ishikiri & hiraoka

Sunday we went to an area just before Nara called Ishikiri.

There is a huge shrine there but before you reach it, you walk through their shopping arcade.

I think this shopping arcade had more fortune tellers than actual shops.

Apparently this shrine heals dembo (tumors or boils) and other diseases.

While we were there we saw many people doing Hyaku-do mairi (he-yah-coo-dough-my-lee) which literally means praying 100 times. (click on the photo to see the video)

You walk from one point to another while praying in hopes of getting your wish granted.

It was my first time seeing a whole crowd of people doing this.

Some people were holding what looked like strips of paper, this is what they use to keep track of how many times they have gone back and forth.

It was interesting to see (I shot the video really far from where they were praying so that most faces are somewhat anonymous).

We tried the fuku soba (luck soba) from nearby Suzuya...but meh, it wasn't anything spectacular...bummer that the shrimp was ice cold too.

Before heading back to Osaka, we checked out Hiraoka Shrine which is a couple of stations over from Ishikiri.

To me, this shrine had a more spiritual feel to it.

On the walkway to the shrine there was also a festival going on...food, entertainment and games.

I was shocked to see the people performing on stage without shoes...(zoom in on the shoes at the bottom of the stairs).

Thank goodness it wasn't wintry weather yet.

Back in Osaka, we finally got a chance to try Ice Monster.

This shop from Taiwan has had krazy lines since the day they opened last year.

Satoshi had their mango and I went with their frozen version of almond float (almond flavored shaved ice) topped with sesame ice cream, bits of lychee, brown sugar gelatin cubes and condensed milk.

While this was good, I got bored with the flavors about half way.

This shop doesn't allow you to share, which means each person needs to order a shaved ice and at 1200 yen or so each...it is quite pricey.

While Satoshi enjoyed his, and we were glad we tried it, we don't think we'll be back.

The weather is still pretty warm during the daytime, and for the most part we've had lots of clouds and rainy days too.

Hope your week is going well.

keeping cool

Even though the heat and humidity have been brutal this year, I've been keeping cool with shave ice.

If it's on the menu, I'll order it...

This cappuccino shave ice is what I had when Satoshi and I went to Kyoto...this was my mid-morning snack.

The cappuccino was sweetened and there were also coffee bean shaped chocolates here and there, the scoop of vanilla ice cream also notched up the sweetness.

Then on Saturday, after lunch, I ordered this golden peach shave ice at Yukinoshita.

It was like eating a frozen peach! The ice was finely shaved too.

Satoshi on the other hand ordered this monster...a melty matcha parfait.

We have a couple of typhoons heading our way too this week, so the humidity is only gonna get worse....sigh.

Ito Coffee
43-3 Koyama Kamifusa-cho
Kita-ku, Kyoto
Phone: 075.492.0033
Closed Tuesdays
Hours: 7:00-19:00

Yukinoshita
Minoo Q's Mall
Minoo, Osaka
Phone: 072.729.3700
Hours: 11:00-20:00
Closed when the mall is

the counter & hawaii's favorite kitchens

Saturday, I went out to lunch with BFF and another friend, S.

BFF treated us to lunch at The Counter. It had been almost 6 years since I'd been back.

I had their B.L.A.T. and sweet potato fries. Bacon is so good in the U.S.! (Thank you!)

After walking around a bit, we went to Hawaii's Favorite Kitchens which is next door to Rainbow Drive-In.

Can you imagine all sorts of island favorites in one shop? You can get KC Drive-inn, Poke Stop, Hoku's BBQ Chicken, Shimazu Shave Ice and some Rainbow Drive-In items.

BFF and I were there for KC Drive-Inn's Ono Shake...Strawberry, Chocolate, Coffee or Vanilla shakes mixed with peanut butter.

I chose Chocolate while BFF chose Vanilla...thick and rich.

S chose Shimazu's Shave Ice.

Can you believe this is a small?!

They have a wide selection of syrups and you can choose up to three.

S chose strawberry, li hing and coconut (I think that is what she said)...

It's been quite hot and muggy lately, so these cold items hit the spot.

Another great foodie day!

Hawaii's Favorite Kitchens
3111 Castle Street
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.744.0465
Hours: 10:00-19:00 everyday

kakigori

The humidity and heat have been quite krazy this summer. In fact, both started before June, in May!

I think as the years pass I become wimpier and wimpier to these types of weather conditions.

I also think it gives me a nice excuse to enjoy kakigori (shave ice).

Japan's kakigori has a lot of fruit flavors and they actually top them with fruits too!

We tried this one at Yukinoshita. Satoshi had their matcha(green tea) which was super bitter until he hit the ice cream in the middle.

I had their coffee which was sweetened plus had a little ice cream in the middle too.

And then we tried Ujien.

Satoshi had their matcha milk shigure which came with a bitter green tea shave ice, some condensed milk and ice cream.

I chose the hojicha (roasted green tea) milk kintoki which came with a hojicha shave ice, some condensed milk, some shiratama (white dumplings) and sweet beans.

The sweet condensed milk and beans are needed to balance out the bitter tea shave ice.

These shave ice tend to be HUGE, so be on the look out for "half-sizes" whenever possible.

I hear tiramisu flavor is trending this year, hope we get a chance to try it somewhere.

Keep cool everybody!

kusatsu

On Sunday, we went to Kusatsu. From Osaka to Kusatsu it takes about 1 hour by train. We then hopped on a bus that took us to Mizunomori
--a botanical garden in an area called the Karasuma hanto(Karasuma Peninsula), on the banks of Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture.

After arriving at the park and paying our admission (300 yen a person--about US$3), we headed to the hasugunseichi (the area where the hasu (lotus) grows).

This area is HUGE! about 13 hectares...about 32 acres...of lotus. Looking to the left.

And to the right. Lotus flowers and plants stretched as far as my eyes could see.

The weather was hot (about 36C = 96F), perfect for water skiing, which is what these people were doing on Lake Biwa right outside of the lotus patch.

There were many people, some sketching, but many photographing. One lady was trying to balance on a tiny rock while holding her umbrella trying to photograph a lotus blossom with her cell phone. I kind of chuckled when I saw her do this.

This botanical garden also had the largest lily pads I've ever seen. Wanna play hopscotch?










There were also tombo doing their "thing".

Inside the air conditioned Lotus Hall, I sat slept through several documentary films about the hasu (lotus). Actually, before I fell asleep, I learned that a lotus flower only lives for 4 days. One thing you should know is that the lotus flower is best viewed in the morning. The first day it opens a little then closes. By the fourth day, it opens so wide that it cannot close, the petals begin to fall off and then the yellow cone in the middle dries up to become the seeds, which replant themselves in the fall. The root becomes lotus root, which is edible, and then the process starts all over.

The botanical garden also had an atrium with many tropical plants. I saw many things that reminded me of home. One was this mango tree.

We shared kakigori (shave ice), no rainbow here. Satoshi chose melon.

Back at the JR Kusatsu station, I noticed these ubagamochi, which are a famous item in Kusatsu. They are soft white mochi wrapped with sweet bean paste. They are supposed look like a mother's breast, which is what I think "ubaga" means.

Lunch was at a Chinese restaurant--Asakusa. I ordered their reimen (cold noodles). This really hit the spot.


All in all it was a great day.

Satoshi was impressed by the size of the lotus patch, though we both wished we hadn't picked the hottest day of the year to go.

Hope you have a great week.

Mizunomori
1091 Oroshimo-machi
Kusatsu, Shiga
Phone: 077.568.2332
Open 7:00-17:00 during the Summer & 9:00-17:00 during the rest of the year