Osaka, Hankyu Line Minami Ibaraki, Yorozunotaki, second visit. The first time was the day after the Kansai earthquake. I was going to work in Suita, Osaka from Kyoto, but the Hankyu Line stopped on the way back, so I waited for the train to resume at the same store on the monorail side. And today again, there was a human accident at Katsura, causing the train to stop. Just arrived at Minami Ibaraki Station, but many people came out of the ticket gate due to the announcement. Which route should I take to go back? Go to Shin-Osaka? Monorail? It's quite a detour. How long will it take for the train to resume? With these thoughts, I decided to revisit the izakaya from my previous visit, which had a high cost performance. First, I ordered a happy hour until 7:00 PM, a draft beer (Yebisu beer) for 290 yen. The appetizer was simmered Pacific saury. I ordered Hiramasu sashimi and Akagai sashimi. Both were delicious. In Kansai, white fish is highly valued, and this Hiramasu was really fresh and firm (In Kansai, when the white fish is fresh and the texture is firm, it is said to be "Ikatte"). It was the best. White fish sashimi in Kansai is really delicious! After the beer, I had two glasses of Nada's Daiginjo, and then one glass of Junmai sake. The Hankyu Line started moving towards Katsura, so I left the restaurant. I apologize for only using it during irregular times, but I will definitely come back in the future. Thank you for the meal today.

On July 1, 2017, I had planned to stay at a friend's house. However, due to a lack of communication with my friend, I found myself having to pass the time in a town called Minami Ibaraki with nothing to do. It was a town where only I seemed to be there. I am not comfortable going to bars or izakayas alone, even though I admire the idea. But with the discomfort of the July heat outside, and no manga cafes in this town, I had no choice but to go to Yoronomizuki. When I entered, I was seated at a counter where I wouldn't attract attention. It felt good. I was most wary of being alone at an izakaya, feeling lonely. But fortunately, that didn't seem to be the case. I ordered the bonito sashimi and assorted skewers. The bonito sashimi was surprisingly delicious. And the skewer assortment... you had to choose either sauce or salt, which was a strict rule. Obviously, bonito goes with salt, and meatballs go with sauce. It's a universal truth. Mixing them on the same plate seemed a bit off. The Negima skewer was so big, I wondered if there was a bird that big in Japan. Thank you for making my time alone enjoyable. This experience has given me the confidence to go to bars and izakayas alone. Thank you for the meal.

I used to work in a building in Shin-Osaka, and there was a restaurant in the basement. I didn't have any past impressions of it, but a friend wanted to eat yakitori, so we decided to go. It was in a location with not many people around, but there were a few customers even though it was a bit late. I think it was called Yorozuya for yakitori. We ordered mainly yakitori, along with salad, my favorite soft bone karaage, and also added some gyoza. Everything was delicious. For dessert, we ordered a white soup ramen, which had a gentle flavor and left us satisfied. Thank you for the meal.

New Year's Day 2022. In our house, we have a tradition of preparing our own osechi dishes at home rather than buying them. Last year, I made dishes like simmered vegetables, kazunoko (herring roe), kuwai (arrowhead), red and white kamaboko (fish cake), and tamagoyaki (rolled omelette) that I liked, and on New Year's Day, I indulged in o-toso (spiced sake) by myself after seeing off my family members to work (laughs). However, this time, we received osechi from an acquaintance, so we decided to gratefully accept it. What arrived at the end of the year was an osechi from Yorakunotaki, a brand that started selling osechi last year. By the way, I chose the registered store "Yorakunotaki" when I searched on Tabelog (a restaurant review website) as it was the top display. The osechi included: Yorakunotaki Original Wagyu Sukiyaki Osechi. When I opened the cardboard box that arrived in a cool delivery, the first tier was packed with dishes such as simmered vegetables, kazunoko, black soybeans, chestnut sweet potato, shrimp, and crab, while the second tier contained marbled Wagyu beef for sukiyaki and sauce. It even came with celebratory chopsticks. The contents of the osechi were as follows: <First Tier: 31 items> Sweet potato, chestnut sweet potato, Hokkaido black soybeans, marinated salmon roe, red and white namasu (daikon and carrot salad), simmered fuki (butterbur), grilled fish cake with yuba (tofu skin), simmered shiitake mushrooms, grilled bamboo shoots, nagomi maki (shrimp and spinach), flower-shaped simmered carrots, grilled bay scallop, simmered jikoguruma (mushrooms), octopus in sweet soy sauce, datemaki (sweet rolled omelette), red and white checkered kamaboko, whole shrimp simmered in soy sauce, fried whitebait with yuzu pepper, red shellfish and ginger skewers, grilled scallop skewers, peach-shaped sweet rice cake (white plum and red plum), sweet sea bream Kyoto-style grilled, salmon Kyoto-style grilled, bamboo leaf-wrapped rice dumplings, red king crab claw meat, simmered abalone, fish roe with edamame mayo, squid with plum jelly dressing, marinated herring roe, shrimp chili fritters. <Second Tier> Wagyu beef (400g sirloin with sauce). The Wagyu beef was from Hitachi cattle with individual identification numbers (￣∇￣) While simmered dishes like nimono might be 100 times tastier when homemade, it's nice to be able to enjoy dishes like sweet potato and namasu that I don't usually make! With 31 items included, my family members also said, "This is fun!" (*´∀｀) Now, for the main event, the Wagyu sukiyaki... It's the best to quickly sear the meat and dip it in the sauce before enjoying it! The high-quality fat of the Hitachi beef is not at all greasy and has a sweet flavor, so delicious (≧▽≦) Yum! After searing two pieces each, the remaining meat was simmered a bit. The vegetables included cabbage, onions, shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, burdock root, green onions, and chrysanthemum greens. I also added shirataki noodles! I later realized that I forgot to add tofu (laughs) For those who like it sweet, I recommend adding sugar or mirin to the sauce. However, simmering the vegetables in the high-quality Wagyu fat makes them delicious too! The Yorakunotaki sukiyaki osechi was very delicious. I might consider buying osechi from next year onwards (^_^;) Thank you very much!!