Takeru, next to our AirBnB. 1100¥ for the premium chuck steak. Garlic salt was tasty.

290¥ for rice, salad and soup

Tuna gratin toast and Angel cream donut at Mister Donut.

Enjoying a latte at Mondial Kaffee 328 (while my accountant is running the numbers in the background).

@mondialkaffee328

Sukiyaki! At Moritaya near Osaka Station

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Dotonbori

Deep fried skewers at Ganzo Kushikatsu Daruma in Dotonburi, no double dipping!

Hokkaido ice cream at Cremia In Dotonburi. Laura loved it! But it was too heavy/creamy for me. I may be the only person in the world that doesn’t love Hokkaido ice cream.

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Nara Park

Feeding the deer at Nara Park.

Video of deer bowing for deer cookies:

Tonkatsu Ganko Nara, 1180¥ for the lunch special.

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Fushimi Inari Taisha

Fushimi Inari was everything we hoped it would be. Beautiful shrine.

“Oh my god!!!”

The only words we could muster after trying our first cut of Matsusaka A5 wagyu at Matsusaka Yakiniku M.

Wagyu refers to any Japanese cattle. There are four primary breeds that carry the names based on area they are bred: Matsusaka, Kobe, Ōmi and Sanda.

While Kobe beef is the most well-known in the Western countries, the Japanese do not consider it the best. Kobe is the most well known because it was promoted most because of Kobe’s status as one of Japan’s biggest port cities.

Matsusaka beef comes from the remote Mie prefecture, and is considered of better than Kobe beef. Matsusaka beef is becoming well known for its “incredible quality and highly pampered cows, which are said to be fed beer and receive massages”.

We received great service from Yakiniku M

Paired the meal with a Yamazaki whisky highball. Yamazaki, of course, is well known for having won the international whisky competition over the Scottish and Irish counterparts in recent years.

We ordered the DX Platter at 13800¥ which came with 6 cuts.

The marbling on these A5 cuts of meat are ridiculous!

Yakiniku refers to the style of cooking the meat; in this case means grilling it.

M Ribeye cut. So good! That marbling..

The Haneshita cut below literally melted in our mouth!

We also added 2 orders of beef sushi (marbled and lean) as well as their famous garlic rice.

So freakin good!!! Likely the most memorable meal I’ve ever had in my life!

Stopped for this view at the Umeda Sky Building after dinner.

This iconic building is actually two skyscrapers connected together by a sky garden at the top, with panoramic views overlooking Osaka on the 39th to 41st floors.

Early morning at the Bamboo Grove in Arashiyama, Kyoto. We had heard how touristy it gets here so we woke up at 4am and commuted 2.5 hours (due to most trains not running yet this early in the morning).

We were rewarded by being one of the few in the park at that time, granting us a peaceful stroll in the silence of the morning; really the only way this park should be experienced.

Walk along the Katsura River along the south side of Arashiyama Park in Kyoto.

Arabica coffee, one of the highest rated coffee roasters in Kyoto, to wake Chris up.

Their primary locations are in the heart of Kyoto, but this quaint little shop along the river provides the perfect way enjoy a cup of coffee next to nature.

The downside of waking up at 4am to explore the city: some areas aren’t open yet! We slow explored the park until 9am when Arashiyama Monkey Park finally opened, to see the Japanese snow monkeys. There were several young ones (about a year old) and at least 3 babies (under 3 weeks old).

We could roam freely among the monkeys but feeding could only take place from inside the human cage.

It was a steep hike up to the Monkey Park but worth seeing the monkeys and the view overlooking Kyoto.

Our first taste of sushi in Japan at Naritaya Sushi Bar in Kyoto.

Generous cuts of salmon, ebi and medium-fatty tuna nigiri.

Their real wasabi was delicious! We ate it on its own, and had a sweet taste before the bite hits.

Fatty Tuna sashimi, amazingly delicious and melted in your mouth.

Sparkling Sake paired nicely with the sushi. Even Laura loved the sake! 😮

Osaka is known for being the birthplace of both takoyaki and okonomiyaki, so we set out to find some!

Almost an hour wait to get into Ajinoya in the Namba district. Their parent location two doors down received a Michelin star rating but the line up was even longer.

Pork and Shrimp Okonomiyaki

Shrimp yakisoba

By far the best okonomiyaki and yakisoba we’ve ever had!

Duck ramen at Moeyo Mensuke just outside our place in the Umeda district. You pay and order at this vending machine before being seated.

World’s Second Best Melonpan with matcha ice cream.

Chris found his takoyaki at Wanaka Namba.

Chill day after an exhausting week of exploring the Kansai region, we finished up the night wandering through tiny yokocho, or food alleyways, and picked a yakitori izakaya place. Delicious! I love that you can just randomly pick tiny restaurants and food stalls and they are all just really tasty. Doesn’t seem like you can go wrong here in Japan.

No idea the name of the place as it was just in Japanese.