Japanese home made cooking "Nikujyaga" Recipe

I like to cook. This is very popular Japanese food, Nikujyaga.
I would like to introduce how to make Nikujaga here today!
Please try to cook!

Japanese home made cook, TEISYOKU!

Today I would like to talk about Japanese food and restaurants. Japanese food has a lot of variety. Hope you enjoy many different Japanese food during your traveling!

Japanese food is not just sushi and Sashimi (raw fish), which is most popular Japanese food. There is actually a lot of variety! Dishes like Yakitori (charcoal grilled chicken), Tempura (battered and deep fried ingredients), and Shabu Shabu (thinly sliced beef cooked in a pot) show that there are so many different things you can eat! But the truth is that so many of these amazing foods are just too complicated and difficult to prepare at home, and are normally enjoyed at a restaurant. Only the best cooks make them at home.

Yet home cooking is still really delicious as well! Home cooked meals often include rice, miso soup, a number of small dishes of vegetables, and some sort of main dish, maybe meat or fish. You can eat this at a restaurant as well, and it’s called TEISHOKU (定食).

Teishoku is healthy and highly nutritious as it includes a lot of vegetables, beans, tofu and a little meat or fish. Usually it cost around 1000yen or less if you eat out, which is a very reasonable price. And some restaurants serve it all day, though this is normally enjoyed at lunch time.

This is one example of TEISYOKU.

One such restaurant that I really like is called Harumi’s. It was made by Harumi Kurihara, who is a popular and charismatic cook in Japan. At Harumi’s the set comes with tea and cake too!

You can find many restaurants which offer this Teisyoku style hear and there. So please try to find delicious one!

I usually search organic restaurants on internet when I want to eat “Teisyoku” as they offer meals which have more organic vegetables and brown rice and I feel really at home.

These website introduce some website for TISYOKU restaurants. I am sorry that all website is in Japanese but you can see and enjoy pictures and maps.

Oranic restaurants

http://matome.naver.jp/odai/2138440269258201901

https://matome.miil.me/articles/3DXRs

http://poptie.jp/matome/216014974644662

Other Teisyoku restaurants

http://find-travel.jp/article/13848 

http://allabout.co.jp/matome/cl000000013618/ 

https://kaumo.jp/topic/68006 

Hope you will explore and eat delicious TEISYOKU in Japan! 

Introduce Osaka!

Before, I did not know much about Osaka. However, when I walked around Osaka, gradually it become very interesting. At the geggining I just waked around Kita, Umeda (Osaka Station City) and Minami (Nanba, Shinsaibashi). Especially I like to walk around Osaka Station City as Osaka station is like a town, really wide, beautiful and there are lots of shops and restaurants. 

I like Gran Front Osaka as there are many nice restaurants and cafes. 

Osaka is the second largest modern metropolitan in Japan and among the largest in the world with nearly 19 million inhabitants. Situated at the mouth of the Yodo liver on Osaka bay, Osaka is Japan's second largest city by the daytime population after the Tokyo, and serves as a major economic hub. 

  

Central Osaka is roughly divided into downtown and uptown areas known as Kita (north) and Minami (south). 

  

Kita is home to the Umeda district and its immediate surrounding neighborhoods, a major business and retail hub that plays host to Osaka Station City and a large subterranean network of shopping arcades. 

  

MInami is well known districts, include Namba and Shinsaibashi, the Dotonbori canal entertainment area, as well as arts and fashion culture-oriented areas such as Americamura. The nearby business districts is Honmachi and Yodoyabashi. Honmachi is wholesale district. So you can buy various things at very cheap prive. 

 

 

The city's west side is a prominent bay area which serves as its main port as well as a tourist destination with attractions such as Kyocera Dome, Universal Studios Japan and the Tempozan Harbour Village. 

Osaka contains numerous urban canals and bridges, many of which serve as the namesake for their surrounding neighbourhoods. The phrase "808 bridges of Naniwa" was an expression in old Japan used to indicate impressiveness and the "uncountable". Osaka numbered roughly 200 bridges by the Edo period and 1629 bridges by 1925. As many of the city's canals were gradually filled in, the number dropped to 872, of which 760 are currently managed by Osaka City. 

I just started to see architectures of Osaka.  

There are many temples and Japanese gardens in Kyoto. You can see historical architectures. 

In  Osaka, there are also beautiful architectures to see. There are historical buildings too, but all those buildings were built about 100 years ago. 

You can see, maybe first modern buildings in Japan. Before in Japan there were only wooden buildings.  

So modern buildings made by bricks are after Meiji period. By this meaning, those building are very important which need to conservation.  

In Nakanoshima, there is a Naniwabashi station(keihan line), which was designed Tadao Ando, world famous architect.  This subway station is different from any other subway stations. This is simple shape and beautiful.   

Near this station, there is a Cyuo-Kokaido, which was built more than 100 years ago. This design is Europian style.  

When I saw this building, it reminds me the building of the Chelsea college where I studied in London. 

This building  was designed by Japanese architect. I can imagine  how he or engineering people studied hard and built it.  

Inside the building, there is a beautiful hall which was also designed 100 year ago and really beautiful. In the past, Helen Keller and Gagarin talked at this hall. Around this area there are around 10 historical buildings. 

It is amazing there are such historical buildings still remain in Osaka. 

It is comfortable to walk around to see there reiver, buildings and bridges and beautiful trees and flowers in Spring. At night buildings and station, river side restaurants are all lighted up.  

If you want to feel more OSAKA atmosphere, go to Shinsekai.
There is a symbol tower of Osaka, Tutenkaku and from station to Tustenaku, you can enjoy walking
viewing some interesting advertisement of Osaka style. Some of my foreign friends say, "It is crazy". Maybe it mean very different, in a funny way. 

Please explore Osaka if you come to West area! Food is especially very nice and cheap. People are very friendly and talkative, humorous! 

  

Kobe, beautiful town, see and mountain!

When you come to Kyoto, you can also visit Osaka, Kobe, Nara and so on.
Those places are close each other. From Kyoto, it takes just for 30 minutes to go to Osaka.
It takes for 50 minutes to Kobe, Sannomiya. It takes for an hour to Nara.
You can do one day travel to those places.

Today I am writing about Kobe. I like Kobe as it is close to sea and mountains.
Town is also beautiful. I can be really relaxed there.

The Great Hanshin Earthquake hit Kobe in 1995, leaving in its wake more than 5200 deaths, 30,000 injured, 300,000 homeless, 110,000 building damaged.
However, now this city completely recovered and became a modern and new beautiful city.

This is a one of article about the Earthquake.

Great Hanshin Earthquake

You can enjoy shopping and eating at Sannomiya and Motomachi area. There are many nice shops, cafes and restaurants.
I think shops of Kobe is very fashionable and something different from other West area.

The Meriken park and Harborland is the best location to see the scenery of the port of Kobe.
It is beautifuklly lighten up at night. Mozaik is nice shopping place.

You can go up to Mt Rokko and Mt Maya by Ropeway and see beautiful night views of harbour and town.

There is a hotel on the top of  HOTEL DE MAYA.
It is nice to stay there for a night. You can see beautiful night view from the room. On the mountain there is only this hotel. So it is very quiet and you are completely away from the busy town.

There is a Hyogo Prefectural museum of Art which was desinged by Tadao Ando.
He is one of the great architect in the world. I am sure that You can enjoy spacial experience there. This architectures makes harmony with city, sea and mountain of Kobe.

You can see how city, people recovered from big disaster after 20 yeas later.
Kobe people not only make new city but also tried to make same buildings or houses from the rubble.
Some people says that Kobe is the best place to live because of town, see and mountains.

Please enjoy one day or two days travel during your staying West area of Japan!

Sagano Area

Sagano area adjacent to Arashiyama area.

Arashiyama is very popular and nice to go. But you can also walk to north of Arashiyama area, Sagano, where the atmosphere become less touristy and more rural with several small temples scattered along the base of wooded mountain. 

There is an attractive preserved town area near Adashino Nenbutsuji temple.

At the end of the preserved town, there is Otagi Nenbutsuji temple.

There are 12,000 stone statue whic was made by ordinary people. You can see different faces. I smiled a lot as I could feel this face is my feeling.

Budda statue usually have very calm faces. But these statue are like people.

This is Giogi temple. This is a small house where four women lived in Heian period.

The garden is beautiful with moss and maple trees and bamboo.

  

You can feel beauty by small things at the house and garden.

I went at 9:00 am, opening time. There is no people. So I really enjoyed the time being there, sitting in the room, viewing garden, walking garden for 30 or 40 minutes. I recommend to go early in the morning to Sagano.