Cooking Okonominyaki

We've been on the hunt for okonominyaki since we arrived here as Paul's mate Casper said it was a must. Despite enquiring at every eating house we had been at to date, we had had no success. Until we walked up to the venue where our cooking class was being held, and what did we discover we were cooking. You wouldn't read about it.

Just look at his face! We were cooking Okonomiyaki!

Alan, you're a wizard.

As we learnt during the night, Hiroshima and Osaka are THE places to try okonomiyaki but they have different styles. In Osaka, all the ingredients are added into the pancake as it cooks (like an omelette) whereas in Hiroshima, it is assembled progressively in layers (like a lasagne).

You'll be pleased to know we got there 15 mins early, washed up, obligatory photos and they tried not to tsk-tsk a the tardy Aussie couple that showed up 10 mins late.

The cooking class was heaps of fun. Its pretty straightforward to do, just with lots of steps. You fry the pancake, add cabbage, onion, tempura and pork belly strips, and flip it! Then when it's cooked, you move it to the side off the hot spot of the grill whilst you cook the noodles separately into a pancake shape. Next, scoop up the cabbage with your flippers and layer onto the noodle pancake. Then finally, you crack an egg, scramble it a bit to create a little pancake, then lift the previous pile onto it, finishing with a final flip. Add sauce and toppings, then tuck in.

We were chatting away with a couple from Sydney, swapping stories about how much we love Japan. Seems like our experiences have been similar and we all agreed that our favourite part of Japan was the people. Universally respectful, kind and peaceful. Gee, it's going to be a shock coming home.

With super full tummies, it was a gentle nighttime walk back to our hotel, watching the glittering city as we crossed the river. Our beautifully folded washing was waiting in the hotel foyer, neatly wrapped in plastic bundles within our case. A little envelope contained all the contents of our pockets, including money; I just fell in love with Japan a little bit more then and there.

After unpacking and repacking our two-day bags, the main cases loaded with sake are being forwarded to Tokyo. Tomorrow, we aim to visit the Hiroshima landmarks before catching the ferry to the Rokyu island.

Step count; 98,000 to date.Lue lisää