krazy foodie thursday in osaka

Thursday, we met Ryan and his wife, S.

A couple of years back, he gave us a bottle of his mom's homemade ohelo jam.

Even though we were meeting for the first time, it turns out we have a LOT of connections (super small world), so it was easy to chat with them.

After doing some shopping, we had lunch at Okonomiyaki Yukari...Satoshi has been here a couple of times...even if we had to wait to get a table...the food came out quite quickly once we ordered.

We shared a mixed okonomiyaki, negiyaki (pictured above), some yakisoba & a sakura mochi ice cream (and beers).

Bellies full (at least mine was), we walked through Doguyasuji, the area in Osaka that sells all sorts of gadgets & kitchen items.

Around the corner, Satoshi & S had dessert...taiyaki.

And then while walking through Kuromon Market, Ryan and Satoshi had uni (sea urchin) and other goodies...

We went back to their hotel and had drinks at the bar...mojitos & sake

And since Ryan was about to order food from the bar, we decided to grab dinner...

Kushikatsu (and beer) at Hotaru...remember no double dipping.

We let the cook choose so they gave us 10 different types which the waitress rattled off...there was asparagus, shiitake, scallops, tako (octopus), kisu (sillago japonica), onion, minced chicken with cheese, quail eggs, and two more that I can't remember.

Before saying our goodbyes, Ryan gave us this huge Aomori apple that we saw at Kuromon Market.

(I measured and it is about 4 inches (10 centimeters) across and about 4 inches (10 centimeters) tall)

It is a different variety called "mutsu" and different from the ones we see in our area markets.

While very crisp, the fruit itself isn't sweet like Fuji apples...we had half for breakfast one day and the other half for another breakfast...so good!

They also gave us tons of omiyage...mostly things that I have on my Omiyage List.

And also jars of ohelo and ume jam that his mom made!

Lots of walking, lots and lots of talking and lots and lots of eating.

It was so nice to be able to meet them and hope they had a nice time.

We felt so bad because they wouldn't let us pay for anything!

Over the years, our teeny blog has brought us so many new friends and connections and we are so thankful.

"You guys, next time we go holo-holo (galavanting), we're paying...."

Thank you again for a great day, Ryan & S!

Okonomiyaki Yukari
2-11-12 Sennichimae
Chuo, Osaka
Phone: 06.6647.8001
Hours: 11:00-23:30

Doguyasuji
14-5 Namba-sennichimae
Chuo, Osaka

Kuromon Market
2-4-1 Nipponbashi
Chuo, Osaka
Hours: 9:00-18:00

Kushikatsu Hotaru
3-3-3 Namba
Chuo, Osaka
Phone: 06.6616.9800
Closed Mondays
Hours: Weekdays: Lunch: 11:30-15:00, Dinner: 17:30-23:00
Weekends: 11:30-23:00

tanuki

There is an animal in Japan called a tanuki which in English is called a Raccoon Dog.

Anyway, I've seen them around our area, but of course, Satoshi never believed me.

Until the other day, we were checking out the anti-social cat that lives down the street and Satoshi said, "look there is another cat"...

nope, it was a tanuki.

Bummer, I don't have a camera in my eye to show you the tanuki we saw, I did find a picture on Wikipedia though...at least now Satoshi is a believer.

lego

Since today is Children's Day, I'll post about the Lego exhibit we saw...

An area of Umeda was renovated and they had a Lego exhibit....

The Lego artist, Jumpei Mitsui recreated Koshien Stadium.

And a huge statue of Sanada Yukimura.

So cool to see.

From the Lego website...a photo of the artist, Jumpei Mitsui, holding a 5000-something piece maguro...amazing!

Have a nice weekend!

then & now

Twelve years ago (pre-blog), we checked out the area where the first Japan high school baseball tournament was held in Toyonaka, Osaka back in 1915.

Nowadays, the games are held at Koshien stadium during Spring & Summer.

Recently the area was refurbished.

I am bummed that they chopped down the tree that was there...why does Japan always kill the trees whenever they rebuild stuff?!

Love the baseball themed items around the park, like the places to sit.

The light fixtures.

The barriers around the park.

Across from the park, is a memorial area with plaques of all the winners from the games (only the summer games though).

This year the 99th tournament will be held.

It was nice to reconnect with this park.

Japan High School Baseball Tournament Memorial Park
3-3-1 Tamai-cho
Toyonaka, Osaka
About 7 minutes walking distance from Hankyu Toyonaka Station

sakura daikon

I wanted to recreate the sakura daikon we tried from Marukoshi.

I still can't understand why companies insist on using artificial sweeteners...

The recipe I found online seemed like it would be a little too sweet, so I adapted it...

5 inch long daikon, peeled & cubed
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
3 or 4 salted sakura (do not rinse off the salt), chopped

Put everything in an airtight jar and let soak for a couple of hours.
Enjoy!

NOTES: not an overpowering sakura flavor and not too salty nor too sweet. I'm making this again!

mitsuaki iwago

We checked out Mitsuaki Iwago's photo exhibit at Hankyu Department store...600 yen per person.

He is a well-known animal photographer in Japan.

This particular exhibit focused on a family of cats on an apple farm in Aomori prefecture, over the course of a year.

It was nice to see the seasons change as well as see these cats "grow-up".

Very relaxing moment.

How cute is the entrance ticket? You can use it as a bookmark afterwards.

I'm glad we got to go to this exhibit.

kozou plus

It's Golden Week here in Japan.

There are several holidays lined up at the end of the week.

There was also one this past Saturday...I think Japan may be the only country to count Saturdays to observe holidays.

Keep in mind there are businesses that do work on Saturdays, so I guess a holiday is a holiday...

Anyway, we recently tried Kozou Plus.

They specialize in mazesoba where you maze (mah-zay...mix) everything up before eating.

I ordered their niku niku don (literally meat meat bowl)...filled with grilled char siu and a sweet-salty sauce.

The meat was super tender...and that egg!

(wasn't too sure when to use the grainy mustard though...)

Satoshi chose their mazesoba.

He usually chooses noodles with soup, but since this shop specializes in mazesoba, he tried and liked this.

We liked the laid back feel of this shop (at some of these type of shops, you just feel rushed to finish your food and go!)...we'll be back!

Kozou Plus
1-2-35 Fukushima
Fukushima, Osaka
Phone: 06.6346.6346
Lunch: 11:00-14:30 (last order), Dinner: 18:00-21:30 (last order)