Kobe Weekend, Day 2

Finally getting around to the rest of these! My schedule at school is undergoing the annual shake-up, so I've been distracted this week, a bit. 

First, something I forgot to include on Day 1, which I just realized. During our meandering, Yuri and I stopped at an ultra-cute parfait shop that I went to in Kobe before. I should've taken a shot of the storefront, but alas, I didn't think to. However, I did take pics of our respective treats. Yuri was such a good sport about all the picture-taking, even reminding me when I myself forgot about getting photos of our food.

This was Yuri’s dish. We both ordered sort of mini-sundaes made with frozen yogurt. And it tasted like yogurt, with that tart and refreshing bite.

Mine had some azuki bean paste, and a little black sesame “purin” (purin is the Japanese pronunciation of the word “pudding”, but really purin is much more like flan, or panna cotta than what we Americans think of as pudding). I saw it and immediately knew I wanted it; Black sesame is one of my all-time favorite flavors.

Now on to day 2 proper!  So, we’d stopped quickly in China Town the day before in Kobe, and I’d been so enchanted by what I saw (read: the food I saw)  that I wanted to go back the next day and indulge in some of it.  We were asked by Yuri’s mom to pick up a specific kind of kimchee in Korea Town in Osaka, so we munched while we walked around there, as well.  Yeah, we got looooots of stuff; It was great, getting to try so much stuff!

So, we went to Osaka first. Before Korea Town, we walked around in Dotonbori, one of the most well-known neighborhoods in the city. It’s the street with the giant crab sign, among other things. Here, have a look.

After Dotonbori, we continued and went to Korea Town. Boy, we had a bunch of eats here! Kimbap (basically Korean sushi), Toppogi (rice cakes in a sweet/spicy sauce), griddled pancake things I can’t remember the name of (we got octopus/scallion and beef cheek respectively), Yuri got a mochi-esque small fried pancake thing filled with a sweet peanut/bean paste filling (the thing in the cup), and of course, the requested kimchee (no pic of that, unfortunately).

We also did some non-food shopping. I bought some little doll thingies to send to Mindi (my sister in the states) and my mom, and a sweet purse (which I’ve gotten many compliments on).  We saw some cool hanbok in a couple shops! Here, see?

Before hitting China Town, We stopped and took a break around the train station. While we were there, Yuri mentioned "Gacha Land", that she'd always loved stopping into as a kid. Of course I had to see this Land of Gacha. Turns out it's a bunch of those little 100 or 200 yen vending machines that spit out really cute little toys. I got something for Mindi from here too, ahaha. It's like a compulsion. 

There's Yuri again! What? It's not like it's, er, staged or anything. Um, yeah.

So on to China Town. Would you like some visual aids? Of course you would.

A vending machine? Duh. Lookit the name of my blagh.

It had started to rain a bit by this time, so we didn't linger too long. Basically long enough for me to satisfy my gustatory curiosity. I tried a squid ink nikuman (steamed meat bun), a chimaki (sticky rice with fillings wrapped in a bamboo leaf), and some un-inked nikuman of the sandwichy-variety. The savory-sweet hunks of pork in the latter were really good, and the guy behind the counter was awesomely genki and asked me where I was living. He seemed tickled when I told him I lived in Tokushima.

And as a finale to all this snacking, I needed something sweet. So we stopped by a vendor that Yuri's sister, Yuki, had told us about. They sold these little rabbit-shaped buns with sweet custard in them. So I got a steamed one, a fried one, and a fried mochi ball filled with black sesame paste, and rolled in sesame seeds (in case you forgot, I like sesame).

 I found I liked the fried bun better of the two, for the main reason that it wasn't served piping hot. I know eating things hot is generally considered tastier, but I find when things are hot, they tend to be TOO hot, and I can't discern any flavors above the heat. So I could taste the sweet, creamy, and bready elements of the fried one easier. 

Phew, now I only have day three left! Prepare, sushi pics will be had!

Mata ne!