davidcel.is

I checked in at OSARU coffee / Naniwa, Osaka / Osaka / JP

Mar 30

I checked in at IAKU / Kita, Osaka / Osaka / JP

first western style dinner we ended up having here. umai.

A grid of four dishes: a wagyu sandwich in the style of a hand roll, yellowtail sashimi with red radish and perilla pesto, spot prawn with white asparagus and americane sauce, and blood orange with stracciatella and pistachio.

A plate with fixings for nabe: deel, burdock, and minced local chicken scooped into open pieces of bamboo

A small bowl of the prepared nabe, a broth with the deel, burdock, and chicken meatballs

A bowl with strawberries from Nara, sakura jelly, and a robuchon of sakura ice cream

Mar 29 ❤️ 2

every bar in Japan has a name that’s just “bar _____”. if i ever opened a bar in Japan, i’d probably call it “bar kurinju”

Mar 29

I checked in at Bar UK / Kita, Osaka / Osaka / JP

A framed line drawing with heavy ink of a woman lounging in a kimono while holding a fan, hung i. front of rows of whisky bottles

Mar 29

I checked in at Nunobiki-no-taki Falls / Chuo-Ku, Kobe / Hyogo / JP

how come all the white guys on this hike just come up to u and say “yes” in Japanese?

A magestic waterfall pouring out from jagged stone walls

An old, forested shinto shrine made of stone amidst dappled sunlight

A waterfall exiting a reservoir into a river surrounded by stone and forest

Mar 29 ❤️ 1

I checked in at Nunobiki Herb Garden Park / 中央区, 神戸市 / 兵庫県 / JP

A block-letter sign that reads “EDIBLE FLOWERS” that’s surrounded by edible flowers

A sign that says “IT’S SPRING” amidst herbs and vegetables

A massive turnip protruding from dirt, next to a normal sized turnip surrounded by other vegetables

Mar 29 ❤️ 3

Sam Bankman-Fried? more like Sam Bankman-Imprisoned

Mar 29 💬 2 🔁 1 ❤️ 2

I checked in at Hyo's Burgers+Fries / 中央区, 神戸市 / 兵庫県 / JP

wasn’t expecting the mozzarella cheese. crazy cheese pulls

A beef burger with a hefty glob of mozzarella cheese and a shiny sesame seed bun, along with a small pile of golden french fries on a brown-rimmed white plate

Mar 29 ❤️ 3

I checked in at Glitch Coffee Osaka / 北区, 大阪市 / 大阪府 / JP

weirdly bad latte art but the roasts were light, the jazz was tight, and the coffee tasted right

A flat white with no discernible latte art next to a card describing the coffee: an Ethiopia Alo Sidama from the Sky Project (Tomodachi)

Various audio equipment: amps, speakers, vinyl records, and a turntable, next to shelves of coffee and coffee paraphernalia

Two rows of glass jars full of roasted coffee beans on the lower shelf of a coffee bar

A row of pour over stands for brewing drip coffee on a wooden bar

Mar 29 ❤️ 8

I checked in at Bar Juniper / Kita, Osaka / Osaka / JP

Mar 28

I checked in at Ichimatsu / 北区, 大阪市 / 大阪府 / JP

suuuuuper different from the yakitori omakase from the other night. and i’m really happy about that.

A grid of nine yakitori skewers: breast with wasabi, gizzard, quail eggs, wing, gizzard (again but different?), tail, heart, tsukune, and chōchin (lantern)

A steaming rolled japanese omelet (tamagoyaki)

A small plate with thinly sliced chicken prosciutto, edible flowers, and halved blueberries

A leg of chicken prosciutto, held suspended by a smaller version of the same stands one would use for jamon serrano in Spain

Mar 28 ❤️ 2

I checked in at PARKING 北浜醗酵所 / Chuo, Osaka / Osaka / JP

Two tasting flights of sake, four small glasses set into larger, square, cedar boxes

Mar 28 💬 2 ❤️ 2

I checked in at Osaka Castle / 大阪市中央区 / 大阪府 / JP

A castle wall fanning out amidst a moat, with an east asian turret on the second layer of stone wall

Osaka castle, all white and green and gold, backed by an overcast sky

Mar 28 ❤️ 3

I checked in at millpour / Chuo-Ku, Osaka / Osaka / JP

we keep finding cafes with amazing looking coffee but they’re like the darkest roasts. i’m begging for some lighter roasted coffee. even just a medium roast. please 😭

Two flat whites in white cups and saucers in a wooden bench

A chili dog with a swirl of mustard, on a napkin and white plate set on a wooden table

Mar 28 💬 6 ❤️ 3

I checked in at Bread Studio Magokoro / 中央区, 大阪市 / 大阪府 / JP

the google translation for this pork bun was too NSFW to post 😭😭😭

A pork bun that was a lot like a kolache with a label in Japanese. Google translated it as “pork pussy”

Mar 28 ❤️ 2

I checked in at Sushi Saeki Kitashinchi / Kita, Osaka / Osaka / JP

Three pieces of nigiri sushi and a small bowl of uni and ikura

A ceramic cup of green tea; on the side of the cup is a tiny ceramic person clinging for dear life’s sake

Mar 27 💬 2 ❤️ 1

our one and only interaction with the chef at lunch was during dessert (chiffon cake with whipped cream and strawberries) when he walked up to me with a big grin on his face and showed me a translation app on his phone to communicate to me: NICE GUY WITH BEARD CREAM

Mar 27 ❤️ 7