this is where the hidden gem is.

Address \\ 4-28-4 Jingumae Shibuya Tokyo
Phone Number \\  03-6434-0466 (Takes reservations)
Hours \\   Monday, Wednesday – Sunday: 10am – 6pm
                  (Closed Tuesday, if Tuesday is public holiday, closed Wednesday)
Average Price \\   Lunch: ￥1,000 – ￥1,999
Payment Method \\   Cash Only
Rating \\ 3.58/5
Website \\   Rainbow Pancake (Mainly Japanese)

1 Michelin Star Nodaiwa 野田岩 銀座店

Nodaiwa is a 1 Michelin Star restaurant so it already speaks for itself. The owner is now the 5th generation and definitely kept the tradition and quality. We made a reservation but we were late because we kept missing the entrance! If you reference to the first picture, their sign was actually on the top right hand corner (Japanese sign only) but we thought that was the Ginza Station entrance. So if you do go, make sure you find that entrance!

They had a few set lunches to choose from so we picked a set that was around  ￥5,000. It comes with tea, a soup, 2 side dishes and the unagi rice box. The unagi was light and delicate, the sauce was absolutely amazing. We were trying to savor every bite!

As we left, we then realize the restaurant was right beside Jiro and we saw him counting cash! This is probably the closest we’ll get to Jiro. =P

**Quick Tip** For most fine dining restaurants in Japan, I highly recommend to go for lunch because it’s normally half the price of dinner, if not more.

Address \\  B1 F 4-2-15 Ginza Chuo Tokyo
Phone Number \\   03-5524-3125 (Takes reservations)
Hours \\   Monday – Saturday: 11:30am – 2pm,  5pm – 8pm
Average Price \\   Lunch: ￥5,000 – ￥5,999,  Dinner: ￥10,000 – ￥14,999
Payment Method \\   Credit Card Accepted
Rating \\ 3.67/5
Website \\   Nodaiwa Menu (Mainly Japanese)

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My Travel Buddy

I’ve decided to start brand new with my blog and just strictly blog about Japan because I love it so much! I’ve been to a few places in Japan so far:

. Tokyo . Yokohama . Fujikawaguchiko . Osaka . Kyoto . Kobe . Tsuruga . Fukui . Kanazawa . Shirakawa-go . Takayama . Shiga .  Hiroshima . Beppu . Fukuoka . Shimonoseki .  Kitakyushu . Kokura . Shizuoka . Nishiizu . Izu . Yugawara . Atami . Sapporo . Otaru . Niseko .

When I was planning for my first trip, I was overwhelmed because there’s so much to see, a ton of things I want to eat but limited time! I really wanted to maximize my time there so I planned everything in the most efficient way possible.

I made a whole PowerPoint presentation because there’s no better way to show my boyfriend what I want to do and why I wanted to go there. I save the screenshots on my phone so when I travel, I can reference back to the pictures and see my itinerary.

I use Google Maps and pin all the locations  I want to go so when I’m there, I click the icon and it’ll teach me how to get there. It’s super convenient and I highly recommend it! I’ve been doing some customized Japan trip planning and I’d love to share some of my adventures on my blog. =)