Sunday - Otake & Okonomiyaki

After a lazy morning, we've driven to Nishimura Joy in Otake (north toward Hiroshima) to look for cat grass for Sachi.

They are all out, but while looking around the pet department, we found these packages of doggy piddle pads. This one has an extra piece that you can stick up the wall, so male dogs can lift their legs . . . how thoughtful.


Stan liked this little doggy puppet - "Pa-Pet"


We wanted to eat at Kiki's (steak house) next to You Me Town department store, but the owner's son who usually waits on us, was not there today, and their menu is all in Japanese with neither pictures nor plastic food. The father does not speak any English, but we could tell he was very sorry to send us away. But we'll try again another day. Their food is sooo good!

So, we decided to return to Iwakuni for okonomiyaki. This is the same place that used to be downtown behind the YMCA, but moved to across the road from KFC on Route 2 a couple of years ago. It's all new & the parking is free. We recognize it by it's blue awnings. I think it's called Tokugawa . . . ? They even have a parking attendant to help you park and unpark your car, since it's on a busy road. After about a 10-minute wait, we were seated and ordered our appetizers. These are my first fried oysters of the season - yum! and you can see bones from a chicken wing Stan traded me for one of my oysters. The service is so fast here, that we have to order our appetizers first before we order our main course, or else it all comes at the same time.


Here's how our okonomiyaki comes -- all ingredients in a bowl. First, I take out the pork strips (really like bacon) and place on the grill to cook. Then I removed the shrimp to cook later. The remaining ingredients (eggs, cabbage, onions, little ginger, and sauce) are mixed together in the bowl and placed on the pre-heated grill like an omelet. This type of Okonomiyaki is Osaka-style (with cabbage). Hiroshima-style has noodles instead, and is cooked in layers. I really like this kind better . . .