SIZZLINGPURPLE!

Ten things to try in Sakai City

CARMELA G. LAPEÑA, GMA News

11/09/2011 | 06:47 PM

Once a major port city of Japan, Sakai is home to a variety of traditional industries. Blades, incense sticks, bicycles, and tea can all be found here, and there's a saying that "everything begins in Sakai." While this isn't the place to go for a neon-lit Japanese experience, there's plenty to discover about Sakai. Here are ten things to see, taste, and do in this green city.

1. Octopus

This eight-armed cephalopod isn't something you often see on a menu - that is, unless you're in Japan. Octopus is, after all, the main ingredient in the wildly popular and very tasty takoyaki: chopped vegetables sunk in balls of creamy batter and wrapped around bits of baby octopus. The ball-shaped pancakes are cooked by batch in a special pan, then drizzled with savory sauce, mayonnaise, bonito flakes and green onion. Pickled ginger is served with the takoyaki, adding some sour to the slightly sweet, slightly salty, and just a little bit spicy snack.

If you're not a fan of takoyaki, octopus can also be found in takomeshi - bits of freshly cooked octopus mixed with rice and vegetables. Or, you could try the simple fried octopus with breading at the Tore-tore fish market.

2. Bikes

With its Community Cycle program and punctureless tires, Sakai City is the place to go for bikes - and bikers - of all shapes and sizes. Around half of the bicycles in Japan are made in Sakai, and there are an estimated one million bikes in the city - more than its population of 840,000. You'll see all sorts of bikes in Sakai - from generic types that you can rent for 300 yen a day to Swarovski-studded rides you can buy for 500,000 yen.

Kids in Sakai learn to unicycle in school, and it's a common sight to see office-bound bikers pedaling in high heels. One of the most popular umbrellas in Sakai is a cheap transparent umbrella, which offers visibility for bikers who like to ride in the rain. Compared to the congested Manila roads, Sakai is heaven for bikers. Motorists respect bike lanes, which are on every road, and parking is convenient. The city is so bike-friendly that hardly anyone wears a helmet.

3. Amusement Centers

Sakai at night is eerily quiet. The roads are almost empty, save for some construction workers here and there, and a few people headed to the convenience store. But every few blocks, a telltalle cluster of parked bikes marks a 24-hour amusement center.

Round 1 is one such center, and it offers six floors of entertainment possibilities for insomniacs. There's bowling, karaoke, and of course, rows and rows of coin slot machines. To be won are everything from ice cream cups to giant stuffed toys, and people of all ages can spend hours hoping to get a prize. It would be so much simpler (and cheaper) to just buy the item instead of trying to win it, but then, how much fun could that be?

4. Tea

If anyone asks you to choose between "coffee, tea or me," choose tea. Of course, tea fanatics swear it's better than coffee, and unlike whoever asks the question, tea would never ask you to choose. Simple and straightforward, it's that kind of beverage.

Seriously though, choose tea, especially if you're in Sakai, where the great tea master Sen no Rikyu was born. There is nothing like a cup of steaming matcha to either lift you up or calm you down, depending on your mood. For the full experience, attend atraditional tea ceremony.

5. Knives

Sakai is famous for its blades. When you need to cut something, you're sure to find the sharp edge you need in this city. From nail clippers to kitchen knives, Sakai's blade industry is world-famous. The blades have a long history in Sakai, beginning in the fifth century when blacksmiths were gathered to make over 100 tumuli or tomb stones, including the Nintoku-ryo tumulus, which is one of the world's three largest imperial mounds.

While knives are also produced in other parts of Japan, the craftsmen in Sakai use a special technique of hammering and forging. Today, Sakai knives are made using the same technique in the Nara Period, when the Japanese produced swords that would not bend or deflect. Knives fit for a samurai indeed.

6. Lettuce

To grow, plants need sunlight, soil, and water. That's elementary, isn't it?

Not at the Osaka Prefecture University, where lettuce is grown in a highly-controlled environment. At the R&D Center for the Plant Factory, lettuce is produced with a 15-tier Nutrient Film Technique hydroponic system. Germination occurs under a blue light and photosynthesis under a red light; the seedlings are eventually transplanted to the top of the production plant, where a robot harvests the lettuce heads. They produce 250 heads of lettuce a day, with some of the greens ending up in the sandwiches served at the university's Subway restaurant.

As far as looks go, the lettuce is beautiful. Each leaf is immaculate, and the green looks ready for a close-up photo. When it comes to taste, you won't really notice anything different at first. The leaves are as crunchy as you expect them to be, but there's something strange, like there isn't as much water in every bite. Or maybe it's just the thought of the lettuce being grown in the spotless trays. Vegetables that don't come from the earth? Weird as it may seem, it's worth a try.

7. Tumulus

Photo of Nintoku Tumulus courtesy of Sakai City government

The best view of Sakai's biggest attraction isn't in Sakai itself, but from above. The Mozu-Furuichi Kofungun, or ancient tumulus clusters, are large mound tombs whose keyhole shapes are only visible from above. It is believed that the shapes and sizes of the tombs indicate the deceased person's social position.

Over time, many of the kofuns were lost with urbanization, but you can still see some today. The Nontoku-tenno-ryo Kofun (also known as Daisen Kofun) is 486 meters long, and is the world's largest keyhole-shaped kofun. No one is allowed to enter the kofun, and visitors are only allowed to approach the surrounding moat. Local residents call it "Nintoku-san" and "Goryo-san," meaning Emperor's tomb. Sakai City is aiming to have the Mozu Kofungun included in the World Heritage List.

8. Canal cruise

One of the best ways to see the city is on a boat. A guided cruise along the man-made canal will show visitors a different side of Sakai. The one-hour cruise takes you along the canal, which was made around 600 years ago when Sakai was a busy trading port. The port city has a history of maritime trade with China, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.

In the folk song "Shin Sakai Ondo," it is said that "everything starts from Sakai." While on the cruise, you can also learn about important figures in Sakai's history, like the tea master Sen-no-Rikyu and the poet Yosano Akiko.

9. Under the bridge, at night

If you run out of things to do, you can always walk around at night. You might just stumble upon a nice spot, like Pineapple Express under the bridge by Route 26. It's a tiny place, but inside is a bar, a gallery, and a clothing and skate shop. They play vinyl records on a turntable and serve draft beer from a tap. As we sat on our mismatched chairs, the owner brought a toy robot to our table and showed us how it was made with adaptors. He didn't speak much English, but he was able to tell us that most of the stuff in the restaurant belonged to his friends.

Across Pineapple Express is Route 26, a spacious loft with a restaurant below and a small film screening room on the upper floor. Next to Route 26 is the Wonder Toy Box, which sells clothes, shoes, pinback buttons and other trinkets. At around ten in the evening, the city is asleep. But under the bridge, things are only beginning to happen.

10. Ramen

Apart from being voted number 8 on CNN World's 50 most delicious foods in the 2011 readers' poll, there are plenty of reasons to eat ramen. The filling noodle dish has practically all the food groups in just one bowl, and it's hard to find someone who doesn't think ramen is delicious.

While the idea is simple, there are a variety of noodles and flavors to choose from. The noodles can be thin, fat, curly or straight, and you can choose to have pork, chicken, seafood or vegetables. Then you can choose soy sauce or miso for your soup, and decide if you want to add some spice to the broth with pepper, or chili powder - or both!

If you're worried that you won't be understood at a restaurant, you'll be glad to know that a lot of ramen shops have vending machines at the door. You can choose from the pictures of different kinds of ramen, drop your money in the slot, and wait for your ticket to come out. Give the ticket to the waiter, who will show you to your table where you just wait for your ramen to be served. - Photos by Candice Montenegro/YA, GMA News

source: http://bit.ly/uE9hqT

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