Thursday, September 20, 2007

Kanpai!

Just in response to somebody's comments - I have indeed eaten! I just ate some easy packaged stuff I bought at a convenience store yesterday for lunch, but for dinner I went out with one of my roommates for okonomiyaki, which is a specialty of Hiroshima. It's a really neat experience. The restaurant we went too, which is one of the bigger ones, was 5 or 6 stories high, and each floor had a bunch of different eating stations at it. They just have these big oval grills that look kind of like a bar, with the cooks in the middle of them, and people sitting on stools around the outside. They just make the okonomiyaki on the grill/table, and then you just cut off pieces and eat it up. The top and bottom of the okonomiyaki are very much like thing pancakes, and then you have layers of cabbage, soba noodles and cheese, and the entire thing is covered in some sort of sauce. It was quite good, and it only cost ¥1300 (around $11) for the okonomiyaki and a beer. I mentioned to my roommate how I was still a little rough with chop sticks, and he told me that they had quite a few tourists so they'd probably give me a fork if I looked to be struggling too much, but I managed to troop through and eat it with enough competence that I was spared that humiliation.
On the way I had a few other food hotspots pointed out to me. There's one place really close which was described as the McDonalds of Japanese cuisine, where you just go in, put your money in a vending machine, push the button which has the picture of what you want on it, and then go sit down, and they bring it out to you shortly after. I have a feeling I'll be eating there a lot to begin with, beause of the minimal language interaction and the use of pictures to determine what you're getting.
My luggage came in last night, and I got everything unpacked and hung up, so I'm officially settled into my apartment now at least. Going to have a shower now and then head - plan for today is to open a bank account, visit the peace gardens, get that cable for my camera, and maybe buy a cell phone and some groceries, although those might get pushed back if anything else comes up.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

These blogs are a hell of alot more interesting than The Sun Times...keep them coming and keep on exploring....I'm looking forward to learning so much from your experiences...and you write well too!
Dad

Anonymous said...

Mike is always so anxious when comments don't appear instantly! He blames it on the slow pace of things in Ottawa--including the internet, 28.8 at this hotel!
It sounds like Hondori Street is my kind of street. I'm sure you'll be visiting it often. Hopefully you'll find the correct camera cable soon but please keep the other one. Keep the descriptive details coming--we're really enjoying it.
I understand now why Mike’s comment went twice; mine wasn’t posted either. It appears the server at the hotel was down. So I’ll try again and if you get it twice, you’ll know why. Linda

P.S. - Glad you've eaten!!