As usual, we were staying local during Golden Week – even before corona we tended to avoid the busy crowds here in Japan and the high price of plane tickets to overseas destinations.
So, once again we concentrated on relaxation, decompression from work, and eating and drinking well. There were two parties that we hosted, a walk to the beach and Akashi brewery, and plenty of Zelda on the Nintendo Switch.
We kicked off the holiday on Friday but because it was a rainy day it wasn’t until Saturday that we could go out to Kobe and sit outside sipping champagne. We also found our way to a dark and odd Chinese restaurant underground, that despite the mysterious atmosphere served some pretty unremarkable food. On the way home that night we bought some (expensive) Italian cheeses to serve with a dinner later on.
One of the parties that we hosted was a bit sudden – we had already planned out a Thai menu with curry and pork/basil stir fry when we got a message from Yoshi and Mamiko that they had Akira with them and they were in the area. We invited them to join us and asked them to bring some chicken, and when they arrived I marinated the chicken parts in some green curry paste and then grilled them outside just after a rain squall passed through. It was good to see Akira – he is getting started at his company with training and learning the ropes. He is truly grown up now, and it was fun to hear what he had to say about life on his own.
The second party was a planned wine tasting of Tuscan wines with the Fukumi’s. The event was the culmination of our tasting through all the Italian regions, and we compared six wines in total. They were all quite good, and if I had any regret it would be that they mostly had a similar style so the differences weren’t so apparent. The food turned out great – a simmered pork with wine and vegetables recipe that I got from a wine tasting book called Vino Italiano, some ricotta and spinach nudi and also some cheese and prosciutto rolled into pounded chicken breasts, a Tuscan salad that turned out fantastic, homemade focaccia bread, and tiramisu and nut cookies for dessert. With the exception of the pork dish Kuniko put together every dish and everyone agreed that the food was the best part of the evening.
In other meals we did some experiments with pasta made from rice and corn, a macaroni pasta made from beans, and of course on Cinco de Mayo we had some margaritas and grilled pork burritos with plenty of hot sauce.
On the second to last day we finally found our way into a Chinese restaurant in Nishi Akashi that we hadn’t been able to visit in a couple of years. It has a slightly greasy diner kind of atmosphere with really excellent gyoza and plenty of cold beer. On the walk back home we also finally visited a bar, called ReRise, that we had been passing now and then for a couple of years. It was great to get in there and have a few cocktails, but something about the atmosphere felt strange – it reminded me of places we found in our travels through Southeast Asian developing countries. The bartender was nice but I think probably one visit was enough for us.
Lastly on the final day we opened up a bottle of Prosecco and had a huge plate of scallops that Kuniko had gotten through the local tax gift system – shipped frozen from Hokkaido. Kuniko prepared them both raw – one as carpaccio and the other served sashimi style with just wasabi and soy sauce. They were really good – I don’t think I’ve ever eaten that many scallops in one go.
It was a great holiday – and now we’re buckling down for 10 weeks without any special time off. Hopefully we’ll get some more fun events scheduled before the summer heat really kicks in!
