A Foodie's Tour of Japan [ part 1 ]

December 2007, the chance to visit my dream holiday destination, Japan, finally came true. The whole idea of visiting the land of the rising sun surfaced during a random MSN conversation between Veng & Aik in mid-2007, and we finally set foot in Osaka on 22 Dec '07.

Ja-Plan: 22/12/07 - 05/01/08. 15 unforgettable days of roaming the streets of Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Himeji, Nara and Tokyo. Nippon!

Japan has been an unforgettable journey - even 4000 pictures cannot fully describe the experiences I had in those 15 days. Well, I think food speaks a lot about culture ( and looking at them makes you hungry), so enjoy this preview of Japan from a culinary perspective!

Day 1: Osaka
- lunch: Okonomiyaki @ Okonomi Chibo, Umeda. some sort of Japanese pancake on a hotplate. varies from region to region. osaka style has a thicker 'pancake' layer, while hiroshima style is more 'noodle-based'

- afternoon snack: Takoyaki @ Amerika-mura (this stall dubbed the best in Osaka by Koji-san). 10 octopus balls for 300yen. beat that. and it tastes oh-so-good especially in cold weather.
- dinner @ Izakaya (Japanese-style pub). Such a setting is very popular in Japan, eat food with some biru or sake, and not too noisy. Must haves include Edamame (cruncy Jap green peas) and Shishamo (grilled 'pregnant' fish..can't remember the exact name of it).





Day 2: Osaka - Universal Studios Japan
Didn't really have any fancy Jap food till dinnertime ( we were running around as though it was Amazing Race USJ). Tried one of the local beers, Yebisu. It was served with some crackers which tasted really good. Had Soba to go with it.. one item was plain soba with plum, taken with soy sauce dip. the other is kind of a 'tamago soba' (the sauce has quite an egg base to it)

Day 3: Osaka
- lunch: Sukiyaki Teishoku @ Umeda Sky Building. dined in one of the restaurants at the basement level of Umeda Sky. First taste of sukiyaki in Japan.. I love sukiyaki! it is very expensive in those sukiyaki specialist places because they use higher grade beef. that's only one of the 2 main components - the sukiyaki broth also matters. the one i had for lunch was pretty good. i'm satisfied. (missing from pic: a serving a raw egg for you to dip the beef into, so as to cool the meat)

- dinner: Tonkatsu Ramen @ Ginryu Ramen, Dotomburi. Ginryu ramen ( dragon ramen, i think) is a really popular name for good ramen, according to Piro (one of my Jap friends who's also a foodie). There was free flow kimchi and pickle, and set up is something like an outdoor noodle stall in malaysia. hot noodles on a cold winter's night....syiokkk!

-supper: grilled crab @ Dotomburi. It's a small stall just below the big kani (Crab) in Dotomburi. Can't possibly miss it. Grilled crab was really huge though... just look at the legs! X'mas eve later spent in a bar drinking some Asahi (bar closed at midnight.diao..)

Also saw some 'interesting' food souvenirs. It is pudding actually, in the shape of breasts. haha! hilarious.