Cowboy Curry

We stumbled upon Cowboy Curry the other day on Tabelog, the Japanese equivalent of Urbanspoon. We've tried to discover restaurants on Tabelog several times before but found that Japanese food critics are not extreme enough in their reviews. Most restaurants sit very close to three stars, right in the middle of the five-star rating system. Perhaps it's the Japanese desire to be humble or to avoid confrontation, but looking at a webpage of  almost nothing but three-star reviews doesn't help one decide at all which restaurant are worth going to! The two highest rated restaurants in Miki are only 3.44 stars. Three of our favorite restaurants in Miki include a ramen shop called Hoppoya, an Indian curry restaurant called Shankar, and a Japanese barbecue place called Kashima, and they are rated 3.0, 3.0, and 3.11 respectively.

Cowboy Curry is a 3.54. Technically it is just over the border from Miki into West Kobe, but it's only a few minutes drive from our house. We noticed it the other day, because its 3.5+ rating gave it orange stars on the map instead of the usual yellow stars like the other restaurants in Miki. When we clicked through, we were shocked by the pictures of the unique and delicious looking roast beef curry (which we didn't get to try because they were sold out for the day), and especially by the cowboy theme and decor. It triggered in us the 'This place looks way too cool to be in Miki!' response.

It turned out to be even cooler than we had hoped for. We were so unprepared that we didn't have our good camera, so the few photos I took are from the iPhone. We also failed to get a picture of the boss and his partner, who donned cowboy hats and leather vests. The boss also did card tricks at our table before we left! Both he and his partner (pun intended?) asked us how we heard about the restaurant. It only opened in November, so I guess the word is getting out slowly. The boss used to be a painter at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, so he designed the interior himself and sourced every piece of Americana in Japan, which probably cost a fortune! Becky said it felt like a BBQ restaurant from home, and we even spotted an Oklahoma Portland Cement sack with "Ada, OK" emblazoned on it!

The curry itself was wonderful. Becky tried the mushroom curry, and our friend Philip and I tried the curry with a piece of hamburger in it. In my humble opinion, it was probably the best Japanese curry I have ever had. This is largely because most Japanese curry I have had tastes very similar, and this curry totally diverged from the norm. The three of us thought there were hints of chocolate and wine in it, giving it quite a unique flavor. The boss happily told us we were right and that the curry also included bourbon and cola! He said it was inspired by how he thought an American (and presumably a cowboy) might re-imagine Japanese curry.

The cheesecake was so good that it was almost gone before I could get a picture!

Becky decided to try the cheesecake for dessert. Japanese cheesecake is typically more similar to American spongecake, often times lacking the satisfaction and gooey richness one hopes for when indulging in cheesecake. To our surprise, this cheesecake was legit and tasted like a homemade American cheesecake. When we asked the boss about it, he told us it was a Kraft recipe!

All in all, Cowboy Curry is a little bit of magic in Miki (officially Kobe), and we plan to be regular customers.

Intruderz!

Intruder Cat 1, tentatively being called 'Shina,' short for cinnamon

A few weeks ago, two black cats appeared on our porch. Apparently, the word had got out that there was cat food there. So we started giving the kittens only enough food to eat in one sitting, so there weren't any leftovers for strangers to eat. The black cats came less frequently, so we started getting lacks again. Yesterday, we heard strange meows outside, and throughout the evening we observed three new intruder cats trying to bully the kittens away and eat their food! We haven't seen Akamimi, their mother, in several days.

Intruder Cat 2: 'Stumpyriltskin'

We're a little concerned the cat fighting might start bugging the neighbors and threaten the fragile kitty habitat we have created. But at least it makes for entertaining evenings in Miki!

"Saves uz from teh intruderz!"

New Wheels!

First things first. Our car is not pretty. I think the Honda Fit itself is a cute little hatchback. Unfortunately, the paint on ours has faded into what we have started calling "Old Lipstick Red." The rear passenger side door, quarter panel, and rear bumper are a much brighter red, so it was clearly in a little accident at some point.

Other than that, it drives great, and it's quite roomy inside. It has a 1.3 liter engine, too small to be available in the US. It is a 2001 model, and it has 55,000 miles on it, quite low for 11 years by American standards, but I'm told quite high by Japanese standards!

The car is a long-term rental, which we got quite affordably. It is my first time having a car in Japan and my first time driving outside the United States. Over the years, not needing a car was something I often sided as a plus about living in Japan. But that experience was based on where I had lived, and it is true for the majority of the population that lives in urban areas with accessible and affordable public transport.

After moving to Miki, we learned that it does not fall into this category. It is a sprawling town with mediocre bus routes and the most expensive train line in Japan. My current job requires me to travel to three different branches of my school, which means I need to spend a lot of time walking and waiting for trains when driving would be much more convenient. There are also many places around town that are quite exhausting to get to by bicycle, and having a car will really change our lives.

Lastly, while Japanese tollways can be extremely expensive, local trips to Kobe will be so affordable now. For example, IKEA Kobe is about an hour and a half away by car or by train. The round trip cost of gasoline is $6 or $7, but for both of us to go by train is almost $50!

We spent our first night with a car getting our favorite ramen across town. Definitely expect some Japanese road trips in the future!

Iwakuni Matchlock Musket Firing

Previously, I wrote about the matchlock musket demonstration we saw during our New Year's holiday to Iwakuni. I finally edited together the videos Becky took to give you a taste of the historical fun.

Tamba Sasayma Wild Boar Festival

Shortly after arriving in Miki, we heard about the annual Tamba Sasayama wild boar festival. Sasayama is in central Hyogo, slightly more rural than Miki, and it is famous for its botan nabe (wild boar hot pot). The festival is a celebration of wild boar cuisine and the boar itself.

The main event is a race between three boar piglets that is held three times during the event. After seeing pictures online, we were a little surprised when we saw how short the "race track" was. Some other English teachers said they arrived one minute after the first race and had already missed it!

Eating delicious boar burgers

We went and tried some boar cuisine including the botan nabe, which seemed very healthy and had an excellent miso broth. We also enjoyed the original "tambaga" or wild boar Tamba burger. One of the main events was a boar roast, which sold out before we could buy any. We did however get over to the barbecue, where the roaster was grilling up bones so people could taste the scraps of meat that stuck to them. I struck up a conversation with the roaster, and he gave me some choice bones. He was going to discard the head as inedible, but a couple of fellow English teachers insisted he try grilling it. The end result appears like a giant drumstick but is really just a skull with a bit of meat to pick off.

We looked for seats around 30 minutes before the race. We found some with a good view, but they were ground seats, which meant we battled the cold and our feet falling asleep while we waited. I'll let the video speak for itself, but once the race actually started, it was a fun and fast show!

On the way home, we decided to go to the Kobe Sanda Premium Outlets, which was more or less on the way home. Shortly after getting off at Sanda Station, I realized, for the first time ever, that I had left my bag on the train! At first, I had no idea where it was, but then I was slightly relieved when I remembered leaving it on the overhead rack on the train. In most countries, this would mean a lost bag plus the camera and other contents that were inside. But this is rarely the case in Japan. I told the JR Sanda Station staff, and within four or five stops of where I got off, the staff from another station figured out where it was an got it off the train. I was so thankful!

The outlet mall was fun and a great way to finish an amazing day. It was a little tiring and expensive getting out to the country by train and bus, but we're planning to get a car in the near future, making trips like this one easier and cheaper.

Weekend in Kyoto

After being in Japan for six months, we were finally able to make it to Kyoto. Kyoto is about two hours away, and there is so much to do there, so spending the night makes the trip worth while. After putting off going for so long, we finally decided on this weekend because it was the one after Becky's birthday and because there was a big flea market happening.

Every first visit to Kyoto has to start with a look around Kyoto station. The station can be described as '90's futuristic', and while the exterior feels a little bit dated, the interior is nothing less than impressive!

Kyoto has several famous flea markets. Most of them are held once a month and almost always on the same date. This means they often don't fall on a weekend. We went to the Kobo flea market at Toji temple. It is one of the biggest and most famous monthly flea markets in Kyoto, and its layout is also fairly chaotic. Its wares are very eclectic and include crafts, fresh produce, antiques, and vintage kimono and fabrics, to name a few.

Eating fried mochi

The rain dampened the mood a little, but it didn't stop us from having a great time. We picked up some vintage Gion Festival dango (dumpling) plates, a vintage hand bag for Becky, and a one hundred plus year old Meji era print.

Meiji era print advertising a fabric company

For dinner we went to the fantastic efish cafe, which has great food, a beautiful interior, and a range of great home products for sale. After dinner, we made a quick stop at Hanjiro, a clothing store that sells a mix of vintage and new items and has one of the best interior designs in Kyoto. Photos aren't aloud inside but I got a few shots of the amazing foyer, which is probably the best part anyway.

For dessert, we went to Cafe Independants, a cafe that has a bit of a French cafe feel but with all the attention to detail that Japanese interior designers strive for. We were there too late to check it out this time, but adjacent to the cafe is a record store where my older brother usual drools over rare Japanese experimental albums.

Day two started on the path to Kiyomizu Temple. We found a route that took us through a cemetery that was anything less than impressive.

Kiyomizu Temple is one of the most famous in Japan, known especially for its massive wood beams that are joined without nails. Roaming around the temple made us marvel at how much care was put into creating a building that honored Buddha. This is in contrast to a large portion of the current American church that either refuses to build impressive buildings out of a poverty mentality or builds them more for the church members in mind and not to honor God. Kiyomizu Temples is quite inspiring.

Rocks wearing aprons

From there we walked down a popular tourist road and through some of the many historic streets of Kyoto. The sun came out in the afternoon, and we just enjoyed exploring and ambling for most of the day.

We're 90% sure this was a non-geisha dressing up for a fantasy photo-shoot.

On our way home to Miki, we stopped at Harborland in Kobe. Why would we stop when we were exhausted after a weekend of constant walking? To visit a statue honoring the memory of Elvis Presley of course!