The Big 40 in Japan - Day 8: The World is Delicious
August 4, 2026
After a great opening salvo in Osaka, we were ready for our first day. We woke up early, called Elle, and went down for our first breakfast at the St. Regis. It was another great breakfast offering, although slightly behind the two prior Tokyo hotels. I went with the crab omelet, and Jenn had the eggs royale. Along with the menu items, there was a nice spread of food at the buffet that we both partook in.
After breakfast, it was time to go out and explore Osaka. Our first stop was the first state-sponsored Buddhist temple in Osaka, built in 593 AD: the Shitennoji Temple. To make sure we had time to see everything today, we took a cab there, then walked and took the subway for the rest of the day. Much of the temple is free to walk around, but the inner temples cost a few bucks each; once we paid, we had much of the inner area to ourselves. We walked into several of the temples and enjoyed the beautiful grounds.
From there, we walked towards town, stopping at a few shops and another temple along the way. We jumped on the subway and made our way to Osaka's Times Square, Dotonbori. It's one of those places that you have to visit when you’re visiting a place, but when you’re there, you’re in the middle of pure tourism. Maybe the only redeeming quality of Dotonbori is the river cutting straight through it, which is beautiful. Outside of that, it’s just a tourist hub that’s hard to navigate with all the people around. I made us stop at one of the many arcades in the neighborhood, rooms full of claw machines. We fell for it and tried a couple of rounds to try and win Elle something. Even with ChatGPT's tips, we came away empty-handed. We snapped some more photos, headed back to our hotel, and grabbed a quick lunch at McDonald’s, which was packed. We could barely find two seats.
We spent the afternoon at two art galleries just a block apart. We took the subway over there and walked in the blistering heat to the Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka (NAKKA), housed in a stunning black building. When we visited, there was only one exhibition, focused on the Swiss artist Karl Walser. After buying our tickets and taking the massive escalator up, we moved through several rooms that traced his work from his earliest paintings to his later set designs and illustrations. We both loved his work but were a little let down that it was the only exhibit. We used the extra time to spend a lot of money at both the museum bookstore and Hay (a Scandi design store in the building), where we bought Elle a clock and lamp.
We left the museum with 3 more bags than when we arrived and walked across the street to The National Museum of Art, Osaka. Far fewer people were there, but the art was stunning. After dropping off our bags at the coat check, we spent the next half hour walking around the assortment of art. It was a mix of Japanese and European art, and we really enjoyed it. After grabbing our bags, we hailed an Uber and went back to our hotel for the main event of the day: dinner.
Jenn asked me over and over if I wanted anything for my 40th birthday, and I kept saying no. That was until we landed on Osaka as a destination. Then I changed that answer to dinner at Hajime. In full transparency, this is an over-the-top, capital “I” indulgent meal. Hajime is a 3-Michelin-star dining experience that's as much about presentation as it is about the food. And for me, it was the dream 40th birthday celebration/gift. We arrived at 5 PM and didn’t leave dinner until after 9:30 PM. We rang the doorbell right at 5 PM (we were on time for once) and entered a very dark waiting room, where we gave our name and were seated with two Japanese men also waiting for their seat. They arrived before us and were shown to their table; shortly after, we were, too. The restaurant has only 6 or 8 tables, one seating a night, and is open only a few days a week. The menu is over a dozen courses, and we went with their wine pairing. Our first dish arrived shortly after our champagne at 5:20 PM, and like a perfect orchestra, the waves of the meal slowly came in. It was beautiful. It was everything I could have wanted from a fully indulgent meal. Their signature dish, “Planet Earth,” is a massive, table-sized plate of 50+ vegetables. Other dishes came with extensive plating, dry ice, or different foods meant to look like other items. There is something magical about being in a place and experiencing some of the best this world has to offer. We left full, happy, and amazed by the incredible journey we got to go on. From the service to the beautiful plating to the extravagant food and wine, it is a dinner I’ll never forget. We loved it. We walked back to the St. Regis that night in awe of the entire experience and the chance to be there. It's never been lost on us how lucky we are, and tonight was yet another pinch-me moment. How did these two kids, who met playing tennis at a country club neither of us belonged to, end up here 20+ years later? How lucky are we?
