Ramen!

Ippudo. This is the top ramen place right now. It is located in Nishinomiya.

My wife got the miso ramen. It was a nice light broth with thin sliced pork and mushrooms.

I had the tonkotsu ramen which is a more flavorful broth made from pork bones. It was also topped with thin sliced pork.

The gyoza was nicely cooked. I like it really crispy on one side.

This might be the best sink ever. Soap in the left nozzle, water in the right nozzle, and a turbo  in the south side of the sink. It is all automatic. Toto makes some great products.

This is a German bakery we visited. Most of their stuff is made with organic whole wheat. This was in the Ashiya part of town.

Arima onsen

We went to Arima today to visit an onsen(Japanese style hot spring).

This is a popular place to take a day trip since it is close to Osaka, Kobe, and Kyoto.

This place was tucked into the mountains with lots of cool plants around.

The sign at the door states that tattoos are prohibitted, but this doesn`t apply to foreigners I guess. I have never had a problem going into a hot spring with a medium size tattoo in the middle of my back. Someone explained this to me one time. This rule is to weed out Japanese gangsters. I guess it is obvious that I am not a Japanese gangster.

This is an old Japanese mail box.

We had a great day. It was a 45 minutes ride up into the mountains. Then we spent about three hours just hanging around the hot spring. All in all, it was a pretty relaxing day.

OSAKA!!!

3000mg of Taurine anyone?? I will stick with coffee...

The big Glico billboard in Shinsaibashi. Osaka`s main shopping area.

Shinsaibashi side street

The famous Osaka crab

These shopping arcades are great. The air can move through, but the covering protects shoppers from rain and snow.

Truck yarou or truck guy. This guy got so happy that I took a picture of his truck. Clean chrome always looks nice...

This is a ticket shop. I don`t quite understand the system yet, but I know that we buy train tickets cheaper than what is sold at the station. They sell tickets to almost anything.

Fat food.... I haven`t tried this place yet, but it is cheap...

Shinsaibashi is the main shopping area of Osaka. Namba is the south station of Shinsaibashi.

I stared at this hill all afternoon. The hill has stripes of bamboo stands and many different shades of green. This picture is from the rooftop deck of my friend`s house. The building in the middle is a Buddhist temple. This is on the south side of Osaka. The train ride out there took us past many farms and country houses.

Arrived in Japan!

I Arrived on Tuesday May 17th around 8PM. I ran around town on the 18th like an excited kid on Christmas Eve and then the travelling caught up with me and I slept like a bear cub in winter. I have a little catching up to do with the blog so here it goes...

This is a view of Kobe from up on the hill. I love a good birds eye view.

Ahhh... the mid 90`s Nissan Skyline GT-R. Anyone remember Grand Turismo?

This is Sannomiya; the main shopping area of Kobe. SOGO department store first opened here in 1933 and everything else followed.

What an awesome lunch! Cha-soba. A cold buckwheat noodle made with matcha, a green tea powder.

This is Ninomiya Shrine. A Shinto shrine in Kobe.

Daimaru department store in Kobe. I will spend an entire day photographing a department store in Osaka. They sell everything from custom made suits to sushi.

This is the Ikuta Shrine in Kobe. This is one of my favorite places to visit in Japan. It was founded in the 3rd Century AD. My wife an I got married here almost five years ago. It is a very peaceful place to sit and relax.

The neighbor went fishing near Awaji Island today. He brought back aji (horse mackerel). My mother in law simply roasted it and dinner was served.

Roasted aji.

This beer is pretty popular in Japan from what I can see. Zero calories, zero sugar, and zero alcohol. It is made from a malt wort, but never brewed. I would describe it like a beer tea.

This is a yamabuki flower(kerria japonica) that was growing wild on Rokko Mountain. Yamabuki translates to mountain spray, but since it is in the rose family it is usually called a yellow rose in English.

This is another flower we found growing wild on Rokko Moutain. In Japanese it is called tsubaki which is camellia in English. I have seen these flowers before in the US, but never growing wild.

This Buddhist temple is on Mt. Maya. This property is said to have been developed during the 8th Century. Again, this is a very peaceful place with the aroma of sandlewood incense everywhere.

This looks like a late 80`s Suzuki Land Venture, in mint condition!!!If I found one of these in Texas I would buy it immediately.

I was so excited I uploaded this picture twice.

WTB: Late 80`s Land Venture...

Soba restaurant in Sannomiya, Kobe.

I had two types of soba with inarizushi.

This is just a small part of what I have seen so far. We will be going to Osaka to see friends tomorrow. I am overwhelmed by the selection of shoes and watches(Seiko/G-Shock) that I have found. Thanks for reading. I look forward to sharing more of western Japan with you. Mattane!

May 5th, Cinco de Mayo, and Boys' Day!!

Boys' Day or  Childrens' Day, is a National Holiday in Japan and part of Golden Week. The purpose is to celebrate a child's personality and happiness. I have also read that it is a celebration of one of the countries best assets, young men with many, many decades of work ahead of them. The flying carp represent the father, mother, and son. A smaller carp will be added for each boy in the family. 

Golden Week is a stretch of four holidays and a weekend. Greenery Day (みどりの日), Showa Day( 昭和の日), Constitution Memorial Day(憲法記念日), and Boys' Day(こどもの日). 

Many businesses in Japan close for the week. Employees take paid time off. People return home to be with their families or take trips to Guam, Hawaii, or the West Coast of America. 

...but, I am still in Texas. Today is Cinco de Mayo, the 5th of May. This is not Independence Day for Mexico. This is a celebration of pride, heritage, and, well... margaritas.  Have Fun!!!

Home Alone

I will spending one month in Japan this summer. May 16- June 16. This will be my third trip to Japan and the longest stay to date. The first two times in Japan, we did a lot of sightseeing and shopping, but this time will be different. 

My objective on this trip will be to take a closer look at the community in Kobe.  I am aware there are many blogs of this variety on the web. However, most of the blogs about Japan are focussed on Tokyo, for obvious reasons. My goal is to bring attention to the Kansai area of Japan. Tokyo and Osaka are as different as New York and Los Angeles. After my thirty days, I hope my readers will see that Kobe has more to offer than just beef.

This is a can of ajinashi nori which is seaweed paper without flavor (ajinashi). From what I understand this is the type of nori that is most popular in the Tokyo area. This is nice nori, but we have always have ajitsuke( flavor added) nori at our house. The ajitsuke usually has shoyu(soy sauce), sugar, or mirin added. This type of nori is more popular in the Kansai area. (Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe)

I made onigiri for lunch which is balls of rice. These were seasoned with salmon and scallion furikake. I also had some raw kale. 

This is houjicha which is is green tea that has been roasted in a porcelain pot over charcoal. The tea and the furikake both came from Coop aka Coop-san, a grocery store in Japan. 

Setting up for Japan

This summer will be a great opportunity for social study and participant observation. I am scheduled to arrive in Japan on May 17th and stay for approximately one month.