I’d just gotten back from my second Japan trip and was on my way with a mate to hopefully watch Hawthorn continue on their journey for their 4th consecutive AFL premiership.
I’d walked past this particular restaurant many times mid afternoon when it was closed, but this evening it’d be open and we’d be walking up Little Bourke Street on the way to the match at The G.
Dosanko Larmen, Melbourne, Australia
Nara, about an hour’s train ride east of Osaka, was the first permanent capital of Japan back between 710 and 794.
Yakitei Juju, Nara, Japan
The Western area of the city is full of magnificent temples and shrines and thousands of roaming wild, but relatively tame, deer.
After several hours exploring Kofuku-ji and Todai-ji I was walking back to Nara station looking for an Okonomiyaki restaurant that I had spied earlier on in the day. The restaurant was called Yakitei Juju.
It was mid afternoon by the time I climbed the stairs to find only a handful of diners enjoying their meals.
Despite it being quiet it took some time to grab the attention of the server to get an English menu, but I soon had a beer and an Okonomiyaki on the way. Okonomiyaki takes a little while to cook, so given the warm weather and over 10km I’d already walked, a second beer was ordered just as my meal was ready to be served.
At this particular restaurant they cook the Okonomiyaki in the kitchen then place it on a smaller hotplate in your table to keep your meal hot while you eat it.
In all, a decent Okonomiyaki to tide me over for the hour train ride back to Osaka.
I’m not normally a brunch person, normally opting for a sleep in and then some coffee at home on a weekend morning, rather than having to do the whole shower and dress routine on a day of leisure.
But today was different. A friend who was a former colleague from interstate was in town and since we couldn’t catch up during the week we decided to have brunch before she flew home. We also invited one of our former colleagues to make a threesome.
A quick google search for a brunch place in the CBD bought up The Hardware Societe on Hardware Street. I’d walked past it hundreds of time but never noticed it.
The Hardware Societe, Melbourne, Australia
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I’d arrived at Haneda Airport for my flight to Sydney a little early and the Qantas check-in wasn’t open yet. I opened up TripAdvisor to see what were my options were for one last Japanese feast and I found that there was a Yakitori close by.
At the back of the public international departures concourse there are a couple of escalators leading upto the 4th floor to an area called Edo Market. It’s a large area with heaps of restaurants. Mostly Japanese but a couple of other options as well.
Suginoko, Haneda Airport, Tokyo, Japan
What’s the one thing you need to do if you go to Belgium? Yep – Real Belgian Waffles!
In my walks around Brussels I’d walked past many shops / cafes offering waffles but hadn’t dropped into one yet. One afternoon I decided I’d better go out and give them a try or I’d never be allowed back into the country.
Le Brosella, Brussels, Belgium