1st Izakaya in Japan

We started out our day early again today, still getting used to the time change and woke up at around 6:30. We took it slow and enjoyed a breakfast of Coffee, Donuts, Corn Soup, and Mikan(tangerines). 

The individual coffee pouches reminds me of the Costa Rican coffee sock contraption my brother and sister brought back one time. This thing just sits on your cup and you fill it up. That's Blue Mountain blend. The donuts are way better than Tim Hortons, more on par with Crispy Cream, but these have a bit more substance. The flavor of the one beside the coffee tasted a little bit like Bamiyeh! 

Otoosan only takes Sundays off from work, so we wanted to spend time with him today. He was taking Kie to the driving range and we decided to go with them. The place was just ten minutes out of town, or in town, I'm not sure. It was into the hills a little bit and the scenery was beautiful.

Little plots of farming land interspersed with village.

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Himeji and it's area is fantastic. The Last Samurai was filmed here. I don't know why people have this idea that Japanese houses are small. They are not that bad. A house can be anywhere between 2000 sq ft. and 2700 sq ft. Big houses have three floors and might be around 3000 sq ft. They use square meters here. City living is indeed small though. Check out my skills at the driving range. There was no admission here, you just pay for balls. 

(left to right) Mao, Kie and Otoosan. Otoosan is watching Kie's form.

I finally hit the ball! It went about 100 yards with this 9-club.

I can see why people get addicted to golf. 

I'm obsessed with drinks of all kinds.

 Mao and Kie love this corn soup they bought from the vending machine. It has real corn in it and it is served hot. These two are always in their own little world.

On our way back we stopped at this quick-stop diner to grab some chones. 

These are soba noodles. We were instructed by Okaasan not to eat too much during the day because we planned to go out for dinner at their favorite Izakaya in town. Let me get right down to it. It was nothing short of the best Japanese food I've ever had. 

Korean Hot Pot. Nice and Spicy

Sea Cucumber, If you like Tako sashimi, the texture is even better.

Asahi Super Dry,(one of my favorite Lagers) it's crisp and clear, very refreshing.

Salad, with soft Tofu, and delicious dressing.

Fried sea food skewers with sauce

I don't know what this was. The shell used to be it's house, now it lives in my belly.

Clams in broth.

Raw Oysters, slurp.

Yakitori, Gizzard(my favorite), thigh, and other chicken parts.

Fried egg with Daikon topping. How good can fried eggs get? This reached a new level.

Next blog will be about Kobe beef and the Onsen. That should be good. 

That was one of the best meals I've had in my life. Inebriation plus amazing food... Some people just don't know how to enjoy life. I'm back in OLD COUNTRY!