Enjoy your choice of two of Japan’s favorite hotpot dishes from the toastiest seats ever on top of the second-tallest building in Japan.

I often tell people that the two best inventions in the history of humankind are: 1. GPS, and 2. The Japanese kotatsu heated table. For anyone who lives in a place that gets chilly during part of the year, there’s simply nothing better than sliding yourself under the soft, fluffy blanket while your legs are enveloped in a toasty warmth. Sure, you won’t get much work done while sitting there, but you also won’t care since you’ll probably doze off into blissful dreams within minutes.

While all kinds of kotatsu variations have hit the market (including a mini version for cats!), one restaurant inside of Osaka’s Harukas 300 Observatory on top of the Abeno Harukas building has been offering a special eat-hotpot-at-a-kotatsu annual experience since 2018. The event, called Kakomu de Kotatsu (kakomu means “to encircle/surround” in Japanese), offers up 360-degree views of the city from 300 meters (328 yards) in the air at the Cafe Dining Bar Sky Garden 300 on the 58th floor. Running this year from November 1 through March 31, 2024, the event will offer its standard shabu shabu (thinly sliced meat and vegetables boiled at the table and served with dipping sauce) and oden (fishcakes, vegetables, and boiled eggs in a dashi stew) courses with the addition of two new premium options.

▼ Taking the humble household kotatsu to literal new heights (pictured here: seating for the premium oden course)

First, diners who select the standard oden course (3,800 yen [US$24.55 per person] for parties of two to four) will be seated at a high-legged kotatsu table. This course comes with eight kinds of oden ingredients, udon, and mini yukimi daifuku (mochi ice cream) for dessert. One drink per person is included, or it’s 1,000 yen extra for unlimited drinks.

Second, diners who opt for the standard shabu shabu course (6,800 yen per person for parties of two to four) will also be seated at a high-legged kotatsu table. This course comes with two appetizers, a shabu shabu set, and mini yukimi daifuku. It also includes unlimited drinks.

Meanwhile, a counter-like kotatsu table for two next to the window is reserved for couples who want the premium oden course (9,000 yen per person), making it a perfectly romantic spot for a date or private celebration. This course comes with three appetizers, seven kinds of oden ingredients, pasta, four kinds of gateau chocolate with berry sauce, and a glass of champagne.

▼ The premium oden course

Lastly, the most expensive premium shabu shabu course (9,800 yen per person) features low kotatsu tables in semi-private rooms suitable for parties of two or more. This course comes with two appetizers, takoyaki, four kinds of oden ingredients, a shabu shabu set, udon, mini yukimi daifuku, and a one-go (180-milliliter [6-ounce]) serving of Japanese sake, providing diners with the best of both hotpot worlds.

Reservations for the Kakomu de Kotatsu event can be made on the Harukas 300 website. For another spectacular kotatsu solution to your daily life, check out this absolutely ginormous kotatsu futon as well.

Restaurant information
Cafe Dining Bar Sky Garden 300 / カフェダイニングバー Sky Garden 300
Address: Osaka-fu, Osaka-shi, Abeno-ku, Abenosuji 1-1-43
大阪府大阪市阿倍野区阿倍野筋１丁目１−４３
Open: 4 p.m.- 10 p.m. (weekdays), 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. (weekends)
Event duration: November 1, 2023-March 31, 2024
Website

Source, images: PR Times
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