22.05.05

the best steak in the world

Posted in Japan, in English at 22:00 by foppel

when I got back from Himeji, I made stop in Kobe. Kobe is famous for their cows, which are sheltered like family members, and their meat get prices like small cars..

And such a steak I wanted to have…

I just got into the next big Hotel, Shin-Kobe Oriental, and checked if there was a Teppanyaki restaurant, you know, where they grill the food in front of you on the table, and I guessed right, there was one, and they had a Kobe-steak set-menu…

First I got a Salad, then it started with Kobe-steak sashimi (thats raw slices, folks), which tasted really good.. then the Chef came and started to chat with me and began to prepare my steak and my vegetables…

I have to say, I eat steak medium, tending to bloddy, but for Kobe-steak you have to turn it down one inch, as it tends to be too well done to soon.. but I was in heaven…

It is diffrent from like a T-Bone-steak, but it is really really good..

After that there came Kobe-steak slices with soja-beans, and then stir-fried rice with steak sprinkles..

after that I head problems eating my desert, which was Lemon-sorbet, not Kobe-steak… just for the record..

now I wont go into pricing details, lets just say I thought that it may be a long time for me to come back to Kobe, and it was like I had it expected… so its ok

Middle-age and back

Posted in Japan, in English at 22:00 by foppel

Today I went to Himeji, where the Himeji-jou stands, one of the few existing Japanese Castles which actually survived Meiji restauration and WWII.

It is definitly beautiful and if you really like castles like me, then you should see it once..

And by the effort you have to take to get into it, I am talking about walking upwards here, you recognize that it is an unaltered castle, as it was not meant to be easy to get into it..

There have been 68 gates on the Castle-ground, now there are still around 20. I would show pics, but my camera-batteries died on me, so i can’t download them right now..

rainy day

Posted in Japan, in English at 09:55 by foppel

Weather didn’t look nice this morning, so I took the chance to sleep in and to have a slow day today.. I actually planned that for tomorrow and a trip to another castle and to Kobe for today, but forecast says it will look better tomorrow..

And, by all means, I am on vacation…

As well I have to say, here in the Ryokan in Osaka I had the best room so far.. the other rooms werent’t bad, but this is the spaciest and most comfortable..

20.05.05

too bad…

Posted in Japan, in English at 22:00 by foppel

.. my ryokan has curfew at 12.. and it takes about half an hour if the subway to get there… but subway is fun in itself..

I think I could feel here at home as well… Osaka is lots like I remember Tokyo from 5 years ago.. It doesn’t mean that I don’t like Tokyo anymore, but Osaka has its nice side.. It is like Nagoya small enough to get to know your way around and big enough to get something new every day..

A wild night out

Posted in Japan, in English at 22:00 by foppel

Well not so wild, but pretty nice..

Dodombouri is a district in south Osaka where all the night out here happens.. I’d say that it is about 5 x 5 blocks big, with 2 flashy streets crossing in the middle of it, and ebisu-hashi, a bridge over the river as the center of neon, people, music and fun..

It feels like home a bit, because it is a big collection of weird things and characters, much like the pub I usually go to.. just bigger.. lots bigger..

I love castles and fortresses

Posted in Japan, in English at 22:00 by foppel

And the Japanese ones are a special case.. too bad that most of them are replicas.. I might try to go to an original one near here (1 hour by train) tomorrow..

but Osaka castle is nice as well… It must have been a very imposing structure back in the middle age of Japan.

to proof that i am really here..

Posted in Japan, in English at 22:00 by foppel

You might have noted the lack of pics of myself being featured here.. this comes from the fact that i don’t like seeing myself in pics..

but to proof that i am not hiding at home, and telling you some stories I never did, here a pic to proof that i am really here..

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