bambucha

We recently received more bambucha (huge) onions from Mayumi-san (thank you!)

This time around they were from Awajishima (Awaji Island).

I roasted one of them for our dinner on Sunday (because it was the size of a softball!)

Topped it with some homemade meat sauce and shredded cheese...I've made this before here.

The weather has been so hot and humid, so it wasn't the best day to be using the oven, but this was still a delicious way to enjoy this.

Thank you again Mayumi-san!

kunto no sato

Yesterday, my host mom took me and my host brother's wife to lunch to celebrate my host brother's wife's birthday.

We went across the ocean to Awajishima.

A 150-something year old house refurbished into a tiny restaurant called Kunto no sato.

The wife does the food while the husband is in charge of the soba.

It was a beautiful lunch, too bad that I had a bad case of motion sickness and couldn't eat much of it.

Still, it was nice hanging out with my host mom and host brother's wife.

Happy Birthday, K!

Kunto no Sato
1541 Shitoridoi
Minamiawaji, Hyogo
Phone:0799.46.0522
Reservations only (at least a month in advance)
No children allowed

foodie saturday

Yesterday, we went to see a movie, "Sugihara Chiune" (a really good biography/historical type movie) and then went to Awajishima Burger for lunch.

It's been 5 years since we've been here and it is even more popular now.

In fact, walking to the shop, the burgers were literally calling us with their aroma.

I had their regular bacon cheese...800 yen while Satoshi had their large bacon cheese...900 yen

We also ordered some fries...150 yen

Their prices have gone up a bit, but the burgers are still delicious. Still super hard to eat without getting sauce on your face.

We'll be back.

After lunch, we wanted a little something sweet, so we walked back to Nishinomiya Gardens and had some gelato from Milkissimo.

Fondant chocolate for me (hard to see) and Mango for Satoshi and coffees.

The weather is still funky but I am still hoping to see flurries...have a good week!

omiyage from awajishima

When we visited Awaji Island last month, we picked up some purple sweet potato from the farmer's market.

Boy, was this purple! Peeling the potatoes my hands got purple too.

I used all of the potato in two batches of sweet potato salad, the recipe is here.

Before serving it, I added some blanched sugar snap peas.

Loved the colors! Really brightened up some grey days.

Another thing we picked up were these chocolate covered fruits from Nagatechoeido.

I've tried the chocolate covered orange peel before and written about it here.

The figs are locally grown on the island and are marinated in red wine and sugar then semi-dried. The figs come covered with white chocolate and with dark chocolate.

Both ways are delicious.

It was a short trip so we didn't pick up a lot of omiyage this time around, I'm glad we got to try all these goodies.

sumoto-maiko-osaka

So what to do when it rains?

For us, it depends on how heavy the rain is.

Sunday it was a steady drizzle, so after breakfast we were out in full force with our umbrellas.

We headed up the mountain to check out the ruins of the Sumoto castle.

The view of Sumoto city was something to see. It's amazing to know that whoever lived in the castle had this view.

The castle replica is a great place to hide under when it rains, by the way.

A short cut path down the mountain, is quite steep, but brings you back into the city.

There are 8 tanuki(Japanese raccoon dog) statues around the city, so we walked to the various locations to check them out.

According to the legend, Shibaemon-tanuki lived near Mount Mikuma (the mountain where Sumoto castle is) with his wife Omasu. He was quite rascally and would change leaves to gold and sell them. He was also nice and would help drunks that had fallen.

One day, he used some of his "money" to see a play in Osaka. He didn't return home for a long time, so everyone thought he died.

Later, Shibaemon was revered as a deity for the theater and today is worshipped by actors such as Nakamura Ganjirou.

The 8 tanuki around the city are from Shibaemon's family.

Feeling hungry, we went to look for lunch.

There was a couple of places listed in Satoshi's guide book. We decided on Uomasu.

We got there just as they were opening. The place filled up fast...

I ordered their tako ten don...1100 yen (tax included). The tako (octopus) they use is caught near Awaji Island.

So much tako and the light breading gave the tako a nice crisp outside, but kept the tako tender with a nice chew.

Satoshi ordered the Uomasu set...1600 yen (tax included). His lunch came with 4 different types of sashimi, plus some tako tempura.

We both agreed this place was good! as we left, there was a line to get in.

Bellies full, we looked for the remaining tanuki on the map and then caught the bus back to Maiko.

Despite the weather, we did a lot of walking and eating.

It was a great short trip, I hope you enjoyed our adventure as much as we did.

Uomasu
2-3-2 Honmachi
Sumoto, Hyogo
Phone: 0799.22.0559
Closed Tuesdays, Wednesdays
Open from 11:30-14:00 (if they run out of rice they close sooner!)

osaka-maiko-yumebutai-minami awaji-sumoto

Saturday, the weather was sunny and the temperature was to go up to temps that we normally see in April or May!

We got up early and headed out to Awaji Island.

Last year, we visited the Northern part of the island.

This time, we visited the middle part.

They have a huge flower event going on at several large parks around Awaji Island.

We stopped at one park near the Northern part of the island called Yumebutai.

This park was in the planning stages before the 1995 Hanshin earthquake by Tadao Ando and finished shortly after the earthquake.

On the property is also a convention facility, hotel (Westin) and memorial to the earthquake victims.

Because of the cold snap last week though, the flowers were blooming but not quite in full bloom.

Still, it was nice to be out in the sun!

I loved the art displays incorporating succulents, moss and sand!

Lunch was at a tiny cafe on the property and we tried the roasted onion.

Awaji Island is known for their sweet onions.

Roasted and topped with oozy cheese and a meat sauce, this was fabulous and I want to re-create this.

We also shared a "meh" hamburger with demi-glace sauce...

After lunch, we checked out the Hyaku-daen. The 100 flower beds is divided into 4 different zones to display the different flowers during different seasons.

According to a volunteer guide, this area was also designated as a permanent memorial for the victims of the 1995 earthquake. The cascading water and flowers truly is something to see.

We then caught the bus to the Farm Park English Hill. This is where another flower event was being held.

Instead of paying the admission to get into the park, we checked out the farmers market outside. Apparently this facility just opened. There were lots of fresh veggies. There were also food stands, so Satoshi had a soft serve and I had a "meh" cream puff.

We then caught the bus to Sumoto (the area where we would be staying).

The minshuku (family operated Japanese style B&B) we stayed at was "old"...the toilets were "Japanese style"..eep!

There wasn't even wifi coverage in the area.

We had done a lot of walking and since we were off the grid, we had a nice dinner and went to sleep "early" (21:00)!

The next day was forecast for rain...stay tuned to see what we did...

omiyage from awajishima & akashi

Here's the omiyage (souvenirs) we brought back with us from Awajishima...instant onion curry...

mixed kodaimai (rice) & onion taberu ra-yu (chunky chili oil) with habanero.

The habanero that they use is grown in Japan.

onion senbei (crackers) & assorted seafood senbei (crackers) (squid, squid ink, seaweed, octopus, crab & shrimp).

And the omiyage from Akashi...assorted takosenbei (octopus crackers).

Can't wait to try all of these goodies! Have a nice weekend!

awajishima-akashi-osaka

Day 2 of our adventure started with breakfast at our pension.

After that huge dinner the night before, this breakfast was perfect...actually, this post should be titled "kuidaore" (eat until you drop) because this is what happened after breakfast...

We checked-out and went to the Hokudan Earthquake Memorial Park.

This is the area where the huge earthquake that hit Kobe in 1995 apparently originated. The purpose of this park is to preserve the memory of the earthquake and also to educate for larger earthquakes in the future.

There is a preserved house that sits on the fault. You can walk into the house and view the damage of the kitchen area and see the damage to the outer property wall when the property shifted.

There is a display area to educate you on topics such as active faults and earthquakes. There is also a video showing tsunami simulations.

The area that was the most freaky was the earthquake simulation room. For 40 seconds, you sit inside a "home" to experience a size 7 earthquake and then for another 10 seconds a size 4 aftershock.

Super scary experience but important to know about.

Since we had some time before the bus we needed to catch, we shared this...takopuri burger. Octopus and onions fried up like a croquette.

The onions were sweet and there were bits of octopus here and there, I think they could've put more octopus in it.

We then went to the Michi no Eki Awaji. This is actually a parking area. There are tons of these places all over Japan. If ever you see "michi no eki" you'll know this is a rest stop where you can eat and buy souvenirs...some of these rest stops even have hot spring facilities.

It was so cool to see the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge up close!

We had seen a poster for Awajishima Gyu-don (beef bowl)...can you believe there are 61 different bowls around Awajishima?!

They have some rules...in order to call it an Awajishima Gyu-don, the beef, onions & rice must be grown/raised in Awajishima.

And all other ingredients used should try to be from Awajishima.

From the list of 61, this was number 1...Awajishima Yakiniku Bowl...1280 yen.

Satoshi and I shared this. Garlicky tender beef with lots of green onions. They serve this with an onion potage and pickled onions.

This was so good!

After "lunch", we went up the mountain to Matsuho no Sato, an onsen (hot spring).

The view from the mountain is breathtaking!

This is where lunch #2 happened...Hitsumabushi-style Beef Bowl...950 yen.

Just like when you eat unagi (eel) hitsumabushi, you add some dashi to the gyu-don to eat this like "chazuke".

Of the two beef bowls, I liked the first one at the rest stop.

Satoshi had their nama-shirasu (raw whitebait) bowl...950 yen.

You can only get this between April and November...they actually have 48 versions all over the island!

We then caught the ferry to Akashi.

It is only 13 minutes. The boat passes under the bridge so it is nice way to see the bridge "up close".

Once in Akashi, Satoshi said he wanted to check out Uontana shopping arcade. Akashi is known for tako (octopus) so there are lots of takoyaki places as well as vendors selling tako, raw and prepared.

Akashi has their own type of takoyaki called akashiyaki. We tried some at a place called Gallery Deai...10 for 500 yen (lunch #3)

I personally don't care for takoyaki. I find the insides to be a little to mushy/raw. After trying Akashiyaki though, I think I could like this version.

Akashiyaki doesn't use flour, just egg seasoned with dashi (stock)...so it is like eating a tiny dashimaki tamago (omelette made with stock and egg) with tako in it.

Put it into a bowl of dashi (stock) and add green onion and pickled ginger. Satoshi liked it with only the dashi and green onion. He thought adding the pickled ginger didn't match.

I thought it was delicious!

Satoshi mentioned that he has never been to Akashi, so we went to check out the park.

In this park are the remains of the Akashi castle. There is also a large pond where you can rent paddle boats and a large sports facility too. There were also some beautiful maple trees too.

Another day of beautiful weather, lots of walking and way too much eating.

I hope you enjoyed this adventure as much as we did. Satoshi is hooked and wants to go back to Awajishima in the Spring!

Hokudan Earthquake Memorial Park
177 Ogura
Awaji, Hyogo
Phone: 0799.82.3020
Hours: 9:00-17:00 (closed during the end of the year, please check)

Michi no Eki Awaji
1873-1 Iwaya
Awaji, Hyogo
Phone: 0799.72.0001

Matsuho no Sato
3570-77 Iwaya
Awaji, Hyogo
Phone: 0799.73.2333

Gallery Deai
1-2-11 Honmachi
Akashi, Hyogo
Phone: 078.914.5728
Closed Tuesdays & Wednesdays
Hours: 11:00-19:00

osaka-suma-maiko-awajishima

From our place to Suma, it is about an hour on the train.

We stopped at Suma Rikyu Park to check out their fall foliage.

The last time I was at this park was back in 2011 with my host mom. There wasn't anything blooming at the time, so it was nice to come back to see the rose garden as well as the autumn leaves.

A couple of stops from the Suma Rikyu Park is Maiko.

This is where we caught the highway bus over the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge to take us over to Awajishima.

You literally have to go up on top of the bridge to get the bus, boy was that escalator steep!

About 10 minutes later you arrive on the other side of the bridge.

The view from the parking area is breathtaking. There is also a Starbucks that gazes at this view too!

Satoshi had a vanilla-chocolate soft serve, while I tried the Awaji Mojio (a type of sea salt) soft serve, my cone was a waffle cone and there was also a little scoop of sweet bean paste. The sweet-salty combination was delicious, the soft serve actually reminded me more of butter.

After finding our pension, we went to explore the port area.

There is a tiny island called Eshima which is believed to be the first island of Japan. There is a little folk story about it.

"At the beginning there was only one god sitting in the center of the Universe.

The Sky and Earth separated, appearing in human form as man and woman respectively. The first man, Izanagi, and the first woman, Izanami, descendants of the god above, got married and gave birth to all the Japanese islands and gods. Sadly, the last offspring was the Fire God, who caused his mother's death by fire.

They say that the first island born from this celestial couple was Eshima, near Awaji island."

The island is made of sand stone so it has a different feel to it.

The pension had a great view of the bay and the bridge. The lights on the bridge change every hour or so. You can even view the bridge from the bath area of the pension!

Dinner was fish...

lots of fish...

served all sorts of ways...

Awajishima is known for having delicious onions...this onion soup was so comforting and delicious!

Satoshi also ordered us some steak for dinner...we over-ordered...

Dinner ended with a scoop of ice cream...we were so full, it wasn't funny...

It was a great day, lots of walking and lots of eating....

Pension Pearl Shine
576-3 Iwaya
Awaji-shi, Hyogo
Phone: 0799.72.2901