osaka & namba

The Osaka Expo is running from April 13 until October 13, 2025 

I think Osaka first bid to host this event while we were still living in Osaka

So much controversy & drama

Initially I didn’t really want to go and Satoshi thought he might go while I was in Hawaii 

But once we figured out how to use their website we secured our entrance tickets

Because everything was last minute, we couldn’t secure entrance to any of the pavilions

So we went just to absorb the atmosphere and mood

But first a walk around Umeda, so much has changed 

Lots of new buildings, shops and eateries

We had our second breakfast in the Eki Marche area, an area we used to go to often when we lived in Osaka, so much had changed here as well, but it was nice to see some shops that we enjoyed had survived the pandemic  

Afterwards, we made our way to the Expo, our entrance time was 11:00 and there was already people lining up

Your bag will be put through the x-ray machine, bottle with water and tea will also be checked

There is a list of prohibited items like selfie sticks, so be sure to read the rules on the website before going.

One guy had to put his selfie stick into a locker before entering the Expo that was gonna cost him 1500 yen for the day!

Satoshi was most interested in walking the ring that surrounds the Expo

Called the Grand Ring, this large wooden structure is 20 meters high (65 feet), runs 2025 meters (1.258 miles) around and takes up 61,035 square meters (656,980 square feet) 

The Grand Ring uses Japanese cedar and cypress and is built using the “nuki” technique which penetrates one element through another and can be seen in the Japanese torii at the entrances of Shinto shrines

The Grand Ring was designed by Sou Fujimoto and represents the Expo’s theme : “unity in diversity”

It was something to see!

Walking underneath provided lots of shade, the humidity was unfortunately pretty thick

The pavilions that represented different countries were unique and beautiful

Frustrating were the lines for food, shopping

Thank goodness there were no lines for the restrooms! (at least not at the restrooms we used!)

Also the line to refill your water bottle went quite fast

Since we had eaten before going, we just had snacks 

Satoshi had a grape soft serve...700 yen (tax included)

Kat had a pineapple slush...800 yen (tax included)

The whole event is cashless so be prepared to pay with a credit card or some kind of electronic payment 

While walking around we noticed some pavilions did not have lines or require reservations so we visited Chile & Senegal

Loved seeing all the different art pieces and paintings here and there.

One thing we noticed was even if you had a reservation for a certain pavilion, you still needed to wait in line to actually go in to experience it…some reservation lines were krazy long!

We had thought to stay until sunset but left at about 15:00 because it was just.too.hot

After checking in, we walked around Dotombori and went to look for okonomiyaki

We’ve been to Ootako with family and it was nice to revisit

We enjoyed the pork garlic kimchee yakisoba and pork tomato cheese okonomiyaki

It was a long day, but we were happy we got to experience the Expo and reconnect with Umeda and Namba

Grampus Inn Osaka

1-13-18 Nambanaka

Naniwa, Osaka

more videos and photos of the expo here

MIL’s (part 7)

(photo from before the renovations)

when I posted part 6 I thought everything was pau (finished)…not!

so Satoshi went to his Uncle’s funeral on Monday.

His brother attended also (apparently he wasn’t gonna go at first but did after he heard Satoshi was going)

Apparently at the funeral, his brother said they needed to talk about "things"…

Apparently he said there were problems with the renovations

And now there were more things that need to be done

Um it’s been over 6 months since you moved in and only now you bring this up?!

If you remember I was kinda of peeved 

I probably would’ve been okay with them bringing this up now if they had sent photos before they moved in...like "here is what the renovations look like now, and we're moving in soon"...

And then they could’ve said “we’ve lived here for several months and realize that blah blah needs to be fixed and we need to renovate blah blah too”

MIL’s monies were apparently used up for the renovations and they now need us to pay for these “extra” things that need to be fixed, because they apparently do not have any savings…grr

I really hope they honor their part of the agreement

iwate-tokyo

We were thinking about trying wanko soba but 4100 yen per person seemed a bit steep, so we just decided to hang out in the air conditioned mall in the station.

I bought myself a sandwich from Tregion Deli.

They had different sandwiches made with popular food items from different Tohoku areas...

The Iwate...used ja ja miso (from their ja ja men), chicken "ham", cheese and pickled red cabbage...I enjoyed this!

Satoshi bought a bento with uni (sea urchin), ikura, kaki

This trip, "someone" forgot to bring his meds...thankful we didn't run into any problems!

Since the beginning of the year?! the Tohoku Shinkansen has been having malfunctioning problems...our trip back to Tokyo was no different, we were just lucky that it happened at Ueno and not mid-way...

We want to go back to check out the areas north of Miyako.

Even though it has been 14 years since the big earthquake and tsunami, they are still rebuilding.

Thankful we were able to experience this area.

Hope you enjoyed this adventure as much as we did.

iwate day 3

The sunrise the next morning had more clouds than sun

Interesting things at the breakfast buffet...tried their tankaku curry...spicy with lots of beef flavor

A musubi making station...they limit you to two at a time...

Since I knew I wouldn't be able to eat two, I asked the woman making the musubi if she would make me one musubi with a little ume and a little wakame on it.

So delicious!

Other toppings were tuna mayo, sujiko (salmon roe in the sac) and mentaiko (spicy pollack roe)

Azuki batto...this was a sweet version of their local soup...except this didn’t have soup and was udon like pieces cooked with azuki, still interesting to try

found a pokemon manhole cover near the fish market

The tsunami inundated this whole area! and was right under this huge pedestrian walkway

loved the sheep art around Miyako

From Miyako to Morioka...we thought we could use our Iwate Free Pass but this area is only accesible by bus (separate fare!)...cute bus stop

From Morioka we used the Iwate Free Pass to travel by train.

Our first stop was Iwate Iioka to find the manhole cover for Kikuchi Yusei

And then we went to Mizusawa and had to take a taxi to Mizusawa Esashi to check out Ohtani Shohei's manhole cover

And then a taxi back to Mizusawa because the buses were not too frequent...

From Mizusawa we went to Hanamaki and found a pokemon manhole cover

Loved these statues too

Dinner was early (16:30) at Ieraishan

I had seen this shop on a J-drama (Konna tokoro de uragiri meshi 2)

It's a good thing we made reservations because he was sold out at 17:00!

1 serving is 15 pieces...these are a little smaller than most gyoza and are fried...700 yen (tax included) each

We ordered 2 servings (30 pieces)

There is an amuse bouche (tsukidashi)...moyashi with shoyu and karashi...200 yen (tax included) each

With beer and oolong tea...our bill was 2800 yen (tax included)

Another long (hot) day but we got to see and do all that we wanted to

Ieraishan

3-3 Futabacho

Hanamaki, Iwate

Closed Sundays, Wednesdays and Holidays

Hours: 16:00-20:00 (or until they run out)

*cash or pay pay (electronic payment)

Toyoko Inn South Exit

3-60 Moriokaekimaedori

Morioka, Iwate

Please look here for videos and photos

iwate day 2

The next morning, we woke up early and headed down to the pier
 

If you turn around, you can see how high the new sea wall is...the wall blocks the view of the sea for those living on the hillside

The wall in the foreground was the sea wall before the tsunami...the one in the background is the new sea wall.

On the pier, there was a mountain of oyster shells...I haven't seen something like this since the time we visited Lake Saroma in Hokkaido (pre-blog)

I can't remember if it was before or during breakfast but Mother Nature welcomed us to Rikuzentakata with an earthquake...boy was it long and loud!

Interesting things at breakfast...Kesen green tea shabu shabu

Thinly sliced pork for the shabu shabu

Miso soup with tofu and ogo, you don't see ogo used in many things in Tokyo

Rikuzentakata yuzu used for yuzu cha...there was also honey added to this.

From Rikuzentakata we took the BRT to Sakari...here we found a Pokemon manhole

Must be cool to see this kaki noren (curtain of persimmon) in person! 

From Sakari we took the Rias line to Kamaishi

There is a huge Kannon statue that we saw from the train (we'll need to check this out the next time!)

The photo I took of the Kannon was kinda creepy because the electric lines in the foreground look like fuzzy caterpillars

There was an area near the station that had these huge piles of wood!

And deer! 

I bought these thin cookies that the Santetsu railways were selling.

In the past, Santetsu railways were on the verge of bankruptcy and sold these cookies to help save their railway...and still sell them to this day.

These sesame cookies are delicious, super crispy.

They are sweet but also savory with the aonori (green laver) on them.

We got to ride this fancy train from Kamaishi to Miyako

Apparently Kuwait helped the railways after the tsunami.

Along this route, there were many tsunami memorials and the deer made the train stop suddenly several times

When we got to Miyako, we took a taxi to Jodogahama where we would be staying.

100 plus stairs down to the shore

Wear a bear bell...because they are around...eep!

Beautiful area...short video here.

This area was also hit by the tsunami, there is a visitor center and the 1st floor was destroyed

Sushi kaiseki for dinner...we had the whole restaurant to ourselves.

The restaurant is named "Odense" (oh-den-say) which means irrashaimase (welcome) in Iwate dialect

have you ever had ichigo ni? it has nothing to do with strawberries...

Abalone, sea urchin and ogo are used in a clear soup

Different and delicious

Another long day, but we saw a lot!

The Park Hotel Jodogahama

32-4 Hitachihamacho

Miyako, Iwate

saying goodbye

Sunday, we found out that Satoshi's uncle passed away

He played his violin at our wedding reception in Japan many moons ago

Satoshi couldn’t go to the wake yesterday but will attend the funeral and cremation today

We will miss his spunky character