Hot Dogs, Pizza, and Roast Chicken. Oh my!

Reading: Gould’s Book of Fish, Richard Flanagan
Listening: “Time After Time,” Quietdrive

Saturday, October 13
“Time After Time” is one of my favorite evereverever songs.

Chris and I woke up late and ate at Ru Café. I eat there once a week during my lunch hour. Chris had a dish of scallops and salmon, wrapped in a thin slice of daikon and swimming in a light cream sauce. I had the hamburger. It perched atop a bed of fluffy mashed potatoes and was matched with a delicate “onsen tamago,” which is a poached egg. The burger is tender and juicy and perfect.

We then began a mini Ono Tour. We often visit Ono, the city neighboring Miki to the west, as it’s nearby and offers plenty to do.

1. "Techno Park"

2. A Park

3. Ruins

Chris, on the site of what was once a temple.

Me and Grouchy Grouch Grouch.

A scale model of the temple. Kept behind a fence and barbed wire.

It's beginning to look a lot like autumn.

4. Museum

5. 鴨池 (Duck Pond)

The travel books assert that 鴨池 fills with Siberian birds during the autumn months. I love ducks, and I arrived prepared with a loaf of bread to share. Imagine my disappointment, then, when I discovered that there was not a bird on the water. The fall has been too warm, and the ducks haven’t arrived yet. Global warming ruins everything.

As it became dark, we retreated to Ono SATY—like an American mini mall. We bought donuts and coffees at Mister Donut and settled in for a few hours of studying. Chris will be taking 漢字検定 (a kanji exam) this week, and I'm preparing for the JLPT in December. Eventually we were hungry and ate at Shinshinan for dinner. I had a steak set that was not great. We bought groceries then went home.

Sunday, October 14
Clay met us at my place in the morning and we set out toward Osaka. We were setting out for Costco, looked in Amagasaki in the eastern portion of Hyogo, but along the way, we would be stopping at 道の駅 for stamps.

Our first stop, Ogo, was chaos. I missed the notice, but all local women had descended en masse for grocery shopping. I bought a small bag of persimmons for 150 yen, as well as pumpkin pound cake and a roll of sushi. In the process, I was smashed by a ばあちゃん who pushed her body past me and deftly snatched up the remaining sushi. Do not mess with the elderly in this country.

Our next stop was Inagawa, where we explored the river and ate soba at the station restaurant.

I opted for soba prepared three ways. On the left is tororo soba, buckwheat noodles topped with shaved katsuo boshi, chopped green onions, and potato paste. At the top is tempura soba, and on the bottom right is soba salad.

From Inagawa, we drove to Nose, also known as 栗の郷 (Chestnut Village). In Japanese, Chris and my names are pronounced kurisu. We took a picture in front of a giant mascot chestnut who looks both nervous and sad.

Kuri, Kuri, and Kuri.

We were then ready to head to Costco. We passed a big dam along the way though. And it was a long drive through the traffic.

Someone got tired.

And someone got bored.

But one person stayed genki.

After an hour (or so), we were finally there! I jabbered at top speed, flipping my head left and right to take in all the wonders of Western products. We've visited Costco a number of times, but I somehow always feel homesick when we do. It illustrates to me the many things that Japan is missing.

Such as good hot dogs.

No shot of me, but I slathered mine with mustard and ate it with many exclamations of “Mmmff, so good.” In Japan, frankfurters--that is, wiener without bun--are quite common, but it's difficult to find what we Americans know as a hot dog.

We spent over an hour browsing the aisles. Chris and I learned to pare our list down to the bare essentials--detergent, canned soup, and a jumbo bag of Kit Kats. The latter I can consume within a week, which explains why I am the size I am. We left with a good amount of items, though I was disappointed not to buy the gorgeous Le Creuset cookware set and Dyson vacuums that were on sale. It’s easy to rack up a large bill at Costco; foreigners can get carried away and attempt to stock up on all the quality Western foods. I wanted granola, soy milk, croissants, cheesecake, a fat bag of Hershey's dark chocolates, blah blah blah, but obviously, buying every item I want will rack up quite the bill. I did NEED the canned pumpkin, with visions of pumpkin pie soaring at top speed through my head, but with a weak oven, I might simply wind up scooping the good stuff from can to mouth. Sad.

A List of Costco Love
Asparagus
Campbell's Clam Chowder
Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup
Chocolate Raisins
Dove Soap
Downy Liquid Fabric Softener
Kit Kats
Muffins, Assorted
Spinach and Mozzarella Frozen Ravioli
Ruffles Potato Chips
Sprite
Tide Coldwater Laundry Detergent
Yoga Pants

And most importantly, ROAST CHICKEN.

We bought a pizza before we left. Few things beat eating fresh American pizza in a parking lot, overlooking the lights of Osaka.

Back at my place, the three of us dug into the food. That is, the boys ate the pizza and I tore into my chicken. We attempted to play Wii, but my remote ran out of batteries and there were none in sight. And so ended the Grand Costco Expedition.