Trip to the west of Japan

I tripped to the Sanyo(山陽) region, the south-western part of Honsyu(本州), main land of Japan using Shinkansen(新幹線). Shinkansen is a Bullet Train invented in Japan, which connects all over Japan in a short time(except Hokkaido and Okinawa). Though I've taken Shinkansen many times both on private and business, I can be always happy whenever I ride on. It's more than high-speed train for me as it brings me fun and good memories of trips. Buying snacks and drinks before and during the Shinkansen are also exciting.

Shinkansen!

Inside of Shinkansen

Eating snack on the train is also fun

Drinking beer from the morning!

The city I visited first was...Hiroshima(広島), the largest city of Chugoku(中国) Region and industrial center of the Region. Hiroshima means "wide island." The city is also known as a city destroyed by an atomic bomb for the first time in the world. It is a place for praying. 

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

Atomic bomb dome

But Hiroshima is no longer a city with the tragedy but a city of revitalization. There are many delicious foods there, particularly okonomiyaki(お好み焼き), Japanese pancake! Near the Hiroshima JR Station, there is a branch of famous okonomiyaki restaurant named "DENKO-SEKKA(電光石火)", where many customers come to eat. In fact, other neighbor restaurants had few customers... 

DENKO-SEKKA

Cooking of okinomiyaki-Hiroshima style

Specialty "DENKO-SEKKA"

Another specialty with oysters and seafood

Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki is a bit different from the ordinary one. They grille much cabbage, meats and boiled noodle first and wrap them by two crepes. In DNKO-SEKKA, their crepes using much egg are very soft and new texture as okonomiyaki. Also they use Japanese basil inside which makes okonomiyaki fresh. But the taste itself is...just average? My rating would be...2 out of 5, cause I couldn't find big difference from the ones I cook at home! Maybe that is the destiny of this kind of food... 

DENKO-SEKKA(電光石火)　http://okonomiyaki-denko-sekka.com/
  
Another specialty is Anago-meshi(穴子飯), grilled conger bowl and its most popular restaurant is "Anagomeshi Ueno(あなごめし うえの)", which is near the Miyajimaguchi(宮島口) Station of JR and Hiroshima railway company. Though the area is calm, only around Ueno is noisy with many customers. We can either eat inside or take away. 

In front of "Ueno"

Package of grilled conger bowl bento

Grilled conger bowl bento!

I bought one bento at JPY1,470. As you can see, the portion is big with many grilled congers (two persons can share one bento)! Even congers became cold, the texture was soft and the taste was nice. The sauce is not so strong. Sophisticated! Even I was full, I could eat. It was just same as the fame. My rating is 3.6 out of 5. Gochiso-samadeshita!

Anagomeshi Ueno(あなごめし うえの) http://www.anagomeshi.com/ 　

Atucually, I just tasted only two popular dishes in Hiroshima this time(my stomach has been recently a bit shrinking), but there are many other delicious dishes to taste there:) Next time, I will try! After becoming full, I left Hiroshima to visit an island of the gods by taking the below boat...

Sushi chain in a department store in Ueno

While I am taking a walk around home, I sometimes go to Marui department store in Ueno(上野) and do shopping. After shopping if we find hungry, some restaurants are available inside the Marui. One option is "Sushi Tsune(寿し常)", a sushi chain in Kanto(関東) area. The interior is modern. Chefs are very open-minded. Different from high-ranked sushi restaurants, everyone can easily enter.

Entrance of "Sushi Tsune"

Counter table just in front of show-case of fresh sushi ingredients 

Fresh sashimi platter 

Fried tofu with bouillon soup

Grilled ayu

Lotus root tempura

Tuna sushi 

Grilled conger sushi

Crab paste sushi

Sea urchin sushi 

Miso soup 

In the center of restaurant, there is a big aquarium in which fishes for sushi and sashimi are fed and around the aquarium, there is a open-kitchen and a counter table. If you want to see the chefs' performance of cooking, sitting at the counter is better.

Not only variety of sushis, but also a lot of seasonal dishes are offered at reasonable price. The quality of sushis and dishes is more than average. It's really nice to have such delicious dishes not worrying about the price. Moreover, chatting with friendly chefs made the taste much better. The warm and casual atmosphere is nice. 

Ueno is one of the entrance stration from the Tokyo International Airport, and Marui is just in front of the Ueno Station. If you are not confident to find suitable sushi restaurants, Sushi Tsune might be recommendable. They prepare menu books with pictures.Chefs were also trying to communicate with foreign customers in English.

I was satisfied with the good cost-performance. My rating is 3 out of 5. Gochiso-samadeshita!

Sushi Tsune(寿し常) https://www.sushitsune.co.jp/auto/tenpo42.php

Chinese restaurant in Kasumigaseki that creates lines

If you are working around Kasumigaseki (霞が関) area, you must be knowing a Chinese restaurant named "Iwaen(頤和園)" whose specialty is a dan-dan noodle(坦々麺). At lunch time, people rush to Iwaen not to make a queue, but you can see long lines around 12:00pm and have to wait.

Entrance of Iwaen (people are waiting to enter!)

Inside of Iwaen

Iwaen's specialty, dan-dan noodle

The Kasumigaseki branch was opened several years ago and the interior is still new and chic. As most people order the dan-dan noodle, it is quickly served. The soup is very mild and creamy with rich sesame. Chili is used only a little, not hot at all. It's a distinctive taste that we can't experience other than Iwaen. Only a problem is that I found the taste is very sometimes a bit different (because of difference of chefs? or cause they cook many people's noodle at once?). 

Other dishes are also nice but average. If you go to Iwaen, it would be better to taste the dan-dan noodle. My rating is 3 out of 5. Gochiso-samadeshita!

Iwaen(頤和園) http://www.iwaen.co.jp/   

Eel by the name of small hapiness

Near the Yushima Tenjin Shrine (湯島天神) and along the Shinobazu Street(不忍通り), there is a eel restaurant named "Kofuku(小福)" whose meaning is small happiness. The entrance is small. As we cannot see the inside, it looks difficult for first-time customers to enter. But once I opened the door with courage, cheerful madam and waiters welcomed us!

Entrance of Kofuku

Second floor of Kofuku

Carps swimming in the table center aquarium 

Eel bowl with soup and pickles 

Kofuku has four floors and the design of each floor is different. We ate on the second floor, which has a large long table with an aquarium of carps in its center. This kind of design might have been introduced around 1980s, bubble economy time, but it is maintained well without smell. We enjoyed seeing carps swimming well in front of us.

It takes time (around 30-40 minutes) to cook eels. And eel bowl finally coming was tasty.  Eel was very soft. The quality of eel is high. The way of grilling seemed sophisticated though I prefer more a bit more burnt eel. Its sauce was not so strong but very adequate (I don't personally like strong eel's sauce that harms the fresh taste of eel). 

Soup and pickles are also delicious. Moreover, I liked the service. Same as a manner of good Japanese restaurant, they served different Japanese teas at prior, during and after eating, for matching each occasion. The eel bowl set we ate at lunch costs JPY3,780. Not cheap for lunch, but considering the quality of eel, we need to pay more than JPY3,000 in Tokyo in general. My rating is 3.6 out of 5. Gochiso-samadeshita!

Kofuku(小福) http://r.gnavi.co.jp/g125300/

Addictive tomato ramen

Since several years ago, a ramen chain shop named "TAIYOH NO TOMATO MEN (太陽のトマト麺)" has been seen around Tokyo. I heard the feature of this ramen shop is tomato ramen which consists of very thin noodle containing soy bean and rich tomato soup using chicken bouillon, and it has been so popular among women. Indeed, I've also become a fan of the ramen!

Outside of  TAIYOH NO TOMATO MEN

Highball (whiskey soda)

Boiled dumplings with sesame sauce

Tomato ramen with cheese 

Anyhow, it is very different from ordinary ramens, and also very different from tomato pasta.  Chicken soup with tomato is rich and delicious and it matches well with very thin noodles. Cheese and spinach are good accent while eating the ramen. Basic tomato ramen costs JPY730 and tomato ramen with cheese costs JPY830. Once you eat, you would be addicted. As evidence, whenever I visit the shop, most or all seats are already occupied. My rating is 3.5 out of 5. Gochiso-samadeshita!

TAIYOH NO TOMATO MEN (太陽のトマト麺) http://taiyo-tomato.com/   

Joint birthday party at a fancy Chinese chain

On the weekend, I had a joint birthday party (including mine!) at a branch of "Ginza Aster(銀座アスター)", Chinese chain restaurant. It was a great time with good foods and pleasant chatting. We ate sooo much and the below pictures are evidence:)

Exterior of Ginza Aster

Private room

Almond jelly

Big birthday cake!!

Even though Ginza Aster is a chain restaurant, their status is more than average..a bit higher-grade. We can use it for the purpose of business and party since the taste and service are nice. All the dishes such as various starters, soup with shark's fin, Beijing duck, dumpling, fried vegetables, fried shrimps, boiled sweet pork, fried rice and almond jelly were sophisticated and tasty. The taste is not so strong but gentle. 

We were very full...but a surprised big cake was also coming in the end! Thanks to the surprise, we found another space in stomach and could ate the cake. We enjoyed the party 120%. The price is not so expensive comparing to the quality and quantity of the set meal. My rating is 4 out of 5. Gochiso-samadeshita! 

Ginza Aster(銀座アスター)　http://www.ginza-aster.co.jp/