For lunch today I went to ポトス, an Okinawan restaurant just round the corner from my apartment, next to Tomari port. It was a recommendation on this blog from a guy who has seemingly eaten at most if not all of the Okinawa Soba restaurants in Naha.

Check out his map of them all here. There are quite a few in the north of the island too.

It was very good, probably my favourite of the soba dishes I've had in Okinawa so far. The meat was lovely and soft and very flavoursome. A reasonable price too, at ¥550 (£4).

First time to go to Poco-a-Poco again since getting back to Japan, and the first time to visit at lunchtime. At lunch they give out coffee, which was nice to have with their lovely large プリン dessert.

Although, in hindsight, it was a little too fishy for me. It's the special at the moment, at 花月 in 権堂.

His 特製ラーメン (ramen special) for ¥850 (£6.50) comes with three slices of meat and an egg. Since the last time I came, a year or so ago, he's added onions on top. As we left, though, the master came out and gave us some bad news; he's going to leave the shop at the end of December due to health issues. He suggested that there could be somebody taking the shop over, but it was a bit of a shock, because the master of Kanaya studied his ramen making from the master of Buaiso, now Ichibun. With him leaving, the old ramen taste I used to enjoy all those years ago at ラーメンぶあいそー could be no more. That's sad.

I ordered the 'gonbutonkotsu' (great pun that) ramen at ¥800 (£6) with an egg added for ¥100 extra. Then afterwards I had to order more of the fat noodles for ¥100. I liked it a lot, especially as I'm a fan of the thick noodles.

僕が注文したのは極太んこつっていうダジャレを含んだ、とんこつスープの太麺。８００円で、味付け玉は１００円。ちなみに替え玉は１００円。太麺が大好きな僕にとっては、かなり美味しかった。ぜひもう一度食べに行きたい。

 

For lunch today we went to a small place just out of town. It costs just ¥400 (£3) for their ramen, which is surprising in itself, but the most surprising thing is that they give a bigger portion to men (男盛), and a smaller portion to women. That could never happen in England, as they would get in trouble for sexism.

今日は友人と松本に行って一風堂でラーメンを食べようと決めたんですけど、結局電車に乗らず長野のよし家でラーメンを食べたんだ。固めの麺も選べて、スープもしょっぱくて美味しかった。

Today I was taken to an old curry restaurant called Yamagoya (山小屋), down a small side alley off the main road in Nagano city centre. It was excellent. Their lunchtime set menu consists of three choices of curry with rice, and all come with soup, salad, and afterwards ice cream and coffee.

I chose the most expensive curry with bacon, potato and chicken katsu, for ¥895 (£7). I thought it was really superb, not really like the "normal" Japanese curry, but with more of a rich taste closer to a non-spicy curry you might get in the UK. If anything I'd have liked it a little more spicy, which you're able to order for ¥105. Next time I might pay an extra ¥105 for the larger portion (中盛り), although they also do a much larger (大盛り) portion for ¥210.

All in all, a great find for my curry needs!

For my first ramen in Japan this time, we stopped at Ippudo in Suwa on the drive through to Nagano.

I do like this vegetable drink, supposedly giving a whole day's portion of vegetables in one hit. Tastes a bit like canned tomato soup!

As an outing today, we drove to Seaford, stopping in Alfriston for lunch and a look around. We were recommended by a friend to eat at Badgers Tea House, a small place originally built as a bakery 500 years ago.

They brought our tea out in silver pots, one looking like an old lantern of the genie-popping type. We went for the chunky tomato soup with bread and a huge hunk of cheddar, and a sausage panini with spicy tomato relish. We finished off with a piece of the wonderfully-soft and delicious coffee cake. Highly recommended. I would love to return for a cream tea at some point.

Nowhere opens Sunday. Tried bacalhau (salted cod) at the only place we found.

Turkey and beef, two large Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, peas and carrots, and a good smothering of gravy. Delicious!

We went with my family and some friends - ten of us in all - for an £8.50 per person carvery, on the way home from the airport.

After the strenuous removal activities of yesterday, we ordered take- away from Kurazushi (くら寿司) for an easy dinner tonight.

Each two-piece plate of sushi is just 86 yen (60p) on weekdays, so it means there are 130 or so pieces of sushi in this photo! Needless to say, even with six adults we had lots left over, most of which can be safely eaten tomorrow.

There are quite a few varieties of fish in there, as well as some meat. One of my favourites is the sukiyaki (すき焼き) - the ones with egg and beef, in the middle of the top-left tray.