Mar. 1, 2013
We were up early and had a quick breakfast. Lucio and his importer Luca had a business meeting to attend to, so this left Darrell and I time to explore. Darrell wanted to see the Museum of Oriental Ceramics Osaka. We took a cab to the museum. When we arrived and entered, I was disappointed because they didn't allow photos or video of any kind and Darrell was supprised that most of the works were from Korea donated by Sumitomo Bank of Japan and the Japanese were least represented. After the museum we went to visit the 2.6 km long Tenjinbashi Shotengai, which is the oldest shopping area in Osaka and longest shopping area in Japan with over 600 shops of every kind. Since it was close, we walked to the Tenjinbashi along one of Osaka's inner city waterways.
Osaka - Kobe, Japan
Our first street food of the trip...Okonomiyaki. Incidentally, the beer went along famously.
The Okonomiyaki was delicious and the Asahi draft beer paired perfectly. Stomachs briefly satisfied, we began the long walk through the Tenjinbashi Shotengai and were amazed at the diversity of shops. It was starting to become evident that the Japanese love to eat and did so very often for the vast number of food vendors and restaurants about. There were even a good number of Pachinko - Slots Casinos. Seems gambling is enjoyed as well.
After walking through a 1.6 mile long shopping area, with every conceivable kind of shop and an abundance of food vendors, what did we do now? Well, we went to another market to see food of course. We hopped into a cab and drove over to Osaka's Hankyu Department store. The store had 11 floors and a basement. We headed to the basement, because in Japan all the department stores have food which is always in the basement floors. Not just some food...they have everything you could possibly imagine! I was amazed at the quality and freshness of the perishable products and prepared foods. What's even more amazing...they sell it all out... everyday. The Japanese love to give out samples, so we tasted everything from tofu, fresh fruits, vegetables, prepared foods, to even different types of fish roe.
Sushi for the masses!
2 pm came quickly and we had to get back to the hotel grab our luggage and make our way to the city of Kobe via train and cab.
Another thing that becomes instantly apparent when visiting Japan is how amazing their train system is at all levels. Clean, well maintained, efficient, and multi leveled. From the subway, light rail, fast trains, to the ultra fast Shinkansen (bullet train), trains come and go quickly, on schedule, and quite seem to mimic the same politeness which the Japanese themselves always do.
It took about 40 minutes to get to the heart of Kobe by train and then a 10 minute cab ride to the Hotel Okura Kobe where we would stay for the night. We finally had a chance to catch our breath after checking in. We met in lobby an hour later to have a pre dinner cocktail in the hotel bar lounge. Hotel Okura Kobe is somewhat of an "old money" hotel which is popular for weddings. It sits directly port side and my room views of the port and mountains were great .
It was now approaching dinner time. Being in Kobe, we had to sample some of the Japanese Wagyu beef made famous by the area and this port town. Darrell decided to visit Aragawa.
Aragawa is the most famous steak house in Japan. Aragawa was founded in 1956 by Jiro Yamada (who passed away in January 2011). Jiro even created the unique pottery style brick oven, which is still used today. His first son, Mitsuya Yamada, has taken over as head chef. His second son is the restaurant manager. The restaurant uses Sanda beef, arguably the most premium type of Japanese wagyu beef. The Sanda beef production is very small. only 1,000 cattle annually, which they select and butcher themselves. Darrell ordered the H Bone cut, Luca had Filet Mignon, Lucio had the Prime Rib, and I had a New York.
Chef Yamada shows our Wagyu Our cuts: Filet Mignon, N.Y. , H-Bone, and Prime Rib.
Chef Yamada invited me back behind the counter to see how he places the steaks in the unique hard wood charcoal fired brick oven after selectively skewering each steak strategically with metal skewers to properly channel heat into each piece of meat. I asked what kind of charcoal was used. The restaurant manager grabbed two pieces of charcoal, which looked like petrified tree branches, and started to bang them together. The sound was incredibly like metal clanging together. When I asked what type of wood..he smiled and said... "secret".
Dinner began with a caprese appetizer followed by smoked salmon with asparagus and caper berry. There were a few salads to choose from. I had mixed green with vinaigrette. The main course was the selected Sanda Wagyu steak, sliced potatoes, fresh green beans, and carrot puree.
Aragawa's wine list was short and sweet featuring mostly wines from California. Darrell was surprised to see Two Mount Eden Vineyard wines on the list, so he ordered two bottles of the 2009 Pinot Noir for dinner. They drank wonderfully well! For dessert, Darrell asked if there was any Chartreuse and the restaurant manager said no then slipped away for a few minutes returning with a bottle of V.E.P. Yellow Chartreuse, which he managed to get from a bar a few doors down. Aside from our all having a small glass, some immediately went over the house made vanilla bean ice cream, which has to be one of the world's best desserts.
After having the best cut of meat I've ever tasted at Aragawa, the evening came to an end. It was back to the hotel to turn in for the night. The harbor side view at night was a bonus. The ferris wheel was brightly lit and changed colors every few seconds. The Japanese have a particular like for large Ferris wheels. I saw two from the air during our flight into Japan and noticed that every city so far had one.
