Using the Midosuji Line, Chiba and Ashibara arrived at Umeda from Shinsaibashi Station – where their destination, the Shin-Umeda Esophagega, is located.

Shin-Umeda Esophia Street is a food business district that opened after the war (December 15, 1950), and has been a regional signboard consisting of 18 small shops for decades.

"What's in line over there?" As soon as he approached Shin-Umeda Esophague, he noticed that a line was coming out of the door of Shin-Umeda Esophage. "Do I still have to queue up to get here?"

"No," Qian Yu shook her head. "This is a shop that sells takoyaki, and I remember the name was ......."

The auxiliary unit zooms in on the image, enlarging the small characters that would otherwise be unrecognizable.

“はなだこ”（hanadako）

"If you want to eat this, it looks like it's going to be a hassle?" Gray Plains looked at the long line and said worriedly.

"It's not just troublesome, but you can only eat standing up......," the corners of Qianyu's mouth twitched. To be reasonable, I'm not particularly fond of the takoyaki sauce – I don't like the sweetness of the sauce. ”

The taste of Osaka-style takoyaki is generally like this - it is on the sweet side, and this is not the taste that Chiba likes.

"Let's see if there are any small shops with fewer people, shall we?" Gray Plains was clearly concerned about the rather frighteningly long line.

"There are some stores where you can eat it, so don't worry – there are even some stores where you can take food out and we can even take it home and eat it again." Chiba replied. "One of the things about the shops here is that most of them are time-honored brands, and they can be active here because of the quality of the food in their shops."

If you talk about a long-established brand, there is actually a very famous shop here - たこ which was founded in the first year of Honghua (1844). This 150-year-old restaurant is probably the oldest oden restaurant in Japan.

However, this is also the reason why Chiba would not choose this restaurant - as a Kanto person, eating oden in Osaka, Kansai, always feels that something is not right.

If you want to eat the so-called oden, why should you come to Osaka? Wouldn't it be nice to find a restaurant in Tokyo......

So the first store Chiba chose was お好み焼きsakura (cherry blossom asaki). After entering the esophagus street from はなだこ, turn left at the last corner, walk two shops ahead, and then there is one of the shops on the left - there are three shops in the entire Sakura asaki area, all of which are located here. (It's worth mentioning that the two large Sakura Asaki shops are located across from the toilets and smoking rooms on Esophia Street, and the third shop is located next to the smoking rooms.) ）

The reason for choosing this shop is that, contrary to the oden shop above, Sakura assorted ware is a popular Kansai yaki with a long-established brand. He is good at making simple and authentic jamaki that can reflect the characteristics of assorted yaki.

"Would you like to sit at the bar?" Qian Yu asked Gray Plains. "Over there, you can see the process of making assorted yaki."

"Listen to you, you're familiar with this place, and you have the final say." Gray Yuan only showed a faint smile.

Qian Yu nodded, and sat down in front of the empty bar with Gray Yuan Wai - it was already past nine o'clock, and the crowd could not be compared to the eight o'clock in the heyday, so it was just lucky to find the two empty bar seats, not enough to buy a lottery ticket.

"What do you want?" The waiter in front of them asked.

"Hmm-" Chiba glanced at the menu. "Egg chowder (ミックス玉子)."

"I'll have a copy of this too." Gray Plains chose the same dish as Chiba.

"Are you coming too?" After hearing Gray Yuan's choice, Qian Yu was a little surprised. "If that's the case, we'll probably be full after a meal here."

"What do you mean?" Gray Yuan was slightly stunned, but reacted immediately.

Next to them, a young man and woman, apparently a couple, were sharing the same piece of assorted yaki. Just use the cutlery and spatula here to cut the jamaki into several pieces, and even two people can share the same food.

"Eating a little bit at each restaurant and tasting the specialties of a few more restaurants is a classic practice here," Qian Yu said after glancing in the direction Gray Yuan Ai was looking, realizing that he should understand what he meant. "How? Or just order one? ”

"If you order one by one, you may be full at our house," the waiter suddenly interjected. "If the two of you eat one, you can also taste food from other stores."

"Then you can order one," Gray Yuan nodded his head. "I'll eat the same portion as you."

In this way, Chiba and Gray Yuan sat quietly in front of the bar, watching the waiter brother in front of them start the process of making assorted yaki.

There is nothing fancy, only the simplest and most direct stir-frying, modulation and shoveling action. In this process, the waiter's movements are quite powerful.

"I probably understand why you brought me here," Gray Yuan said as he watched the waiter's movements. "Compared to the modern Shinsaibashi side, this side has a more ...... The atmosphere of the quaint atmosphere reminds you of the traditional atmosphere of the golden age when you see this. ”

"Yes," Qian Yu also focused on the waiter's movements. "This is basically what it has been like since it was built, and the overall appearance has been finalized twenty or thirty years ago - this is the best living fossil of that lost classical era."

Shin-Umeda Esophagogue Street itself is located next to Umeda Station, which itself is one of the most frequented places for commuters to work, so there are a large number of salarymen who visit the area. Compared to the more modern and decent style on the Shinsaibashi side, this side has a rather strong common people's atmosphere.

"But then again," Qianyu's expression suddenly became a little subtle. "That era, will it come back?"

"I don't know," Gray Hara's expression was also subtle. "But I guess not, right? At least I don't see the future right now. ”

The style of the new Umeda Esophagus Street was mainly set in the sixties and seventies, which coincided with the heyday of the entire Japanese economy - at that time, Japan was at the world's top level in many cutting-edge technologies, and a large number of technological dividends flowed into Japan, and many good news made Japan prosperous.

This is also the reason why this era is called the Golden Age – it was the best of times in Japan.

But now, Japan's economy has not been so gratifying for a long time, and it has stagnated somewhat, and various problems have begun to be exposed.

"It's done!" With such a sound, the waiter brother finished making an assorted roast, and then put it on the iron plate in front of Qian Yu and Gray Yuan Ai.