Kansai visit !! 関西！！

Sometime at the end of last year, I also visited
Kansai area to pay a visit to my father's side grandpa's
grave. And visited my relatives and met a friend
who I haven't seen for a couple of years.
去年の末に関西に行ってきました。（←日帰りで・・・）
親父サイドのおじいちゃんのお墓参り、親戚にご挨拶、
と久しぶりにある先輩に会ってきましたよ。

This is the grave at Maiko Boen in Tarumi.
垂水の舞子墓苑にあるお墓。

Then my mom and I stopped by Sannomiya
and had lunch here... Tachibana to eat the famous...
そんで母ちゃんと三宮に寄って、「たちばな」
って店にふっと入り、この辺では定番の・・・

"Akashi Yaki". This is a softer version of
the Takoyaki, which we eat by dipping it into a sauce.
Haven't had these in years, but it was good !!
日本の皆さんならご存知の明石焼き！
久しぶりに食べたけど、美味しかった！！

This is the elementary school which I spent my
first 4 years. (1~4th grade)
自分が行ってた芦屋の小学校。
阪神大震災の後に色々と変わったらしく、
かなり立派になってたね。

We met up with my aunt and my cousin and
visited this Kushikatsu shop near Sannomiya.
晩御飯には地元のオバちゃんと従姉妹と合流して
三宮付近の串カツ屋に行ってきました。

This kushikatsu restaurant called "Kushi-Maru"
is owned and operated by Seigo-san.
He is a former D1 driver and drifted in Formula D
for several years.
ココは「串マル」って言う串カツ屋さんで以前
フォーミュラーＤで一緒に戦ってたＳｅｉｇｏさんのお店！！

This is the freshly fried kushikatsu.
Super crunchy and hella good !!
揚げたての串カツ！
カリッカリのボリュームたっぷりで美味しかったッス！！

Kushikatsu in Kansai area often uses this rule called
"No Double Dipping".
There is a dipping pan with sauce per 2~3 guests.
Since the sauce is shared with other people,
you can only dip the freshly fried food, and no dipping
once you take a bite of your food.
This is important to make a aged sauce
which ends up with deeper and richer flavor over time !!
ココは関西の串カツ屋なので、もちろん
「２度漬け禁止！！」
ソースが２種類あったんやけど、こっちのニンニク辛味の
方がリッチで美味しかった！！

Since it was a one day trip to Kansai, the schedule was
packed, but it was a fun day !!
(I was drinking till morning the day before, so I didn't
even get home... headed straight to Tokyo Train Station...lol)
今回は日帰りだったのでスケジュールにかなり無理が
あったけど、楽しい１日でした。
（前日は朝まで飲んでたので東京の家にたどり着く事なく
東京駅に向かったのは内緒・・・）