nipponbashi

Tomorrow Todd & Priscila head to Osaka!  Priscila is graduating with her Master’s Degree at 2:30 p.m. Saturday–WOW!  Then her parents take them to the airport.  What a way to celebrate!   Katie and I are super excited!  Katie has not met Priscila before except over WhatsApp.  I haven’t been away from Todd this long before.  And while it’s gone by quickly, I much prefer weekly (or at least monthly) visits 🙂

Todd and I are the same when it comes to food, although he bravely said he can handle anything for 2 weeks.  Which was true for me also, when I think back.  I started out eager to try new things and experimenting with the food a little.  It wasn’t until about a month went by that I tanked, so I’m sure Todd will be fine.  We have pasta and Todd is bringing Kraft Parmesan cheese as a precaution haha!  What he’ll do without Life Cereal I’m not sure, since Todd and Mikey could’ve been brothers 🙂   I found something that looks like Cocoa Pebbles…..hard to tell though.  Hopefully it’s cocoa and not soy sauce!

I scoped out the new neighborhood some more this morning, mainly to find 7-11 where I continue to stock up on coffee cream.  I always buy coffee and stuff so I don’t feel bad, but they have the best coffee at 1/4 the price of Starbucks and better anyway.

Katie said she could teach me how to open the little triangles of rice (onigiri) and other ingredients.  I got one yesterday and made a complete mess.  Today she taught me the correct way to open it and it becomes a little seaweed sandwich!  Sounds awful but it’s really good and healthy and cheap.  Turns out you pull down the top, straight down the middle and around the back.  Then you gently pulled off the right side (conveniently labeled “2”), then the left side.  As I mentioned, 7-11 labels theirs in English–this yummy option is Tuna Mayo, which is in the middle of the white rice, covered in dried seaweed.  There are a bunch of options: 

The yellow one is cooked egg with orange rice in the middle.  Others include salmon, pickled beets, and spicy cod.  There are other sandwich options, including strawberries and whipped cream.  Plus these gems with spaghetti and another crazy hot dog option all on soft white bread.  

I spent some time today at Dojin Park, right behind the apartment.  A man and little boy spent a long time playing catch with a baseball and gloves–the little guy could really catch and throw!  He kept telling his dad in Japanese to back-up, back-up, waving him further away.

In the park there are coffee cans scattered around.  I realized it is apparently where everyone goes to smoke since smoking is not allowed in most of the apartments.  People would stop in, have a cigarette, and walk their dog.  Conveniently I also found what looks like a tiny bakery with bread possibilities a couple blocks over.  Bread is not common here.  Peanut butter is nearly non-existent here and in Europe also.  Katie was recounting the time she found some peanut butter when she was living in Italy.  She got the family she was living with to try it and they were pretty confused with that strong flavor and crazy texture!

We will be busy doing the tourist thing when the kids get here, so we’re mostly hanging out and Katie is catching up with her friends.  While I was out today I went down some different streets to avoid the crowds. This building surprised me–turns out it’s another love hotel.  Katie had told me they often have themes.  Christmas Chapel?  Huh.  

But there is no sense of illicit behavior near these places.  In fact right around the corner are some pretty nice looking condos and townhouses on the famous Dotonbori River. 

This market area is just blocks away from the new apartment and was simply jammed all the way through with Golden Week visitors. 

Sometimes there are stores and I don’t know what it is at all.  This store has diamond-sparkly cars, but who knows why?  I think you can buy crazy stuff for your cars, but I’ve never seen anything like it on an actual car.  

On the river today there was a boat with a girl wearing huge white wings.  It seemed like no one knew what this about, because she was waving away and no one was waving back, everyone was just looking at them trying to figure it out.   

I stepped into a store to look at some capsule toy machines and noticed there was a stairway down.  I could see a pool of water with pictures of fish and a sign that said some amount of money for 30 minutes.  Again who knows? 

I had not seen this building before, called the Galaxy Hotel which seemed like just an upscale fancy place.  

Now it’s Monday and our guests arrive today!  Currently they are in Beijing, awaiting the flight that brings them to KIX–Osaka International Airport.

Yesterday Katie and I went to Kohyo, a grocery store with a few more western selections.  We even found a small jar of Skippy Peanut Butter.  It was so pretty yesterday–mid 70’s and mostly sunny.  We walked by an area with a small stage; Katie said there are always dancers there practicing.  Yesterday it looked like a recital for kids and their families, just like the many I’ve been to for Katie and  my nieces.  You can see the stage way in the back under the covered area.  Kids were practicing below us; they were all very talented dancing, flipping, and walking on their hands.

I noticed yesterday that there are huge piles of trash near many buildings.  I think it’s like in the US when over a 3-day weekend the trash collectors get the day off too, during the same time when everyone is having parties and stuff.  Seeing it collected in Osaka, where you are expected to take it out every day and they pick it up nearly every night makes you realize how much trash we each have every day.  It’s surprising to me that they wrap everything so much, sometimes twice.  At least most places do have recycling for plastic, cans, and bottles.

I’ve been working out fairly regularly, so while Katie was out yesterday I picked a 60 minute workout.  Killer!  The floor in the new apartment is laminate and I always put down a towel to respect the no shoes in the house rule.  It’s this stuff, however, that again makes a place not feel homey to me and definitely something to consider during future traveling.

Katie texted last night to see if I wanted to meet her and her friend for sushi.  I’ve only had it once here with the girl from Australia at the place with a conveyor belt.  Katie sent me the address–7 minutes away.  Of course I got there and I swear the restaurant moved on the map.  Katie gave me the name Sakae Sushi, but the restaurant names were all in Japanese.  Fortunately Katie found me right away.  The place was really busy!

The men running this place looked older and pretty serious; apparently there is a lot of training to do sushi.  They welcomed us with smiles and Japanese hellos.

Katie and her friend went through the menu, which had pictures and English.  I was willing to try almost anything, but we all said no to the crab innards.  The salmon and tuna sushi came with names like Fatty Salmon or Fattiest Tuna.  We don’t like to use the word fatty in the US haha, but it simply meant the sushi was a little softer really; you can see the whiter (fatty) salmon below.  The dark piece below is eel, which Katie likes.  The yellowish ones are egg.

This picture shows the fatty tuna and something covered in cheese, which was served warm and in no way tasted like cheese!  I could taste something tangy in each piece and they explained that each piece has a tiny bit of wasabi between the fish and the rice.  It was really good!  

Now it’s rainy again, but as seems so common here, it’s just a drizzle that lasts all day and night.  It is supposed to clear up for our visitors starting tomorrow, so it should just help them catch up on their sleep tonight and be ready for Osaka!