Mizuno Okonomiyaki, Osaka

Osaka is really a vibrant and robust city, the 3rd largest city in Japan after Tokyo and Yokohama. Readers, I am so sorry to have jumped from location to location...from Tokyo to Kyoto then Hakone and now Osaka. :P

There's a saying in Japan....
local ppl go broke in Kyoto buying Kimonos, and
loca ppl go broke in Osaka EATING

so it has got to be the Mecca of Food right?
oh well half of that is right, only if you are seeking a different type of food. Street Food!!!!

by the way your favourite Takoyaki *grilled Octopus balls* and Okonomiyaki originated from Osaka (Kansai). Since we've only got a nite to spend here, we decided that these 2 dishes must make it to our to-eat-list.

Speaking of a nite trip here, we managed to do a lot in less than 24 hours. It was meant as a layover from Kyoto bcoz the traveling time by Shinkansen *bullet train* was only errrr 12 minutes??? Yea I know right? before my bum-bum can heat up the comfy seat, we've already arrived at Osaka main station. Since we were already in Kyoto, was contemplating to visit either Osaka or Nara, and bcoz Monkey is such a greedy person when it comes to Food, the choice had to be Osaka..

Hey in Nara, u dun get to eat....u only get to feed the Wild Deers rice crackers!!!! But that would be something that we'll loved to do in the very near future....


We finally located the shop which was off the main street of Dotonburi. The queue was pretty systematic. Each of us were given the menu in Japanese/English to browse through. Soon the menu alone isn't enuff bcoz u'll only need less than 5 minutes to look through at all its specialities, while the average queue is about 45 minutes.

They were not reading the menu...
HAIII!!!!! no wonder all these local Japanese brought their books along!!!!!
to kill time while waiting!!!!
so JS and me ended up browsing Facebook on our mobile. -_-"


of coz in the end, it ended up only Monkey standing in the line bcoz JS is someone whom u can't contain at/on the same spot for too long. He'll get restless, agitated and frustrated. Bahahahahaha.
As usual, he'll go around wander along the street snapping more quality pics for this blog :))))))


Monkey and JS looking at their reflections.

so from standing outside, we finally got inside to Queue!!!
bahahahah so in the end we queue-ed for one hour for 2 freaking okonomiyaki. By then every single spot along Dotonburi street was already captured in JS's camera....KEKEKEKEKEKEKE

There were only a few counter sittings on the ground floor. And it can only seat precisely 10 ppl at one go. Mizuno has got an upper floor as well.

It's pretty normal to have a basket underneath the chair in Japan.....including Starbucks. So u just dump ur possession in there.

Hmmm there were so many types of Okonomiyaki today. Different style, ingredients and cooking method. Bcoz this was the holy grail of Okonomiyaki of coz u gotta go for the Original one.

Okie, Mr. Hensem Chef....gimme the most original Okonomiyaki with Bacon!!!!! wahahahahaha

while I down a bottle of Special Kirin.
There's so many types of Kirin in Japan...the premium ones, the flavored ones, the limited edition ones and a Zero Alcohol Kirin. >.< Why would u want a zero alcohol beer? Just go and drink juices if u want zero alcohol ok?

I was so impressed with the "cut" of its bacon. Thick and layered with good fat....bahahahah. Yes denial...fat is fat..is there such thing as good fat? Japanese however dun refer this as bacon...it's Pork Belly which is more accurate :))

That reminded me of our Barcelona trip when they were promoting HEALTHY BACON. Good fat and low cholesterol bcoz they were fed with organic corns. -_-"

Okonomiyaki derives from 2 words..
Okonomi = as u like/watever u want/watever u like
yaki = grilled

The Osaka/Kansai variation of Okonomiyaki is cooked with all the ingredients mixed into a batter with lots of cabbage on the grill. Where else the Hiroshima style is cooked separately, layers by layers with more shredded cabbage...up to 5x times the Osaka/Kansai style.

Sizzles~~~~~~~~ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

I lurve scallions and they looked so fresh and yummy :)))))))))

JS ordered a seafood variation. He was as impatient as Monkey coz both of us were very hungry despite chomping down 10 takoyakis on the queue.

I tell ya, watching food cooked right b4 ur eyes is a feast on its own.
Each sitting was given a stainless steel spatula, chopstick and a small plate.

The cooking isn't much down until sweet or savoury okonomiyaki sauce was laden on top. So u can choose if u want it sweet or savoury or both.

Then generous heaps of Bonito Flakes were put on top....due to its heat, the bonito flakes just shrunk n bcame almost invisible!!!

Waiting for food when one is this hungry is quite a torture u know?
the smell, the sight the sound!!!!!

Mayonaise sauce on top with green tea powder. Again it's up to your liking, if u didn't want it, u can omit them.

WAHHHH looked so creamie!!!
the fragrant of the pork belly, the fresh chicken eggs.....and all the vege!!!!

It's then served on the grill...so u'll just cut it with your individual spatula...and we made quite a mess outta it :P

The ingredients were cooked just right, soft and fluffy....the seafood was still to the bite esp the white squid. U can still taste the occasional crunch of the shredded cabbage. Not bad but apparently everyone said this is one of the top 3 Okonomiyaki in Osaka.

Mizuno has been operating for the last 65 years, having being passed down from generation to generation. Prollie streetfood isn't our kind of food. It was a good experience minus the queue time. Well one said that when u are in Rome, u gotta do wat the Romans do right?

Mizuno Okonomiyaki,
1-4-15, Dotonbori, Chuo-ku,
Osaka, Japan.
Tel: 06 6212 6360
www.mizuno-osaka.com

Hakone Open-Air Museum

No no no this wasn't a masterpiece curation at the museum....this was Miss Monkey slurping her handmade soba as quickly as she could. Time is alwiz an essence to me...needed to rush to the museum before the sky falls.

However this handmade soba was so delicious and we took longer than we should. Family run with a simple setup, the soba here was really yummy. If you are in Gora, Hakone do visit Soba Nakamura. It is walking distance away from the Open-Air Museum station.

and finally YAaayyyyy!!!! we made it in time b4 the sun sets!!!!
Hakone Open Air Museum is situated high on the mountain range that is part of the Mount Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park....so the weather up here was pretty cooler. Only 100km away from Tokyo, most locals make a beehives here towards the weekend to unwind and relax especially at all the hot spring bath house.


We've never been to an Open-Air Museum and didn't know wat to expect. Monkey looked around and saw wat she wanted to see first!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! screamed for ice cream!!!! but it's too cold for one on that day. There's elephants!!! it's Berr!!! Berr should be here but he's resting in the comfortable 10 stars Ryokan. *I'll blog bout it another day why this accommodation is 10 stars* bahahahahaha

The male and female elephants were both holding a Cherry on their trunks :)))
hehehehehe so cute!!! I wanna take them home!!!
JS -_-"
"stop touching those exhibits...can't u read? no touching."

wait!!! there's more sculptures
what animal is this??


and all of them has got cute round fat pinchable bum bums!!!!
Soon we found so many of these animal sculptures at this museum ground.

Themed as Happy Animals Party by Hung Yi, a Taiwanese artist. He used mainly steel frames to create these art pieces. Then the body were shaped according b4 being painted with designs, motifs, numbers, chinese characters on it.

A hollow heart


awwww dun cry...I know JS looks scary but he ain't gonna eat ya!!!
There's water trickling down this sculpture, from its left eye that made it even more real.

Back pain...having to squat down this tunnel to get to the other side...from the dark/black side to the white side

Rabbits sculpture!!!! I want to bring them home!!!! for my Labbit :D:D:D

Mandarin ducks???

a sculpture by the famous Martha Pan on the Koi Pond. She was born in Budapest and bcame a French nationality in her 30's. Budapest is really a beautiful place, I've recommended so many friends to visit it
*Read about our adventure of Budapest here*


a huge Timber pavilion...trust me it's so big there's a playground for kids inside. Designed by Tezuka Architects, this wood timber structure may looked so simple, but a lot of computer structural calculation were put into it bcoz it didn't incorporate a single nail...just traditional wood joints.

amazing eh?


Wat???? Nobody said there's gonna be a Picasso gallery here??? I really couldn't believe me eyes!!!!
*rub once, rub twice....and storm down the hill towards it*


a total of 300 works were on display here under humidity and temperature controlled exhibition hall. No photography was allowed inside...but if u wanna view the works of this Spanish Master, u gotta see them in person.

We've seen his works back in Spain but what I really want to visit now is Provence and Vincent Van Gogh :)))) Vincent Van Gogh!!!!

Momma Sheep Sheep carrying her lil babies :)))
this is so my hobbits's place coz I've got Berr = Elephant, Sheep Sheep = Sheep and Labbit = Rabbit


JS and Monkey below a really huge sphere....it looked small here but it was hung really really high up there. There was a bigger sphere too.

Sculpted by Arnaldo Pomodoro, this italiano work of arts are everywhere around the world. He's famous for Sfera con Sfera = sphere with sphere.


aaaahhh finaly I found this pic...see the small silver hung sphere and the bigger gold one on the slope? Yeah i was so afraid it may roll down the hill....hahahahaha


Then from within the Persimmon tree *with loads of persimmon fruits* I saw her!!!!
Miss Black Power!!!
yes that's the name of this humongous gigantic sculpture.

Created by the late Niki de Saint Phalle in 1968...I later found out that Madamme Niko married Monsieur Tinquely and I stayed opposite his Art Museum when I was working in Switzerland a few months ago. Everyday in a bus, on the way home...I would tell myself...okie okie I must make time to visit this art museum....I must I must.

and each weary day, I sat in the bus half asleep, wanted to die from exhaustion late in the evening/nite. Staring at the closed museum I told myself....I must make time. Sigh..it didn't happen then, so I must plan again next year when I go to Switzerland again. :)


her disproportion body and mis-matched wrapped dress with polka dot were clashing with each other but then this is ART


Then I saw something near Miss Black Power
what is tat on the lawn????


Oh no!!!! did she do this to u???
poor soul~~~~~

More sculptures among the lush greenery of the garden and trees by the mountain side. What a perfect setting. This was the first ope-air museum in Japan :))

see the low clouds covering the mountains?
prollie on clear day u can see Mount Fuji from here...hahahahaha

then we rushed back to our 10 stars Ryokan hahahaha, in time for a slow relaxing hot spring bath and dinner :)))))))) Since it was a 8 minutes walk....we didn't catch the tram hahahaha. Everything is so convenient here at Gora, Hakone.

For  more information, visit:
http://www.hakone-oam.or.jp/english/

Nijo Castle, Kyoto

Nijo Castle, one of the 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Kyoto. The above pic isn't the castle itself, it's just one of the west/north/east/south wing control tower.

Yes Kyoto has got that many UNESCO attractions. Built in 1626 by Togukawa Ieyasu the first Shogun of Edo Period. It is smaller in size compared to the Imperial Palace of Kyoto but still big enuff for u to spend 1.5 hours in here :))))


The entrance to Nijo Castle was really modest. Entrance fees is about 600 yen. Japan has got so many vending machines, half of the time, there isn't a ticket booth but machines after machines to purchase ur entrance tickets.


We had to cross the wooden bridge to get into the "outer ring". There's 2 moats in this castle. So defense was pretty tight...as an enemy, u need to swim across the first huge moat before entering the outer ring....then lots of ninja samurais action before u could even get to the inner moat....and finally the main palace itself.

*pic taken from the web*
see wat I meant!!!!
do not underestimate the moats...it ain't easy to swim across and to climb up. The section where it's nearer to the outer wall has got gradients and high walls.

JS: "Monkey wat are u doin???? come back here this instant!!!!"

The wall was really high~~~~ so any ninja samurais skills are highly needed to scale this stone wall. Even if I could haiyeakkkk yak yak yak and step up like a ninja, it's impossible to do this without energy bars on my backpack. One sure burns tonnes of calories just to swim across and climb this wall. Fight all the tight securities...by the time u have access to the shogun himself...your limbs would be so tired to even kill him. :P


Karamon Gate

beautiful beautiful beautiful!!!!!!
this is the east entrance to the secondary inner defense system before u arrive to the main attraction the Ninomaru Palace.


From the inner court the Karamon Gate looked exactly like from the outside.
Nope that gal wasn't me....I don't cam-whore like tat :P
hehehehehehe


The looked so small in the pics, but actually it's quite high. The japanese referred this as the Chinese style gate.

Ninomaru Palace was the residence and office of the Shogun whenever he visited Kyoto. Served by a few buildings connected to each other with corridors. Sorry no pics coz no photos allowed.

Apart from its intricate woodwork, paintings and architecture of Ninomaru Palace...the only thing that I made squeal like a lil gal was its "Nightingale Floors"
yes....the name says it...the wooden floor chirp like a bird whenever u step on it...Such flooring was designed to alert the entire household/securities and Shogun himself of intruders..Apparently many assassins had made attempts to kill him. Now I understand why Ninjas need to master the skill of walking on water...bcoz if u do, u can oso walk on the nightingale floors without any sound...hahahaha...sorry this isn't a fact, just my 2 cents thought :P

I was having fun walking on the entire palace's floorboard with the creaking chirping sound. JS threw me the slitted eyes look but hey!!!! I can't control it....the floor board just squeak whenever pressure is applied on it...I'm not a ninja so pls dun expect much fr me.



Outside of the Ninomaru Palace, there's a beautiful zen garden. All the pine trees were so well manicured. the landscaped stones complemented the natural beauty of this pond. The stones were carefully laid here for aesthetic beauty.


the Honmaru Palace which was not open to public, only on special ocassion....u can climb up one of the fort to view this. Apparently there are about 400 cherry trees being planted inside the Nijo Castle so the hanami season would be so splendid with late blooms lasting form March till most of April.


Japanese tourists taking a break on top of one of the fortress. From here u can view the expanse of the entire Castle...it's really huge covering about 275,000 square metres.


When we were in Kyoto, it was mid October and the autumn foliage was about to start...
"Hey look the maple trees is turning orangie soon."
JS is heading to Japan again tonite -_-" *jeles me!!!!*
I hope he will be able to capture all the beautiful RED RED deep RED Maple trees!!!!

the inner moat....see I told u it's damn high...

the west exit of the palace. If u spot Nijo Castle on Google Earth or the map, it was laid accordingly on its grid...just like how Churches were built to face East.

Do take ur time to stroll along the gardens of Nijo Castle. This is a must visit in Kyoto :)) afterall it's a UNESCO Heritage Site...trust me u won't wanna miss it :))))

For more info, click here:
http://www.city.kyoto.jp/bunshi/nijojo/english/index.html