1. Cremia – in the wild! This was actually one of the last bites of my trip. I had it at the Osaka KIX airport before going through domestic security. I loved the cone, but the soft ice cream seemed weak and watery compared to some of the other soft serve I had. 2. Tori Paitan from Bokkoshi Ramen in Osaka – Comfort in a bowl. This was rich and creamy, perfect for a cool, rainy night after a long day at USJ. 3. The Kobe beef tender steak lunch – from Steakland Kobe. I’m the first to admit, I’m not a steak connoisseur, as I rarely eat beef in my ‘real’ life, but I found this a little tougher than I anticipated. 4. I found an elusive (for October, when it was 30 degrees) hot vending machine. And picked one at random for the lovely factor. The coffee was tepid at best, and I hate lukewarm coffee, so I up pouring most of this one out. 5. A random selection of starters from the buffer at my Hakone hotel dinner, while I waited for the beef in the pot to finish cooking. 6. Mitarashi dango, grilled up on a snack boat that pulled up along side our Hozugawa River Boat. 7. A gyoza set from Chao Chao Gyoza in Kyoto. Yep, this place is a total tourist trap, but I loved it anyway. 8. A triple-mint infused mojito from Bar Fishbowl in Kyoto. Jesse, the bartender is a hoot and a half, and makes fab cocktails and has a Spencer Reid-style eidetic memory. 9. Cream cheese flavoured soft serve from Hakone Cheese Terrace – brought back memories of the summer I worked at Dairy Queen, where I would make a Blizzard with EXTRA cheesequake bites. 10. A juicy, wagyu beef croquette from KOBE CROQUETTE 11. Banana Milk from a conbini – as a Canadian kid when we we were sick as kids, we’d be given banana-flavoured Amoxicillin. This tasted exactly like that! 12. A selection of Izakaya bites from a pub-crawl I did my first night in Shinjuku. 13. An incredible pain au chocolat from Boul’ange in Tokyo. I’m a die-hard French pastry gal, and this bakery had me swooning. 14. Sake-pickled veggies from my sake tasting at Harushika Sake Brewery in Nara. Delicious! 15. A meal cobbled together from a thankfully, pretty well-stocked Lawsons, in Hakone. Only breakfast was included in my stay, so I paid the $65 for dinner the first night, but didn’t feel up to it the second night, and dinner options in Gora are sparse and expensive. 16. Matcha Tiramisu from Katsukura Tonkatsu Sanjo Main Store. 17. Yonakisoba from the Dormy Inn Premium Ginza in Tokyo – my hotel offered free late night noodles, so I tried them. It’s a fun gimmick, but they were average at best and not worth the stomach space or calories, so I only had them once during my 4-night stay. 18. A hojicha cashew nuts tea latte from the Starbucks Reserve Roastery. 19. Shinkansen Snacks – Traveling from Hiroshima to Kyoto, and I had already had lunch, so I just picked up some snacks for the ride. 20. A creamy chicken ramen, and craft cola from Ramen Katamuki in Kyoto.
schmampfer
Man, every time I see these, my longing for Japan grows even more. Wanna go back 😭
Bil-Da-Cat
I so want to get back to Japan, if only for the food!
3 Comments
[Part 1](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapaneseFood/comments/1hjy0f7/a_taste_of_japan_in_20_bites/)
1. Cremia – in the wild! This was actually one of the last bites of my trip. I had it at the Osaka KIX airport before going through domestic security. I loved the cone, but the soft ice cream seemed weak and watery compared to some of the other soft serve I had.
2. Tori Paitan from Bokkoshi Ramen in Osaka – Comfort in a bowl. This was rich and creamy, perfect for a cool, rainy night after a long day at USJ.
3. The Kobe beef tender steak lunch – from Steakland Kobe. I’m the first to admit, I’m not a steak connoisseur, as I rarely eat beef in my ‘real’ life, but I found this a little tougher than I anticipated.
4. I found an elusive (for October, when it was 30 degrees) hot vending machine. And picked one at random for the lovely factor. The coffee was tepid at best, and I hate lukewarm coffee, so I up pouring most of this one out.
5. A random selection of starters from the buffer at my Hakone hotel dinner, while I waited for the beef in the pot to finish cooking.
6. Mitarashi dango, grilled up on a snack boat that pulled up along side our Hozugawa River Boat.
7. A gyoza set from Chao Chao Gyoza in Kyoto. Yep, this place is a total tourist trap, but I loved it anyway.
8. A triple-mint infused mojito from Bar Fishbowl in Kyoto. Jesse, the bartender is a hoot and a half, and makes fab cocktails and has a Spencer Reid-style eidetic memory.
9. Cream cheese flavoured soft serve from Hakone Cheese Terrace – brought back memories of the summer I worked at Dairy Queen, where I would make a Blizzard with EXTRA cheesequake bites.
10. A juicy, wagyu beef croquette from KOBE CROQUETTE
11. Banana Milk from a conbini – as a Canadian kid when we we were sick as kids, we’d be given banana-flavoured Amoxicillin. This tasted exactly like that!
12. A selection of Izakaya bites from a pub-crawl I did my first night in Shinjuku.
13. An incredible pain au chocolat from Boul’ange in Tokyo. I’m a die-hard French pastry gal, and this bakery had me swooning.
14. Sake-pickled veggies from my sake tasting at Harushika Sake Brewery in Nara. Delicious!
15. A meal cobbled together from a thankfully, pretty well-stocked Lawsons, in Hakone. Only breakfast was included in my stay, so I paid the $65 for dinner the first night, but didn’t feel up to it the second night, and dinner options in Gora are sparse and expensive.
16. Matcha Tiramisu from Katsukura Tonkatsu Sanjo Main Store.
17. Yonakisoba from the Dormy Inn Premium Ginza in Tokyo – my hotel offered free late night noodles, so I tried them. It’s a fun gimmick, but they were average at best and not worth the stomach space or calories, so I only had them once during my 4-night stay.
18. A hojicha cashew nuts tea latte from the Starbucks Reserve Roastery.
19. Shinkansen Snacks – Traveling from Hiroshima to Kyoto, and I had already had lunch, so I just picked up some snacks for the ride.
20. A creamy chicken ramen, and craft cola from Ramen Katamuki in Kyoto.
Man, every time I see these, my longing for Japan grows even more. Wanna go back 😭
I so want to get back to Japan, if only for the food!