Day 12 – Cup Noodle, Kobe Beef and Tako Tamago
April 26, Osaka
Today, we said goodbye to our apartment above Dotombori. Woke up a little early to finish packing, went to the konbini for breakfast for the last time and to pick up a little. We navigated to our train and headed to the
Cup noodles Museum
Elijah favorite food is instant ramen, so we knew it would be a treat.
It was a very well laid out museum- it started with Momofuku San’s beginnings…making noodles ina shack using regular cooking equipment, and his trial and error on various problems we don’t even think twice about…how to keep the noodle from falling apart, but also to cook? How to flavor the noodles without destroying the consistency? How to eventually put the finished noodles into a cup without it falling sideways and stopping the whole process.
It was a thing.
After a brief tour, it was time to make our own. We were handed tickets and were ushered upstairs into a arts and crafts area and given markers. After we finished decorating our cups, we went to pick our toppings and then watch our masterpieces get sealed. We toured the rest of the museum (they sent cup of noodles to space!) and then watched the video history of the company (thankfully, the Japanese LOVE graphics so we were able to follow along, even though the narrator was speaking a million words a minute) We stopped at the store for a few treasures (I’ve been getting bags everywhere) and then off to our next stop in Kobe
That's right. Kobe.
So wagyu beef is how the beef is raised. There’s a list of strict protocols for beef to be certified wagyu. Kobe wagyu is beef that not only follows the protocols, but is raised in the Kobe region of Japan…the only beef that can be called Kobe steak.
I cannot even begin to describe to your flavor of this meat. The chef cooked it up so skillfully first slicing away the fat and cooking that by itself to save for later for a different part of the dish. Julie and I wanted ours a little bit more done than the boys did, and we watched him as he flip each side to make sure the level done this. When I say this meat literally melted in your mouth… It was divine. Absolutely delicious. There were other courses too. You started with a potato soup that was incredible. Next was the salad course… At first I thought I’m not eating a salad with absolutely nothing on it, but there was some kind of oil or water like dressing that I didn’t even see or notice until I put my mouth to it. Then he cooked the meats and veggies. Even though this was a meal, this was also an experience. We were told what bite to eat with what, and I was so grateful that we were obedient. First bite just salt. Oh my gosh. Absolutely amazing. Next bite, just pepper. Next bite a weird mustard that we were instructed to put in the soy sauce. Amazing. Final bite of the first round, fried garlic chips. After that, the next bit of steak we are free to choose our favorites from what we were introduced to. I like just plain salt, while Nate like the mustard and soy sauce. Julie enjoyed the garlic chips and Elijah like it with the pepper. Absolutely amazing. After the veggie course, we were served dessert. And absolutely fine and delicious meal.
Next we were going to ride shinkansen to Kyoto
We are excited because this time around we got window seats, it was daytime so we’d actually be able to see. It was about this time that we realized how truly confusing the system could be. Up until now, we only dealt with two railroad companies….now, to get to our next destination, we’d be dealing with four. We got turned around so many times…have to leave this station and go to the next. Where did the signs go? That one looks right, but its written in Kanji so who knows?
After TONS of wandering, we finally found the shinkansen line and scanned in. Well, tried to scan in. None of our tickets were working. In frustration, I finally went to the ticket booth. The girl shakes her head and said Shin-Kobe. Oops. We had been staying in Osaka for so long, I had booked tickets to Kyoto from Osaka, not Kobe.
Thankfully, it was an easy switch. We finally got to the right one and readied to take a trip during the day. There were bento boxes right by where our entrance was, but I already had snacks in the bag from but ramen store, and didn’t need more. Besides, still full from lunch.
It was crazy to see it in the day. You don’t really feel like the train is moving that fast until you look at the ground or the track happens to run parallel to a highway. It’s so smooth and so exact. We pulled out out little snacks to munch on on the train and watched the scenery zip by.
Finally, Kyoto!
Our station was PACKED. I guess that’s what happens when you book a place by an amazing shrine. We paused to just look at the red Tori gates, before wandering up towards our little house. It was anime perfect. Right on the busy Kyoto street, it was a traditional home with tatami mats, but updated with the luxuries of the 21st century (oh yeah, heated toilet!)
After setting down our things, we headed back out to the Nishiki market. Juli wanted some hair pins and I absolutely wanted to try Tako Tamago.
We found my goal first (after another hectic dealings with the multiple train stations) Tako Tamago is a boiled egg within the head of a marinated octopus. Juli noped out, and Elijah was hesitant. But it was actually SO GOOD. I’m not sure what they marinated it with, but it was super flavorful and the egg paired with it was amazing. We would have gotten more if we didn’t have more to snack on in this market.
We found Juli’s hair pins and the lady helped her try them on while the boys went to go find weapons. Juli loved the two pieces and wore them out. We met up again and decided to get dinner in the market – tempura. Very delicious We wandered up and down the crowded streets, looking at souvenirs and gifts (and icecream) but alas. The market would be closing soon, so we made our way back home to the station.
We didn’t find icecream, but we did find Krispie Kreme. They had a couple of flavors we don’t have in the States, so this would suffice. We each got a Sakura (Japanese cherry blossom) and Nate also got a green tea cake. We brought the doughnuts home and ate in front of the TV I couldn’t get working. All in all a great day.
