Casabella Inn Kobe

Yesterday we made the trip back to Honshu, leaving our Okinawan experience behind us. It is quite nice to be back on the 'main land' and in the great city of Osaka. We are now definitely back to the Japan that I know.

Osaka is certainly a busier place than Naha -- definitely not as laid back here! There is obviously work to be done, people to see, and food to eat. The thing that always strikes me about Osaka is the sheer scale of eating establishments of all ...

... at Steak Ron, delicious Sakuyaki at Hariju and more helpings of takoyaki/okonomuyaki/yakisoba.

S teak Ron
1-10-2 Sonezaki Shinchi, Kita-ku | Umeda, Osaka

Hariju
1-9-26 Nishishinsaibashi Chuo-ku Osaka

Takontetsu (Pizza Ball House)
1-9-20 Maru Bldg Umeda 1 Chome

Meaning to ruin oneself by extravagance in food. Heard another translation - "Eat, eat until you fall down." Why Osaka is my entry point to Japan. It also translates to eating as much Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki as possible. BTW Takoyaki - Octopus balls. Okonomiyaki - Pancake-ish dealies. Oh Osaka.

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This week I volunteered to get away from my desk, while my students were taking their midterm exams, and head out to take pictures for a guidebook that our students made. The weather was beautiful, and I couldn't pass up an opportunity to get out and enjoy it. I had two days to try to navigate my way around Kobe, searching for the places in the book. My job was to take pictures that somewhat matched the descriptions, so that Kobe city could later use them to create a listening ...

... and organize things and pack up, but I begged them off for yet a few more hours of card playing. My enthusiasm must have paid off, or perhaps I was meant to be left on a positive note... whatever it was- I managed to win my way around the table in our mini 500 tournament. I said goodbye that night, and went back to my apartment on the last train that night because I had to get to work ...

... stick. As we looked closer, we realized that the "meat" on the stick was not just steak, it was Kobe!! 500 yen for five pieces of paradise! We happily handed over the large gold coin in exchange for the greatest piece of steak I have ever tasted. PFS- Imagine your most memorable steak experience. Mine was perhaps a porterhouse at Peter Luger's for Scott's birthday some years ago. The best cut grilled to a perfect med rare with an unparalleled ...

To spice up lessons with a language exchange partner, I suggested we go to visit the Kobe Fruit and Flower Park. During the month of March entrance to the park was free. I was a little weary to hit it up on the last day of the month, thinking it would be crowded, but luckily the dreary weather- which turned into a windstorm midday- kept the crowds away. Mariko and I trucked our way to the inaka (country side ...

... No geishas, but a wealth of fleeting glimpses into their perfect, stylized world of small details elevated to an art form. Our time in Gion having come to and end, we dropped the bikes and again took advantage of the Japan Rail passes to head out into the suburbs of Sagano. There, we strolled quieter streets, finally caved to the entreaties of soft-serve vendors by purchasing green tea ice cream, and reveling in the discovery of a bamboo forest. There, amidst the delicate green ferns ...

... it that, is that all the toys you pay a lot for in the United States are at least half the price in Japan. Ultraman figures that cost $10 here can be had for ¥400 there - less than four bucks. All those big plush Totoros people pay mucho dinero for on eBay are peanuts in Japan. En route back to the hotel to drop off the stuff, we saw the damndest thing yet: one of those games with the grabber you use to tray and get a prize. Not unusually in and of itself, except that the prize was a live crab.