last day of golden week

Yesterday, it was forecast to rain in the afternoon.

Still I wanted to check out the koinobori in Takatsuki. See they had 1000 strung across the Akutagawa (Akuta river), now when would you ever see something that fabulous?!

So, we got out and about early and it was drizzly and cold but we found the place and it was still impressive.

I really liked the handmade koi...can you see the little hand prints used to make the scales of the fish?! Apparently these were made by a pre-school from the area.

Some were really colorful and creative too.

There was even a huge sakura tree mural.

Apparently this area is well known to the locals for the cherry blossoms too.

We'll definitely have to come back next cherry blossom season.

I shot a little video of the koinobori and I touched up the exposure of the photos and video because it was a little dark.

Oh, and you know, when we reached home, the sun came out (boo!) Still, we were happy we got to check this out.

Hope you all have a great week!

it's a new year

It's a New Year, I hope this year will be a very good year for everyone.

For New Year's Eve, we had an array of appetizers and this Cono Sur Sparkling Wine.

I'd been saving this for Satoshi's staff party, but that never happened, so we had this bottle last night.

It is a mixture of Chardonnay, Riesling & Pinot Noir, fruity but very dry...perfect with yakitori, Comte cheese and other munchies.

I wanted to show you this huge wall that is supposed to look like a chocolate bar.

Meiji Seika in Takatsuki built this wall in front of their factory.

It is 27.6 meters tall (90 feet) by 165.9 meters wide (544.2 feet)

I took these photos on the way to Kanazawa and the video on the way back.

I still need to go through my photos before I can post on Kanazawa, so it may take some time.

I hope your New Year's Eve was a festive one! Let the Year of the Dragon begin.

bi bim bap

Yesterday I met my friend Kathy at Takatsuki. She lives in Ibaraki and teaches English at a University nearby.

After lunch and some window shopping, we were browsing around the Takatsuki shopping arcade.

I came across a kim chee shop that I had been looking for. The shop was featured in a foodie magazine and every time I've gone to Takatsuki I had been looking for it.

I didn't realize this, but you can also eat inside. They serve bi bim ba, buta kim chee (pork kim chee), chijimi (pajeon) and many other dishes. (will have to go back to try them!!)

They sell a bi bim ba veggie set. I bought one of the sets (400 yen--about US$4) and decided to make bi bim bap with it. The set comes with spinach, mung beans, zenmai (flowering fern/osmunda) and daikon (long white radish) namul.

I put some of the veggies onto some rice, added a little kim chee and corn, topped it with a sunny side up egg and some bi bim kook soo sauce.

Kind of mixed up Korean style food, but this was a great dinner with almost no cooking involved.

Fuji Kim Chee
16-19 Takatsuki-machi
Takatsuki, Osaka
Phone: 072.683.5129
Open 10:00-19:30 Closed on the 3rd Sunday

takatsuki

Today, since the leaves haven't started to change colors, we decided to go to Takatsuki.

This is the very first place where Satoshi's and my adventures began in Japan 4 years ago. 

We moved from very spacious Hawaii apartment (900 square feet) to a "cute" 2-room apartment in his company's housing (430 square feet). 

We had a year to find our own housing, but moved to where we are now within 3 months.

The reason we decided to go to Takatsuki was that the company closed the housing facility this past March and we were curious to see how things had changed.

We were very surprised. 

The shopping arcade in front of the JR Takatsuki station was partially demolished and a twin tower deluxe condominium now stands there. 

The station itself has been renovated and there are many clothing shops and cafes. 

The area where we used to catch the bus was also moved and the route of the bus has changed a bit. 

The housing is now all boarded up and locked. 

Many of the stores around our housing area have also changed. 

The Italian restaurant where we first had dinner, Pommarola is now a video rental shop.

Also, the wagashiya (Japanese confection store) that I wrote about the other day, Satsukian, did in fact move, they have three stores, one in Tonda (Ibaraki), one in Minoo and one in an area of Takatsuki called Makami(down the road from Hattori Shimizu -our company housing area). 

While walking from the housing area back to the station, we found Satsukian and bought our dessert. Satoshi was drooling over the kuri(chestnut) daifuku and yomogi(mugwort) mochi.

Also while walking back to the station, we decided to check out the Tenmangu shrine. 

Tenmangu originally meant "heavenly god" but is now associated with Sugawara Michizane, a courtier-scholar. 

He was sent into exile and continued to protest his innocence through his poetry until his death. 

His angry spirit was believed to be the cause of a series of disasters, so he was pardoned and promoted in court rank. 

He is now revered as the saint of scholarship. 

For this reason, many pray at Tenmangu shrines or Tenjin shrines for success in school, passing entrance exams, etc. 

After walking up VERY steep stairs, we were able to say a prayer at the shrine.

This shrine was apparently built before the Tenmangu in Kyoto. Also areas around Tenmangu shrines are usually called Tenjinmachi or Tenjin.

Although Satoshi didn't remember too much about the neighborhood because he was coming and going to work, he was very surprised at how much the area around the station had changed.

We had a very nice day today. :)