Joseph Mallozzi's Blog, page 22

February 12, 2025: Final Day in Tokyo!

Today, I feasted on a third of this plain white rice onigiri along with a couple of bottles of Pocari Sweat.  After a terrible night, I woke up feeling marginally better this morning.  Akemi who was feeling a little off, is feeling fine now – fine enough to eat a curry pan and a croissant for lunch.  Also fine enough to go out and stock up on some meds for the flight home.  I usually sleep through most of the 14 hour flight back but I’m not so sure I’ll be doing any sleeping on this one.

Got an update from Air Canada, informing me that Toronto was being hit by a huge snowstorm but, as of now, our flight is scheduled to depart on time.  Hope there are no delays as we would really love to pick up Sharky when we get back.  I’ll have two days with him and then I’m off to Montreal to take care of mom for a week.  Hopefully, I’ll be 100% by then.

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February 12, 2025: Tokyo Day #10 – Misery!

My first Japanese convenience store individually wrapped banana!  This was my breakfast today as it would seem all this eating and drinking has finally caught up with me.  Hard to pinpoint the source of what could well be food poisoning given Akemi and I have pretty much eaten the same things, but I do recall feeling strangely “full” a few days back.  I chalked it up to everything I was eating, but did find it odd that I had lost my appetite.  And then, last night, it hit!  I tossed and turned and, this morning, had to bail on Akemi who headed to Glitch to pick up some coffee beans for the trip home.  We went by Mitsukoshi and picked up some rice balls, probably the only thing I can stomach at this point.  Then, I crawled into bed while Akemi headed off to meet up with Dr. Blackjack who is in Tokyo for a few days, coming off the tail end of a bigger trip.

Akemi informed me she ate two bowls of soba, hot and cold.

I napped for four hours and threw up my banana.

We have dinner reservations tonight at Tokihami, a place both Akemi and I had really been looking forward to going.  I’n going to try to tough it out, but hooboy do I feel terrible.

Three hours later, and it’s not going to happen.  I’ve thrown up so many times I think I may have pulled a muscle in my upper abdomen.

What the hell is going on?

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February 11, 2025: Tokyo Day #9!

We’ve been getting to bed later and later which results in our waking up later and later.  Last night, we didn’t turn in until after 10:00 p.m.!

Today’s outing was pushed as I had a pre-pre-pitch at 9:00 a.m.  It went well and, according to my partners on the show, there have been buyers, both domestic and international, inquiring about the project.  If it goes, the most likely shooting location would be Hungary.  But in the meantime, there’s been some very strong interest in my cosy mystery series, and that one would shoot in South Africa.  Could I actually have two shows in production in 2025?  Or,  more likely, will these go the way of so many others which will leave me plenty of time to complete that Columbo rewatch?

Today, we hit the Yoyogi Park neighborhood and checked out their dog-friendly cafes.

The gang parked outside Cafe Rostro…

Where Akemi and I enjoyed a couple of lattes.  The coffee was great and the staff was wonderful.  Highly recommended.

Akemi made a lunch reservation at an Italian restaurant (L’Ombellico) attached to the boutique Trunk Hotel which is apparently the sister restaurant to our favorite hotel in Osaka, the Zentis.

Apparently one of the biggest pizza ovens in the area.

We had two very good pizzas.  Akemi is a big fan of the Napoli style.

Unfortunately, there was no way to get into the Trunk Hotel without a guest key (which led us to wonder how anyone checking in would get inside, but perhaps that is a question for a later trip).

So we just walked around the neighborhood.  Akemi picked up a ceramic cup.

And we ended up back at Nadoya no Katie for some Glitch coffee.  After much sampling over the course of these two weeks, these were our favorites.

Ooooh.  Caramel Ghost House.  Scary.  And supposedly delicious.

With several hours to kill before dinner in Ebisu, we stopped off in Shinjuku and got our steps in.

Love these subway themed print PSA’s.

Enjoying the rush hour crowd.

Finally, we arrived in Ebisu.

Dinner was at Sowado, sister restaurant to Sakai Shokai which we were unable to book on this trip.  But it all worked out because this place was terrific.

Highlights included the black throat perch, shirako in white miso stew, ham cutlets, and motsu udon.

I had a couple of drinks including a pomelo cocktail (delicious!).  Yamazaki-san treated us to a few interesting bites including this fresh myoga (Japanese ginger) that is definitely an acquired taste…although Akemi loved it.

A late-night stroll back through the streets of Ginza.

And we end our night with a Japanese traditional treat: a baked sweet potato out of the back of some buy’s truck.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Japan.  Hard to believe this trip is almost over and we’ll be returning to the cold winter of Toronto.  I’ve already received an advisory from Air Canada informing me that snow may affect our flight back!

 

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February 10, 2025: Tokyo Day #8!

Yoze!  This morning, we hit up the Ginza location of Glitch Coffe, arriving 15 minutes prior to opening and joining the already existing lineup.  Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait long.

Today’s three-cupper

After that, we hopped on the subway and headed to Omotesando

…to check out this Texas-style BBQ food truck that Akemi spotted on instagram.

We met up with fellow traveler, Phil, who decided to forego lunch with his wife and extended family for a solo barbecue outing.  Now THAT is dedication!

We enjoyed a beef rib and some brisket.  Both excellent.  The brisket was melt-in-your-mouth tender while the beef rib was fall-apart but still maintained a good chew.  Both were served with a heavenly coffee-BBQ sauce.

Then it was off to dog-friendly Daikanyama where we can always look forward to meeting a dog or two.  Pictured: Akemi is reunited with her childhood friend, Miffy.

This cute little pet shop

I think that if I were to move to Tokyo, I’d probably look for a place in Daikanyama.  It’s a very laid back and livable area.

And, of course, I’d probably need a job… I wonder if they’d pay me in donuts.

I assume they mean “eating on this floor”, but I would avoid both just to be on the safe side.

I thought that this place with the big glowing cow out front looked kind of interesting.

As did this place that specializes in takoyaki, those molten octopus balls that have seared the tongues of many an unwary Westerner

Instead, we ended up at Akemi’s new favorite soba place where we enjoyed some oden, motsu, sashimi, tempura, and, of course, duck soba.

Throughout our meal, hungry potential customer would poke their heads inside and ask for a table only to be told the restaurant was booked – even though between 5:30 and 6:30, Akemi and I were the only ones there.

Then, a late night stroll through the alleys of Ginza to find our favorite drinking spot, Bar Goya.

The evening specials

We stuck to the fruit-themed cocktails: tomato, kumquat, bergamot, and strawberry – every one of them delicious.  Tomorrow, I’ll sample the pomegranate and pomelo.

Bar owner and bartender Yamazaki-san is always a gracious host.  This year, his baby, Bar Goya, celebrates its seventh year in business!

Headed back to our hotel.

Tomorrow, it’s another early morning pre-pre-pitch for that quirky character-driven action-adventure series with heart and humor set against the backdrop of some beautiful international locations after which we’ll try to hit a coffee shop on our way to pizza lunch and a visit to a boutique hotel in the Yoyogi district capped off by dinner with Ebisu.  But who knows what other sorts of trouble we’ll get into!

 

 

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February 9, 2025: Tokyo Day #7!

Big day!

We started the day by going to the Jimbocho area to check out the flagship branch of Glitch Coffee.

Even though we arrived relatively early, 5 minutes before their 9:00 a.m. opening, there was already a small line-up.  Fortunately, it went quickly and we were soon inside, perusing the selection.

The place is cozier than the Osaka location and not as tight (or as busy on this morning) as the Ginza location.

Akemi enjoys her favorite, the Costa Rica Tarraz el Diamante.  I preferred the Columbia Risaralda Milan with its buttery nose and finish.

In the event of an earthquake…Step 1: Leave the elderly behind.

Vending machine teriyaki breakfast burger anyone?

Next stop: Akihabara, aka Electric Town

I dunno.  Doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue.

A place for us to call our town

An anime and manga lovers dream destination

Strawberry Fetish!

Decisions decisions…

The detail on some of these statues is pretty wild…

None of these would survive the trip home I’m sure.

Finally, we arrived at our dining destination, Kufuku+/-, a French restaurant (with clear Japanese influences or vice-versa).  We got a nice little private room in this tiny refurbished home in a side alley on one of Akihabara’s quieter blocks.

A few of the highlights from the inspired 7-course menu.

Back atcha

Following the meal, we were given a tour of the second floor and the wine room that once served as a vault.

Watch your step!

Next stop Kappabashi, home of the plastic foo replicas, ceramics, knife shops, and innumerable kitchen items.

Tempted to pick up a replica bowl of katsu don.

The Golden Kappa

Akemi spent about 20 minutes agonizing over the purchase of these fish bone pliers.

Then another 20 minutes agonizing over these wooden spoons, picking each one up in turn and miming spooning food into her mouth each time.

On the way back, we stopped off at Ueno which was absolute chaos – but in a good way.  We passed dozens upon dozens of shops packed with people eating and drinking – at 3:00 in the afternoon!

That is one spicy panda.  The entire neighborhood had a real Chinatown vibe, from its good stalls to its produce stands.  It’s like a little Yokohama.

Every weekend, certain streets of Ginza are closed to traffic and become a Pedestrian Paradise.  I’m a big fan because people often bring their dogs out for a stroll.

Japan has been exceptionally cold this trip.  What happened to global warming?

Tonight, we headed back to an old favorite, Marugen, for a slew of grilled skewers and assorted plates.

I covered pretty much every part of the chicken.  I want to add “with the exception of the beak”, but I can’t be absolutely sure what was part of that order of nankotsu.

Akemi gives this place the thumbs up.

And what day would be complete without a late night stopover at Manneken for a chocolate-covered waffle.

It’s hard to believe we have less than four days left in Tokyo!

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February 8, 2025: Tokyo Day #6!

What’ll it be?  What’ll it be?  Some Royal Milk Tea or the Corn Soup?

Today we went off the beaten bath to the Yoyogi Uehara neighborhood to check out a coffee shop Akemi had been wanting to try – Nodoya no Katte.

It’s a cute little place that is connected to Glitch Coffee, a modest outpost that serves its coffee out of a semi-constructed home – but is only open on weekends and holidays.

Plenty of seating, inside and out and certainly not as packed as the Ginza location – though, to be fair, we were there at 10:00 a.m.

We had two coffees: the Costa Rica Tara el Diamante that our barista heartily recommended, describing its flavor profile as “tasting like cookies”, and the Columbian Risaralda Milan which, in hindsight, we also had back in Osaka.  Our favorite was the Costa Rican cookie.

From there, we headed to Omotesando

Hey!  It’s Akemi’s university!

Not sure what the deal was with this bear bus

We were back for Round 2 of the Omotesando weekend farmer’s market

Passed this curious food truck

And this bean to bar chocolate shop

Where I picked up three bars and a pack of chocolate-covered walnuts.

I sampled all three when I got back to the hotel and found all three excellent.  I am tempted to go back tomorrow for more.

We also paid a return visit to our favorite orange guy and picked up…a bunch.

These, plus the two in the refrigerator, will have to last us the next six days.

Also, and once again, we went back to I Am Donut, but the smaller branch with the smaller lineup and fewer choices… but it didn’t matter as my favorite is available at all locations.

Tried the raw french cruller which was good but Akemi found not nama (raw) enough.  She much preferred her standby, the original.  Meanwhile, I had no trouble polishing off both pistachio cream donuts.

We decided to take a walk down to Harajuku

Passed this insanely long lineup for what I think was a Nike exclusive pop-up.  Two things the Japanese love is Nike and a lineup.

The Cat Cafe!  There’s apparently a Pug Cafe, but it’s in Kyoto.

Back at the hotel, we each ate one of these giant strawberries to fortify our strength ahead of doing some laundry.

Does anyone know the name of this show?  Vampire Janitor?

For dinner, Akemi booked a sushi restaurant in Roppongi called Osushi no Jyo.  She was cautiously optimistic about the place given its low price point comparative to other sushi restaurants.  Would that translate to inferior quality and a lesser experience?

In two words: absolutely not.

The owner, Jyo-san, worked at a one-star Michelin restaurant before opening his own place.  His plan is to eventually open his own place in London.   A few of the highlights…

At one point, he pulled out a bowl of negitoro (minced tuna with green onions) and gave each of us a choice as to what size we wanted to order: small, medium, large, extra large, or MEGA.  The only stipulation was we would have to eat it in one bite.  Akemi went with the medium.  The two tiny Japanese girls beside her chose large so I, of course, had to go large as well…

My large negitoro.

A guy at the end of the counter ordered the Mega…

Shameful!  Not only was his effort half-ass; he didn’t even bother finishing it.  I’m hoping his girlfriend broke up with him after the meal.

The Big Tuna

Many sushi places forbid their customers from taking picture.  Jyo-san on the other hand…

Hamming it up for his guests.

Finally, on our way out the door, I pose for a pic with our girl, Ai, who handled all of the non-sushi tasks, from drinks to dishes.

If you’re in Tokyo, want to go out for sushi but are feeling somewhat intimidated, then I heartily recommend this place.  You can book Osushi no Jyo through their IG page here.

 

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February 7, 2025: Tokyo Day…let’s call it #5!

I woke up this morning to Akemi doing her wall stretches, after which we headed to Tsukiji Market where I enjoyed another horumon bowl breakfast and she was able to special order some dash ingredients for pick up tomorrow.

Which we went back for and picked up later this morning.  Note the name.  It’s the Joe blend!

From there, she took her leave to meet up with her old high school friend Hikari while I met up with cousin Matt for our last meal together in Japan.  Our destination, my favorite pizza joint: Pizza Seirinkan in Nana-Meguro.

We arrived just a little before opening, and there was already a line-up.

The place opens at 11:30 and closes at 2:30…or whenever they run out of dough, which is usually well before 2:30  There are three pizzas on the menu: marinara, margherita, and bianca.  Also, there’s a strict 1 hour seating.  The dough on this pizza is superior to any I’ve tasted anywhere else.

The plan was to hit I Am Donut? on the way back but the line-up was just too long given Matthew had to catch a late afternoon flight back to Guam.  So we skipped the donuts – or, in my case, delayed them until tomorrow when Akemi and I will be back in Omotesando.

Not sure what’s going on with these guys.  I think they were drunk.

Eyeing this spot for a casual lunch.  It specializes in nodoguru (aka black throat perch) dishes.

But dinner tonight was at an old favorite, Sanbun – located a mere 5 minute walk from our hotel.

Prior to your meal, you are served a small cup of congee to coat your stomach followed by a some turmeric pills and a shot of white vinegar to fortify you for the night of hard drinking ahead.

Sake and sashimi.  The sake was a seasonal special while the sashimi (with Year of the Snake adornments) came with specific instructions on how and what order to eat the fish: sea urchin plain, then sea urchin with wasabi, then sea urchin with wasabi and salt, then tuna with mustard, then the aji with onion and ginger dipped in the special soy sauce, then the other fish (I forget what – top right) dipped in some other sauce that I think was mirin but I kinda doubt it, then the odd little eel however you chose to proceed.  I chose to proceed by letting Akemi eat it all.

I’ve been eating a lot of beef tendon on this trip and this bowl was Akemi’s favorite of our Japan stay so far.

The maitake mushroom – another Akemi favorite.

The tongue karage

The fugu karage served on a fugu plate

The crispy fugu skin.  This one was just meh for me.

The shiraki gratin

And, for dessert…the beef tendon curry that was probably the best dish of the night.

We had actual dessert back at our hotel – a frozen custard cream puff and a dorayaki from a local shop that was just so-so.  I’m still thinking about that “rich chocolate” covered waffle from Manneken I had last night.

Finally, my parting gift from my cousin Matthew was this small bag of cheddar-flavored Cheese, the upscale Japanese version of Cheez Its that are recommended to be consumed with a wine pairing.  They come in various flavors including camembert, black pepper, and something called avocadooza.  Matt was picking them up every time he visited Japan until his girlfriend pointed out he was dropping $90/month on Cheeza.  I found the cheddar version…good.  Not sure I would drop $90/month on them though.

Tomorrow, it’s a return to the Omotesando farmer’s market and another shot at I Am Donut!  Also, may pay a return visit to that place that does the intense matcha gelato.  Dinner is apparently sushi in Roppongi.  Our Japan trip is winding down and there are still so many places we still have to go: dog-friendly Daikanyama, the flagship Glitch Coffee location in Jimbocho, and the boutique Trunk Hotel near Yoyogi Park that Akemi wants to scope out for our next visit.

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February 6, 2025: Back in Tokyo!

We woke up early (as usual) this morning and headed to Glitch Coffee for our final visit (to the Osaka location).  Since we were early, we headed upstairs to check out a tiny art exhibit featuring some pieces…

Artist Gabi Brewer’s Monstruopedia exhibit

Artist Katsunari Shishido’s exchibit

Hinako Ouchi’s exhibit

Masaki Tani’s exhibit

We headed downstairs where we picked up two coffees including a Columbian Risaralda Milan (Niu) with a butter-vanilla scent and creamy finish that stands out as one of our very favorites.

We caught the Shinkansen back to Tokyo, arriving a a little before noon.

How complicated are these train stations?  So complicated that Akemi, who has lived here most of her life, still gets confused trying to find her way around.

Met up with my cousin Matthew who took the three and a half hour flight from Guam to hang.

Despite the fact that we’re going out for sushi dinner tonight, we opted for a causal sushi lunch and Tsukiji.

I went with the tuna sampler in addition to some a la carte nigiri…

…and the anago (sea eel).

It was a cool day today, but the sun out and there was very little wind – a nice change from blustery Osaka.

On the recommendation of Ozberk, one of my followers on X, we took a stroll over to Turret Coffee that bills itself as “The Most Outrageous Coffee Shop in Japan”.  Not sure what was outrageous about it, but I thought their matcha latte excellent and their Turret latte very good, although Akemi found it a tad too strong for her.

Creepy children’s statue

Akemi had booked herself a late afternoon spa treatment, so she left me (and my cousin Matthew, and his girlfriend Natalie) to fend for ourselves for dinner – after making dinner reservations and walking me over to the place last week so I would know where it was.  But still, on the night, I got confused and could neither remember the name of the restaurant nor the correct floor.  I could have sworn it was the third floor but the only restaurant on the third floor was an Indian eatery.  The third floor of the building next door housed two businesses, a bar and another bar that was closed.  As we headed back to the first building, I could feel the panic beginning to brew.  Was I destined to become one of those Wester tourists who books a restaurant and then no-shows and ends up on some sort of Japanese restaurant blacklist?

We checked the fourth floor of the first building and – lo and behold! – discovered a sushi restaurant.  I informed the waitress that I thought I had a reservation and gave them my name, “Joseph”.  She confirmed they did, in fact, have a reservation for Joseph.  Despite this assurance, I asked her to double-check and, even after she had done so and seated us, I couldn’t help but wonder if we hadn’t taken some other Joseph’s reservation and would be forced to relinquish our counter seats when the real deal showed up.

As luck would have it, however, we were at the right place (or the other Joseph ended up a no-show), so we enjoyed a pretty good sushi dinner along with this fantastic sake pictured above.

I told Matthew that I would be picking up the bill and expected a battle so when I spotted the waitress about to set a wooden box down in front of Matthew, I pounced, snatching it out of her hand – to everyone’s shock.  Because, it turned out, it was not the bill but Matthew’s dessert.

Anyway, we got it sorted out and I paid in the end.

On the way back to our hotels, we stopped by Manneken, this tiny shop that sells delicious waffles.  They shared a chocolate waffle while I got the decadent “rich chocolate” variety.  I’ll be honest.  This afternoon and tonight’s sushi was great, but that Manneken waffle was the best thing I ate today.

Tomorrow, Akemi is meeting her friend Hikaru so it’ll be Matthew and I (and, possibly, Natalie if she’s not too busy) going to Pizza Seirinkan in Naka-Meguro, my favorite pizza anywhere.  They open at 11:30 a.m. and close at 2:30 p.m. – or whenever they run out of dough.  The initial plan was to do a bang-bang, pizza followed by a steak sandwich at Wagyu Mafia, but my cousin no longer eats beef so I guess we’ll have to settle for I Am Donut instead.

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February 5, 2025: Third and final full day in Osaka!

Had my pre-pre-pitch at 7:30 a.m. this morning and looks like there is one more pre-pre-pitch in the cards (scheduled for Monday, while I’m back in Tokyo) prior to moving on to the pre-pitch.  I celebrated/consoled myself with a late morning visit to Glitch coffee where we sampled two more beans…in addition to our favorite strawberry-fermented Columbian.

An Ethiopian coffee and a Pina Colada-washed Columbian that smelled (and tasted) divine.

We went back and forth on our lunch choice between an Indian Curry restaurant and Japanese curry restaurant and ultimately ended up going with the latter, Watanabe Curry, a tiny place with a cute diner feel.

Akemi claimed she wasn’t feeling particularly hungry, so she just helped herself to a third of my order (a beef and pork katsu combo)…as well as her entire order of chicken curry.  My meal was accompanied by this delightful Curry Lover Ale.

Overall, a fine meal, but we both found the curry too soupy (apparently a style in Hokkaido) and overall prefer the more typical thicker style.

Later, we walked over the Hanky department store where we stumbled upon an insanely well-attended chocolate festival that had taken over an entire floor.  They had everything: ice creams, cookies, bars, terrines…

And this chocolate burro.

I was fairly restrained, limiting my purchases to a few bars from some local vendors.

And this smoked triple cacao soft cream topped with caramel nuts

Probably the only thing rarer than a public garbage can in Tokyo is somewhere you can actually eat something you casually picked up.  Eating in public is frowned upon, but this little station seemed to be built for that purpose.  Still, I’m conditioned against this sort of behavior – thus my paranoid expression as I consume my sundae.  Is anyone coming?!

Stopped by the Michel Cluizel booth and met his youngest son, Francois, who is in Osaka for a few days for the show.  Michel Cluizel’s chocolates were a mainstay at my famed chocolate parties back in the day.

Absolutely love the fruit here in Japan.  You’ll find some very high-end stuff, but even the cheapest grocery store offerings are miles beyond what we get in North America.

Akemi got this drink that purportedly contains over 30 fruits and vegetables, but the only flavor I could discern was “healthy”.

Akemi was excited to check out Pet Paradise that felt more like Pet Purgatory

My guess is that they originally wanted to go with Good Sleep but couldn’t because it was already taken.

Not sure.  I’m guessing he’s there to deter shoplifters.  Don’t even think about it…

Every year it’s a different theme.  This year, ichigo strawberries are all the rage.

Our last night in Osaka saw us enjoying a final dinner with Akemi’s family.  We hit the 15th floor of the Hanshin Department store for soba – and a horumon appetizer that only Akemi and I would touch.

Yuba soba for Akemi and the duck soba for your truly, while Akemi’s sister, Hiromi, went with the cold sudachi soba.

Last supper in Osaka

The soba temple’s winter guard

Finally, ended the evening with a trip back to the Godzilla pop-up where Hiromi gifted me a t-shirt.  Very kind of her.

Tomorrow, we’ll try to squeeze in a final Osaka Glitch coffee visit before catching the 10:00 a.m. bullet train back to Tokyo where I’ll be meeting up with my cousin Matthew, an airline pilot stationed in Guam, and his girlfriend Natalie.  Should be fun!

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February 4, 2025: Second full day in Osaka!

Blustery day in Osaka had us seeking out the underground passage to the Conrad Hotel and Glitch Coffee.  Spoiler alert: One does not exist.

We were back at our favorite coffee shop for a Columbian duo – the X.O. rum barrel-washed Hula La Loma, and Cauca El Paraiso (Lychee).

Also, a brownie.  All were excellent, but that strawberry-fermented Columbian is the one to beat on this trip.  So we ended up ordering it as well.

Then headed back to the hotel lobby for a little internet updating before heading off to lunch.

Fortunately, Akemi discovered an underground passage that takes us all the way to Osaka Station and beyond, so this walk was much more pleasant.

The passage is lined with restaurants and their plastic faux food window displays.  This one was my favorite, a dish called: Katsu Mountain.

Although three of my four bouts with food poisoning over my life followed ramen meals, I decided to throw caution to the wind and join Akemi for lunch at Ramen Ichiran.  We placed our orders with the machine at the front…

Then took our seats at our assigned booths where we filled out a crucial questionnaire.

We received our bowl, along with our various sides which I assembled accordingly.

Good eatin’ with my gal.

On the way out, Akemi purchased two of the Ichiran red pepper spices.  Bringing a taste of Osaka home with us.

With time to kill, we journeyed down into the bowels of Mandarake, your one-stop-shop for manga and anime-related goodies including this Vanilla Ice action figure.

Decisions, decisions

.

Oh, damn.  Cremia!  My favorite Japanese soft ice cream.  I must’ve had like five of these the last time I was in Japan!

Visited the Ultraman shop

Akemi just barely clears the high limit for access to the Chiikawa shop

This fire samurai took 10 hours and 30,000 lego pieces to complete.

Sea urchin and cod roe spaghetti?  Count me in!

Mister Donut, home to the flavor neutral donut

As Akemi headed off to her hair appointment, she asked me if I would be able to find my way back.  I assured her I could.  Ten minutes later I was completely lost and wondered outside to get my bearings.  Nothing looked familiar.

Did come across this cute art display.

After several clearly wrong turns, I ended up in this somewhat dark underground complex with little to no foot traffic but plenty of adult magazine shops and massage spots where the friendly ladies loitering outside all said hello to me in passing.

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Eventually, after retracing my steps, I found my way back to where I commenced my quest.  I popped into a nearby pharmacy in the hopes of picking up some toothpaste but everything was in hiragana and katana and I feared making an incorrect purchase and unwittingly brushing my teeth with the Japanese version of Preparation H, so I decided to leave the toothpaste-shopping to my wife.

I discovered a slew of character-themed mini shops on the fifth floor of one of the department stories.  Left, Kaimen Rider.  Right, the questionable mascot for the Osaka Olympics.

And came across this absolutely killer Godzilla display and pop-up shop.

Now I’m tempted to do a Godzilla marathon.

Crayon Shin-chan – the original bad boy

Akemi returns from the salon, a whole new wife!

This nut-laden half-ass Kouign-amman didn’t really do it for me.

A little down time before dinner.  I update my blog and set a reminder for tomorrow 7:30 a.m. zoom pitch.  7:30!!!

On our way to dinner

Please, no creepy upskirt photos!

Dinner tonight was at a nearby izakaya.  Some of the dishes we enjoyed included…

The grilled lotus root

The beef tendon stew

And the pan-fired shirako

We couldn’t finish our rice so the chef helpfully made onigiri…

And packed it for us to take home (and for Akemi to eat for breakfast tomorrow).

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped by Liquor Mountain where I glimpsed a creepy yokai.

Then it was back to the hotel for dessert.  A Hattendo cream bun.  Even though we no have Hatted back in Canada, it’s not quite the same and I think the reason for that is the bun.  Here in Japan, it’s amazingly moist and delicious.  Almost insanely so.

I sampled these nama chocolates that come in hojica and matcha flavors.

Then I had a Drooly financier, a stick of sasha chocolate, and two Palet d’Or sake chocolates before Akemi stopped me.  “You’re eating a lot of sugar,”she pointed out.  “I’ll have sweet dreams!”I assured her.

Alright, it’s an early(ish) bedtime for me and that pre-pre-pitch (and hopefully the last I’ll do while on vacation).

The post February 4, 2025: Second full day in Osaka! appeared first on Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog.