obama-maizuru-osaka

There weren't too many sights in Obama city, mostly temples and some historical areas. I think if we had rented a car, we could have seen more scenic spots.

Anyway, I wanted to show you some chopsticks, I didn't realize that there were different types of chopsticks for different foods.

My chopsticks when I ate soba were thin at the ends and slightly squared, this is to prevent the noodles from slipping out of your grasp.

Satoshi's chopsticks when he ate his kaisen donburi were thicker and slightly rounded, perfect to "scoop" or "balance" rice and the toppings.

On the other hand, one thing that you will see especially in the Sancho-machi area of Obama, is that many homes and shops look like some that you see in Kyoto. Many homes and shops have been preserved to have that "traditional Japanese" look.

We happened to walk past one of these preserved shops called Kokoro (heart) and couldn't resist the delicious aroma of their freshly baked bread.

The inside of the bakery is decorated with all sorts of wooden Japanese candy molds and the bread is baked in an ishigama (stone oven).

They had all sorts of breads as well as tarts. We each bought a snack for the train. I picked up the milk bread 100 yen (about US$1) and Satoshi chose the yomogi (mugwort) anpan (baked bun with sweet bean paste)...180 yen (about US$1.80).

My milk bread was really soft and delicious, kind of like brioche. Satoshi enjoyed his anpan, the yomogi was really fragrant.

We also went back to the Fisherman's Wharf to pick up a yakisabazushi (grilled mackerel sushi) to share for our lunch on the train....1050 yen (about US$10.50).

The grilled mackerel sushi was delicious, very smokey. It is layered with pickled ginger and shiso (perilla leaf). They actually give you some shoyu, but it isn't necessary to use as there is lots of flavor.

On the train, we also tried this musubi with Hokuriku minced pork flavored with miso (soy bean paste), shoyu & sugar, which we picked up at a convenience store....115 yen (about US$1.15)....delicious, sweet and salty.

Also from the Fisherman's Wharf we bought some Fukui ume (pickled plum) 525 yen (about US$5.25). (Wakayama prefecture is the number one producer of ume in Japan, Fukui prefecture is number two.)

And some iwanori (a soft laver that is found on the rocks and is seasoned)...420 yen (about US$4.20). We tried both the ume and iwanori for breakfast on Tuesday, yum!

From Obama, we stopped at Higashi Maizuru (East Maizuru) which is in Kyoto Prefecture.

About a 15 minute walk away from the station, there is an area of red brick warehouses which was used by the Japanese military during the Russo-Japan war (1905?), which Satoshi wanted to check out.

Most of the warehouses are still standing and are now used by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces, the Japanese do not consider this their "military" but in my opinion, this is their version of the Coast Guard.

Along the way, we saw a shrine with daruma, this is actually the area where shopkeepers in the shopping arcade come to ask for properity and good business.

We also spotted a nice Red Mini.

It was a quick trip, despite the bad weather on the first day, we had LOTS to eat and enjoyed seeing two Hokuriku cities.

I hope you had as much fun as we did.

Kokoro
39-2 Obama-otokoyama (in front of Yahata Jinja)
Obama, Fukui
Phone: 0770.53.0575

Shinsengekijo Toretorezushi
(Wakasa Hiroshima-ya's Yakisabazushi)
inside of Fisherman's Wharf
1-3-2 Kawasaki
Obama, Fukui
Phone: 0770.53.3977

happyaku-bikuni

There is a story of Happyaku-bikuni (800 year old nun), which tells of the longevity of the people of Obama.

In Obama, there once was a rich man named Takahashi Gondaiyu. One day, he was invited by a fisherman for dinner.

He went over to the fisherman's house and happened to see the kitchen area. The food that they were preparing was something he had never seen before.

One of the dishes that they brought out was a platter of sliced ningyo (mermaid). Skeptical of eating the ningyo, Gondaiyu ate the other foods and didn't touch it.

The fisherman insisting that this ningyo was gochisoo (special foods for a special occasion) wrapped up the ningyo and sent it home with Gondaiyu.

Gondaiyu reluctantly brought it home and tucked it away in the kitchen where no one would see it.

That night, his 16 year old daughter found the wrapped ningyo and tried a piece. It was so delicious that before she knew it, she had eaten all of the sliced ningyo.

The next day, her father looked around for the ningyo but couldn't find it. His daughter confessed to eating it. Her father worried that something bad would happen to her because she ate it.

As the years passed, everyone but his daughter aged. More years passed and everyone in her family passed away leaving her still looking young but very alone and sad.

Everyone in the village gossiped that her youth was due to eating the ningyo.

Since she was alone, she decided to become a nun and travel around Japan to bring happiness to others. Everywhere she went, she planted a tsubaki (camellia) tree.

Finally when she was 800 years old, she returned to Obama and entered a cave. Near the cave she planted a single tsubaki (camellia) tree and told the people of the village, "when this tree dies, you will know that I too have died".

The tree still stands today next to the cave near an area next to the Yahata shrine.

kani kani kani

After coming out of the wind and the rain, we checked into our hotel, Hotel Urban Port Hana Tsubaki, located along Obama Bay.

The welcome service kind of surprised me as they gave us some matcha (green tea) and sweets (mini creme brulee, cake and yokan (bar of jellied sweet bean paste). (At most places, you receive tea or juice or nothing at all.)

After checking in, we went to the separate bathing areas and took a nice soak, working up a nice appetite for a dinner of...kani (crab).

The particular hotel plan that Satoshi signed us up for served crab for dinner...

Besides the appetizers and sashimi (sliced raw fish), there was boiled crab, grilled crab.

There was also a crab hot pot, chawan mushi (savoury custard filled with crab, unagi (eel), some shrimp, ginan (gingko) & yurine (lily bulb)), zosui (porridge using the stock from the hot pot, leftover crab, rice, egg and green onion), tsukemono (pickled veggies) and dessert (black sesame ice cream & fresh fruits (papaya, strawberry & pineapple).

Boy! were we stuffed after dinner. We calculated that each person had about 2 crabs each. Satoshi was surprised that I ate most of my share, as most times I leave a large portion of my food for him to finish.

My favorite crab preparation would have to be boiled, it was the easiest to eat. Grilled crab was the hardest to eat because it stuck to the shell.
The next day, we awoke to a beautiful day.

If you thought dinner had a lot of food, breakfast the next morning was almost just as large.

Grilled fish, sashimi, a little hot pot & other foods. It was really filling and everything was delicious.

After a very hearty breakfast, we were ready to explore some of the sights in Obama.

Hotel Urban Port Hana Tsubaki
72-1 Obama-shiratori
Obama, Fukui
Phone: 0770.53.2001

osaka-tsuruga-obama

Sunday, the air was really REALLY bad. The kosa (yellow sand, dust cloud) from China was thick like fog. I swear it smelt like sulpher too. Makes me sick that we were breathing this stuff.

Anyway, Satoshi and I headed out to Fukui prefecture, this is in the Hokuriku (North area) of Japan, near the Japan Sea.

From Osaka, it took about 2 hours and it was raining by the time we reached our first stop, Tsuruga. We had some time before our connecting train, so we walked their covered shopping arcade and checked out the bronze statues.

These statues are of characters from the Japanese anime, "Ginga Tetsudo 999" (Galaxy Express 999) by Reiji Matsumoto. Though the artist did not grow up in Tsuruga, he donated some items when Tsuruga celebrated their 100 year anniversary in 1999.

Some food items we found in Tsuruga were tororo konbu (a thinly shaved kelp which is slightly seasoned)...400 yen (about US$4) and katapan (literally hard bread). This was a very VERY hard cracker.

Not sweet, but with lots flavor from the aonori (green seaweed)...be careful not to break your teeth on these. Apparently there were 10 shops that made this in Tsuruga, now there is only 1, Daruma-ya Kinsei...6 crackers for 250 yen (about US$2.50).

Daruma-ya Kinsei
72-11 Kanayama
Tsuruga, Fukui
Phone: 0770.22.5541

From Tsuruga we took a train to Obama. This city got a lot of attention when President Obama was running.

There are banners, even shops selling Obama items.

The area is often referred to as Wakasa, as it is near the Wakasa Bay.

Anyway, this area is the start of the saba kaido (mackerel road). When Kyoto was the capital of Japan, it is said that most food items (including mackerel) travelled from Wakasa to Kyoto.

You can find whole saba grilled on a stick at fish shops as well as all sorts of other fresh and dried fish.

Unfortunately by the time we got to Obama, the wind and rain had picked up.

We stopped for lunch at the Wakasa Fisherman's Wharf and also to get out of the rain. A great place to have some sushi, pick up some omiyage (souvenirs) or just to sit and look at the ocean.

The restaurant on the second floor, Kaikoen, serves many different teishoku (set meals). Satoshi had their kaisen donburi (seafood donburi)...1850 yen (about US$18.50). His lunch came with some crab miso soup, tsukemono (pickles) and some tsukudani (salty sweet preserved foods).

I chose the oroshi soba and mini amaebi donburi (northern shrimp)...1350 yen (about US$13.50) Oroshi soba is soba (buckwheat noodles) topped with grated daikon (long white radish) and green onions. My donburi had the northern shrimp, some egg and onions.

Everything was delicious and the seafood very fresh.

After lunch, we battled the wind and rain and walked to the Miketsukuni Food Culture Museum. This museum had all sorts of displays about Japanese food culture (only in Japanese). They also have a bathing area, where you can look out at the ocean while bathing), and a craft area.

The main craft of this area are lacquered chopsticks. Abalone shell and other items are lacquered onto wooden chopsticks. Then by sanding the lacquered chopsticks, what was embedded onto the chopsticks are revealed.

I'll continue with more of our adventure tomorrow, stay tuned!

Fisherman's Wharf
1-3-2 Kawasaki
Obama, Fukui
Phone: 0770.52.3111

Kaikoen (on the 2nd floor of Fisherman's Wharf)

Miketsukuni Food Culture Museum
3-4 Kawasaki
Obama, Fukui
Phone: 0770.53.1000