Hokkyokusei - Osaka

Omelet Rice Ground Zero
Not far from the famous crab sign, out of the neon flicker, Hokkyokusei humbly awaits your discovery.  They invented "omuraisu", otherwise known as omelet rice, and they're proud of it.  It is as you might infer, an omelet stuffed with rice.

Unfortunately, there's a catch.  To eat their invention, you have to sit on the floor.  The Japanese have invented a lot of cool stuff but one of their worst ideas was sitting on the floor.  There is nothing good about it.  Nothing comfortable about it.  When I began to take off my shoes, a dark cloud gathered.  I laughed when they handed me my locker key - the number said it all.

Yes, I was on vacation so I made the best of it.  I put my shoes in the locker and did a few toe touches to stretch out my Pliocene hamstrings.

They make it look so easy.  Just fold your legs under you and surf your hand phone.  Two minutes in that position and my gluteus minimus would never function the same way again.

Cross-legged position?  Nope, not me.  I don't think my legs have folded like that since I was an infant.

I considered going with the "cow face pose" but figured I'd spill a lot of omelet on my back.  I started out sitting with my knees tucked under my chin but every five minutes I'd shift to another position.  I stared at my umbrella locker key and tried to go into a zen trance as I waited for the food to arrive.

When it did, I dived in, happy to forget about my numb legs.  It was exactly as billed, an omelet filled with rice.  I waited for the eureka moment but it never arrived.  Like I said, an omelet with rice.  I couldn't help but think to myself "I am sitting on the floor for this?"  Bland and lackluster, in desperate need of a dash of some kind of spicy sauce.  The catsup just didn't do the trick.

Luckily, the deep-fried chicken nuggets saved the day.  Each bite of these lifted my mood a bit, bringing bursts of feeling to my deadened limbs.

Here's the story, according to them.

大阪市中央区西心斎橋２−７−２７
Osaka, Japan

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