The Japanese guide to the West Coast. Which is apparently only SF, LA, and Yosemite.

The finished product is delicious.

Got the whole stove going.

And we thought we were the kings of fried food on a stick. These are two different types of eggs deep fried. The upper right one is whole eggs, albeit tiny eggs. The bottom left one is a fried egg with corn in it. Both were really good.

Panda Bus for the pre-school near the apartment.

Kamaboko. Basically fish paste in a solid form. Used for udon and ramen. And twice as expensive if they have these designs on them.

Bored at the station and playing around with shutter speeds.

Yakisoba and Okonomiyaki. A perfect combination. 

Kodomo no Hi. Translated it means Kids Day, but since girls have their own festival, it's Boys Day. Families traditionally put out a carp for each of the boys in the house. Since this tied to the apartment, I'm guessing it's all of the families.

If only I could live off of this...

White Chocolate Bread. So many different types of bread at convenience stores.

Some days the rain isn't so bad.

Totally not Japanese food, but the family was having pasta too. And while I was cooking Kaioh (their 4 year old son) was throwing a fit about not wanting to eat. But the moment I sat down with my pasta and he saw me eating it, he quieted down and ate his too. According to his mom, "Big brother was eating the same thing so it was okay to eat."

Pork Soba (buckwheat noodles) and toast. So many carbs, but pretty proud of the soba.

Once again managing to work my way to the front of the train.

Sometimes slowing down to appreciate the sights makes something you've seen countless times really amazing.

My attempt at making butadon (pork over rice). It was delicious, so I'm calling it a success.

Pretty elaborate decorations for a chain restaurant.

Three guesses as to what they serve. Ate at one in Kyoto last time, and it's really good. There were two more on this street alone.

Oddly, they only had four types of Kit Kat here. Original, Dark Chocolate, Around the World (Kit Kat as sold in various countries), and Green Tea. As well as a ton of other candies and chocolate.

I don't understand where the Japanese obsession with Disney comes from, but I'm okay with it. Because it's everywhere.

One of the shopping streets in Osaka. It just keeps going... I walked for 45 minutes from the middle before I reached the "end". There were more shops, but they weren't part of the street. And then of course there was all the shops in the other direction.

The quintessential tourist shot from Osaka. Downtown with all it's shopping streets.

The natural place to put a rock climbing wall. On the exterior of a skyscraper, 50 feet off of street level.

Milk Tea Ice Cream? Yes.

All ready to read. 

Not a bad place to sit and read. I've got a shady spot under a tree, ocean breeze from the sea behind me, and the white noise of trucks off in the distance at all the distribution centers near by.

My four train passes. The upper left is a prepaid card that I used before I had my train passes, good on any line in the Kansai region, the upper right is a reloadable card that can be used on any train in Japan. The bottom left is my pass from Nigawa (station closest to school) to Imazu, where I transfer from the Hankyu Line to the Hanshin (two different train companies in the area). The bottom right card takes me to Imazu from Mukogawadanchimae (longest name ever for a station) the closest to the apartment.

For a ball of rice, this is really delicious. Filled with fish (there's lots of different types) and packaged separately from the seaweed to keep it crisp. For 110 yen, you could do a lot worse for a snack.

I should have been warned by the description of "A special jelly drink" but the texture is kinda freaky. Tastes decent enough though.

Thank you Thao!!!

Gift from one of my Japanese Partners. Really delicious candy from Hokkaido. Tasted like a cereal bar almost.

I'm doing my best to not get American food I could get at home while I'm here, but sometimes there's stuff here that may not translate well back home. This shrimp and avocado sandwich from Subway should be given a chance though.

Ironic shirts like this can be funny. Until you remember you're the immigrant...

I wish we did this in the US versus singing Take Me Out To The Ball Game. Because it's so cool.

Looks like some kind of Dr. Seuss forest.

"Go for the top!" the signs say. And looks like the team is listening, because they've got a game and a half lead in the Central League after 12 games in their season.

Girls that come and deliver beer to your seat. Carrying a mini keg on their back all game. I kept expecting the Kirin and Asahi girls to fight for some reason.

People leading the individual chants for each player, which the entire stadium followed in unison. The giant flags were only for between innings. It's like these people practice just as much as the team.

Perfect day for a baseball game, sunshine, slight breeze, it was awesome. Even if the Tigers did end up losing...

Because you can't call yourselves fans if you don't have a giant flag, a trumpeter, and drummer to lead your chants.

Draft beer with what looks like foam on top, but is actually soft serve. Magic wizardry.

Vuvulezas = annoying. Thunder Sticks = awesome.

So excited for my first game in Koshien.