dotombori kamukura

Thursday, Satoshi had the day off and we went to pick up my foreigner visa.

Afterwards, we went to check out Dotombori Kamukura.

Apparently this ramen shop has been around since the late 80's and Satoshi has eaten at the shop in Namba.

A new shop recently opened in Lucua and we stood in line for lunch.

The line moved quite quickly, and while you wait in line, they take your order.

When you get inside, you pay for your meal and then wait for a seat to open up.

After being seated, it takes some time for your meal to come out because the noodles are being cooked right before you sit down.

Satoshi ordered the gyoza set...850 yen with a soft cooked egg (plus 100 yen)...total about US$9.50...this set also comes with a musubi with your choice of "innards", he chose konbu (kelp).

I ordered the original which is called "oishii ramen" (delicious ramen) 600 yen and added a topping of kim chee 100 yen (total of about US$7).

The broth...OM! is so rich and delicious. I think it was chicken based and kind of smoky.

The char siu...wow, thinly sliced and lots of flavor...this was shoyu based and roasted.

Their kim chee is delicious too, spicy and a nice crunch.

Also, there is a lot of hakusai (chinese cabbage).

The gyoza filling seemed like it was chicken too with a little shiso inside...yum! You can choose between original sauce and garlic flavored sauce, we tried the original to dip the gyoza in.

Very very good ramen, and now I understand why the lines were insanely long.

It isn't a place to have a leisurely lunch, but for really good ramen, it is the place to try.

Dotombori Kamukura
Lucua 10F
Umeda, Osaka
Phone: 06.6415.7070

rant

The weather has been crappy over the past three days. We had rain rain and more rain.

On top of that a certain "blog" has copied every post that I have posted over the last month or so, which put together with the ugly weather, has made me really grouchy and upset.

I kind of want to link the said site so you can see all the stolen material, but don't want you to all rush over there and give them the "hits" that they are probably looking for.

Sure, they have my URL in their side bar, but they don't actually link my posts to my URL. (They don't even have a place to comment or to contact them...)

Well, I've filed a DCMA with Google, I think I have also found the actual host of this site and have sent them a complaint too.

I have no idea why anyone would want to copy stuff.

Definitely no class.

Anyway, it is Friday here, hope your week is going better than mine is and I hope your weekend will be nice too.

new

Over the past couple of weeks a lot of new shops and eateries have opened up in the Umeda area.

In Daimaru, which renovated all their floors, there is a Tokyu Hands. Tokyu Hands is an odds & ends shop, you can find almost anything and everything there.

They even opened a cafe which we want to try. Their store is on 3 separate floors, it is really big.

Also in Daimaru is a huge Pokemon Center as well as a cooking school.

Then NU Chayamachi opened an annex called, NU Chayamachi Plus.

They have all these statues of colorfully painted gnu lining the street in front. (I thought it quite weird that they named their building after the animal (gnu)...)

I liked how they are using real plants to create their sign, hope they can keep this up with summer approaching.

I stopped into the Starbucks in this complex. It was relatively empty.

I tried their new mini macarons...it came with one green tea and one black sesame. The green tea one had a white chocolate green tea cream, but needed more green tea flavor. The black sesame had a dark chocolate filling, this was good but needed more filling.

The JR Osaka station has been renovated too.

There is a huge domed roof and very very long escalators, doesn't it look like you are going up to heaven?!

Actually by going up these escalators, you can go straight into Daimaru. They even have an open cafe on this level.

Two department stores, Lucua & Isetan opened too.

These places were packed, mostly people riding the escalators to check it all out. (like me!)

I was happy that they have a place to sit on the 11th floor and a roof garden on the 14th. (If there is one thing you'll notice right away in Japan is that places to sit are really rare.)

Satoshi and I tried a tapas restaurant called Rosa Roja for dinner. This restaurant is actually run by the Osaka Granvia Hotel. The food is good. I particularly enjoyed the gyu-tan (beef tongue), it was tender and delicious with the thinly sliced veggies.

The Spanish wine, Volteo Tempranillo we tried was good too.

There are many food places from Tokyo which I'm sure we'll be able to check out in the coming months, but for now, it is best to let the crowds die down.

Rosa Roja
Lucua 10F
Umeda, Osaka
Phone: 06.6151.1384

on a walk

Saw this "graffiti" on a walk. Looks more like the artist drew it on a piece of paper, then stuck it onto this pole.

Caught a butterfly "resting".

This is a common bluebottle or in Japanese, aosujiageha. (I googled)

I really hope it was resting and not injured. It stayed a really long time while I photographed it.

A really small car. This is a new Suzuki Twin. I think two people will fit in there, no more...

What have you been seeing on your walks?

58

Remember how I mentioned that the Japanese like to use numbers to make up words?

Well, the other day was 5.8 which is go-ya...bittermelon day!

When I saw the huge pile of goya at the market, I didn't put the two together.

Even the price had a 5 & 8 in it...158 yen (about US$1.58)

In fact, the half can of SPAM was more expensive about double the price of the goya!

This goya was huge! but the insides were really ripe. The coating around the seeds were red.

I used part for goya champuru and the other part for stuffed bittermelon...rain is in the forecast for the next couple of days, I think Summer is here!

made in japan

The weather has turned to...summer. Kinda warm, sometimes humid. I think yesterday's temp was 27C (80F).

When the weather turns warm, we no longer fill the furo and instead we take showers.

Since I'm talking about showers, thought I'd share more Made in Japan products...Tamanohada has been making soaps and skincare products in Tokyo since 1892.

I think this round soap is a relatively new type. They have also added some fragrances to them like musk, fig, rose.

If I'm not mistaken they have a total of 6 different fragrances.

One is 840 yen (about US$8.40), not too bad for soap, plus it lasts quite long.

I really like how the soap "rolls" over you when you shower with it and the fragrance isn't too strong or perfumy.

I'll be buying this again.

foodie sunday in east osaka

Last Sunday, Satoshi and I went to see a friend's jewelry exhibit in East Osaka.

The city of Higashi Osaka or East Osaka, is famous for their rugby team. I think every year a rugby tournament is held in this area too.

Before heading to the exhibit, we stopped off at Fuse to pick up some brioche from Kintaro bakery.

This brioche from featured in a book of famous Osaka items.

We bought two and I put them in the freezer. We had them for breakfast the other day, they are buttery and very delicious. I can see why they were featured in this book.

After the exhibit, Satoshi wanted to visit a museum dedicated to a Japanese writer.

I didn't feel like tagging along, so I walked around near the station and picked up a few foodie items while I was waiting for him.

Cookies from Ties Sweets--hazelnut, orange peel and earl grey...my favorite was the orange peel.

I also found a bakery that had been in business since 1949, Narutoya.

One of their popular items was this brioche rock. A little different from the brioche we had from Kintaro. This one was a bit more eggy. I didn't care too much for the sprinkled sugar on top though.

Even though the weather was drizzly and kind of humid, we had a nice time seeing the exhibit. Many intricate jewelry pieces. I'm also glad we got to try the brioche from Kintaro. Golden Week is over and Satoshi is back to work, hope you have a nice week!

Ties Sweets
2-4-10 Shimo-kosaka
Higashi Osaka, Osaka
Phone: 06.6723.2562

Kintaro
1-13-6 Ajiro
Higashi Osaka, Osaka
Phone: 06.6721.3023
Closed Thursdays

Narutoya
3-2-24 Kosaka
Higashi Osaka, Osaka
Phone: 06.6782.0732

Other items from the book that we've tried:
baguette from Le Sucre Coeur
sweets, sushi & incense from Sakai
creme au chocolat from Nakatani
Gochika from Tourindo