Author Archives: Mel

Margaret River Day 2: Hamelin Bay, Boranup Forest, Marg River Food!

Posted on January 16, 2022 by Mel

Ah, glorious sleep ins with no dogs waking us up in search of breakfast.

Initially we were going to go on a bit of an adventure today to Boranup Forest and Hamelin Bay but the weather was very overcast so instead we decided to visit some attractions closer to town and see what the clouds did. This had the double advantage of me also keeping my poor, sad, day 2 sunburn indoors to start off with.

We started the morning at Margaret River Chocolate Company. You best believe chocolate samples for breakfast was a thing! I do remember coming here both with my primary school camp 20+ years ago and with some friends around 2005ish – the building certainly stands out as distinct. The fresh banana waffles were delicious.

After the chocolate factory, we headed to the Margaret River Dairy Company. I’ve actually never been here before and didn’t know much about it but on arrival, realised we regularly buy their Camembert cheese at our local shops. While there we learnt that they still practice traditional cheese making approaches from back in the 1800s and also bought a cheese sample pack. I had to have my photo taken with the “cow-ntess” of course!

After stocking up on chocolate and cheese, we returned to the holiday apartment. We decided that the clouds looked like they were going away so changed into bathers and drove the 30 mins south to Hamelin Bay which is a gorgeous beach. There were amazing rock formations (geology nerd here) and wild stingrays that came in to the shallows for pats and treats! It was a bit windy so there were not heaps of stingrays but enough I got some photos and had a little touch before I panicked and moved away haha. The stingrays usually only come in if it is calm so they were a bit skittish and hard to photograph.

On the way back from Hamelin Bay we were going to stop at the Boranup Forest lookout but this was completely closed (both viewing stations) due to the recent bushfire. The drive through the area was very sad as we saw all the burnt out areas and closed off roads that went for kilometres.

We stopped at Xanadu Winery on the way back into Margaret River and they were hosting a Sunday session! There was wine tastings, snacks, wine by the glass, live music and outdoor games for people to play. We did a tasting, bought some wine and enjoyed the shade for awhile. I also patted ALL THE DOGS so once again, dogs win over people.

Dinner tonight was only a 2 min walk and was at the highly recommended La Scarpetta Trattoria. Again, I booked ahead using their online booking system since I wasn’t sure how busy this time of year gets down here – while we were there they turned multiple people away so booking ahead was a good call! This is not the cheapest place to eat ($30 a main) but the food was fresh and tasty.

Categories: Australian Getaways, western australia | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Margaret River Day 1: Busselton Jetty, Cowaramup

Posted on January 15, 2022 by Mel

A note before we get started: CARRY YOUR SUNSCREEN WITH YOU IN WA SUMMERS. I am so very sunburnt today.

We started out at 8am to ensure we beat the traffic and had time to wander around Busselton foreshore before our jetty train trip to the underwater observatory. We have both been to Busselton before but don’t really remember it as it was many years ago….and we had never been on the jetty train!

The drive from Perth was about 2hrs 40 mins and we arrived with plenty of time so had some nibbles and drinks at the Shelter Brewing Company. It did seem very decadent to enjoy a cider and a beer at 10:30am. Normal people would sit there and “people watch” but I dog watched instead….so many dogs! The views around the brewery and foreshore are lovely. We didn’t go in the water (a bit cold) but there were lots of kids swimming in the enclosed beach net and jumping off the platforms.

The jetty train (return trip) and underwater observatory tour cost was $36 each to prebook online. The trips going out there still had a few tickets left when we arrived but as it’s school holidays and summer, they were very close to full. The train is electric and solar powered – very cool. It takes you the length of the jetty (1.8kms) with a little commentary about the local area as you travel. At the other end of the jetty is the underwater observatory which is one of only six in the world.

When you get off the train you head inside for your observatory tour. I felt this part was a bit unorganised while we were there – the guide kept telling everyone to be quiet and stay with her as we circled down but there wasn’t enough space on each landing as the tour had so many people so neither kids or adults were listening to her. We ended up staying at the back of the group and just coming down one level at a time behind them. It is very interesting to learn about the artificial reef and how it attracts the fish, you also get to see the fish swimming around and how they change as the levels change while looking through viewing windows. They told us there is a “special needs” seal who sometimes comes and says hello but we didn’t get to see her.

They give you an hour at the observatory but even if you stop at every level and look at each window it won’t take that long. We ended up with 40 mins left so walked up to the end of the jetty for some photos and then waited to catch the train back. Quite a few people from our train opted to walk back the 1.8kms rather than wait ages but I had forgotten sunscreen so we just waited in the shade instead.

We then headed onwards to Margaret River! We stopped at Candy Cow in Cowamarup (a town which embraces its name through the placement of SO MANY GIANT COW STATUES around the place) and bought some snacks while cow-spotting just a few of the 42 life sized fibreglass cows in the local herd.

We are spending the first few nights at an air bnb at Margaret’s Forest Holiday Apartments right in the centre of town. Even though it’s in the town centre, it’s surrounded by bush and is very quiet. There are two balconies we can sit on to enjoy nature (and wine) as well as a fully self contained kitchen. The pricing was very reasonable at $149 a night.

Dinner tonight was prebooked at “Morries” which came highly recommended for their tapas selection and cocktails. Morrie’s was about a 9 min walk from our accomodation at the “other end” of the town strip. They were full (Saturday night) so I was glad we had booked and they also have a 2hr window to be aware of. We tried 4 of their cocktails between us and they were all very good – properly made and no “glossing over” the alcohol amounts. We also tried 4 different tapas dishes and our thoughts are below. We give this place an 8/10 and would return. Bs only issue was the pork belly and mine was the same issue at every place down here – which is they are seriously understaffed so service is a bit of a disaster.

  • Croquettes: mmmm cheesey melty goodness
  • Pork belly: the sauce was nice but the pork belly bites were a little dry
  • Beef cheeks: this dish was melt in your mouth delicious
  • White chocolate brownie dessert: even with a GF brownie this was still pretty good
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Margaret River: planning!

Posted on January 3, 2022 by Mel

Pending Covid 19 restriction changes (thanks naughty backpackers who brought delta back in) we are off to Margaret River in the southwest of WA for a week later this month!

We are spending 4 nights in a lovely little air bnb unit at Margaret’s Forest Holiday Apartments in town where we plan to do all our touristing. It’s about 200m from Settlers Tavern so very central.

We then move and stay 3 nights at Injidup Retreat and Spa which is a 10 villa, adults only retreat where each villa has a private plunge pool and view of the ocean! I had to book 6 months ago to get a vacancy. This will be the relaxing part of our trip with lots of eating, wine, enjoying the view and a few massages booked in.

My list of things I would like to try and do in the Margaret River and Busselton region is lengthy….so we won’t get through everything. I’m hoping we can do half though:

Visit Settlers tavern

Busselton – burnt ends rib co and the Beer Farm

Swings and roundabouts winery – swings and stories wine tasting and platter

Busselton jetty and centre. I want to go on the train!!!

Eat at some of the recommended Margaret River “in town” eateries including : el Toro restaurant, Morries, Arc of Iris, La Scarpetta Trattoria, Margaret river bakery and Egberts

A cave tour (B has never done one)

Cape naturaliste lighthouse tour

Sugarloaf rock – sightseeing point

Winery tour – already booked, includes Yallingup cheese company. It was only an extra $50 to do a private tour so that’s what I went with

Visit Cowamarup and get photos with the cows

Boranup lookout – sightseeing point

Boranup maze (I think this may have been renamed but it still seems to exist)

Hamelin bay beach – stingrays

Margaret river sculpture park

Margaret river chocolate company

Margaret river dairy company

Injidup natural spa – sightseeing point

Passel estate wines – they do great things for possum rehabilitation in the region, save the possums!

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Perth, WA: The Bell Tower

Posted on January 2, 2022 by Mel

Well – it’s been awhile! Long story short Covid 19 has obviously put a stop to pretty much all interstate and international travel. In the midst of border closures and changing quarantine requirements across Australia in 2021 we moved back to Perth (from the ACT) and have settled back here permanently. Hooray! We also lost one of our beloved furry family member Jet to cancer and later adopted a new furry baby named Sasha (pictured below).

On to the touristy blog post….for Christmas in 2021, Bs nana gave us tickets to visit the bell tower in Perth. She particularly wanted us to visit the Anzac Bell which has a lot of significance to her. i had never seen the bell as it was only installed in 2018 and I do think it’s kinda cool she was there the day they installed it and got to give it a hug and have photos with it.

For those who don’t know what the bell tower is….it’s basically a giant tower filled with bells which was built by the government when I was in primary school. I haven’t been to visit it since my first year of high school when entry used to be free! So more than twenty years ago now.

More info here: https://www.thebelltower.com.au

The bell tower is located on the recently rebuilt Elizabeth quay area (right in the middle) which is pretty fly looking these days. We enjoyed a drink and a little wander along the river before heading in with our prepaid $10 general entry tickets. Masks are mandatory here at the moment so as you can see, we were all masked up.

The bell tower has 6 levels. We walked up the stairs but there is a small lift. A few of the levels have some interesting info about bells, time and the tower to read and learn.

We walked up each level and spent some time on the observation deck at the top.

Not my best photo ever! It was 40C and I was struggling in the heat

The Anzac bell only rings at a specific time (midday) on 4 days of the week. We moved on to level 4 about 10 mins beforehand to get a good spot. It rang for around 1 min and it was impressive to watch.

After visiting the bell tower (which took an hour in total) we walked about a kilometre up the road and had Tony Roma’s for lunch. Yum!

Things to be aware of:

  • There is a cost to enter starting from $10 and going up to $50 ish for tours
  • We went on a day it wasn’t busy, I can imagine it gets quite crowded in there and holy crap was it hot! Worth being aware of before you go
  • The bells only ring at certain times on certain days, check the website before visiting
  • There are lots of places to eat, have a drink and sit on the river nearby
Categories: perth, western australia | Tags: , , | 2 Comments

Staycation in Canberra: Jamala Wildlife Lodge

Posted on October 1, 2020 by Mel

I have been lobbying B to stay here since it first opened in 2014 but he’s always said no because the cost is….to be blunt….totally insane. He finally agreed given we have had to cancel all our other travel this year and I have had some extra unexpected income recently which paid for half of it.

Jamala Wildlife Lodge is based at Canberra Zoo. They have a variety of accomodation but I’ve always wanted to stay in a “jungle bungalow” which is approx $2000 a night. I told you….the pricing is totally bonkers! Their website says “The Jungle Bungalows are luxurious individual suites adjoining a variety of enclosures throughout the property. A glass wall is all that will separate you from a pride of lions, cheetahs, tiger or a Malayan sun bear! Regardless of whether you are relaxing in your lounge area, resting in bed or taking a leisurely bath, you will only be a heartbeat away from these amazing creatures. All rooms feature king beds, bath robes, indulgent bath tubs, optional climate control, complimentary wireless internet, music system with MP3 input, television with complimentary Foxtel and premium TV.”

So, we booked in for a night during the September school holidays. They sent us a lot of information beforehand and were very responsive to queries. The schedules they use at the moment are slightly adjusted due to covid 19 but this was our pre-prepared schedule! We also added two extra experiences to this – giraffe encounter and white lion feeding – which were booked in on day 1.

We arrived at 1pm to check in and were provided with afternoon tea at the Ushaka Lodge which was delicious. The lodge has a beautiful view over the local land and there were also some lemurs just….hanging out. Jamala provide a self guided tour for the afternoon session but we headed off on our own tour as there was giraffe feeding to be done! We fed Shabu the male giraffe and also got to meet his lady friend and 1 year old calf.

After the giraffe feeding, we met the zoo staff at one of the gazebos and collected our bungalow keys. For most people this meant from 3-7pm they hang out in their bungalow with their animals. We took a brief detour on the way back to the bungalow to feed Jake the white lion, and meet his sister Mishka.

After feeding Jake the very hungry (and demanding!) white lion with his keeper Ryan – the zoo owners son – we headed to Jungle Bungalow 5 with Mya and Melita the toddler tiger twins! I was a teeny, tiny bit excited when we walked in to this….hi there 2 year old 120kg tiger friend!!

When we were in the bath they mostly laid here and watched us….or wrestled each other!

We settled in with a bubble bath, watching tigers wrestle/nap and some champagne to tide us over until dinner. Just before 7pm we were collected and taken to the rainforest cave for dinner alongside the white lions and hyenas. The dinner and drinks were all included and the food was mostly very good – B got unlucky with a not so great steak but mine was delicious – and the paired drink options were all good quality. I haven’t been so full in ages!

This collage shows some of the afternoon tea snacks on day 1, dinner canapés + main + dessert and our breakfast choices the next day!

After dinner, they drive you back to hang out and watch your animal friends some more before you tuck in for bed next to them!

Our morning tiger view

We then woke up to sleepy tigers quite early (6:30am!) and some small pastries before heading off on an animal tour and feeding experience. We got to see dingos howl, monkeys use tools, lemurs wrestle for snacks and learn about how they are combating the rhino horn trade.

After the tour, we had breakfast (more delicious food in the rainbow cave) followed by another 90 mins of hanging out with our tiger friends and people watching because this time…we could see all the people looking into the enclosure from the viewing spots! they had privacy barriers up from 3pm the day before but they do warn you they take them down in the morning.

Verdict

A few people on Facebook asked me “was it worth the money?”. I think the answer to this has a few parts. First of all, there are not many (f any) places with this level of experience and accomodation in Australia. So choices are limited. It’s also in very high demand, usually getting in during school holidays is pretty dang hard to do! There is also the aspect here of this particular facility being wholly privately owned and funded and the work they do is amazing….we feel it’s worth paying the premium to support such a dedicated organisation and staff.

Secondly, it’s definitely not an every day thing. We had 2 overseas trips planned this year and haven’t gone on either which is how I was able to convince B to even consider this amount for one night lol. So when asking was it worth it, B said he felt it was a fantastic one-off experience that was worth doing but not something we would repeat.

Finally, we chose to go top tier with the experience on advice from others. There are rooms at the lodge for approximately $1200 a night and the giraffe treehouse is $1500 a night. The advice we had from people who had stayed in these rooms was if you’re only doing it once….go all out. Geez, I am glad we listened!

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Staycation in Canberra: Norton Road Winery / Biggies BBQ

Posted on September 26, 2020 by Mel

Last weekend we went out to try Biggies BBQ in Wamboin, NSW. It’s about a 35 minute drive from our house on the north side of Canberra. It’s literally about 5 minutes past the ACT/NSW border which is why i am still counting it as Canberra!

The location for Biggies BBQ is at Norton Road Wines which is a gorgeous location. It seems they do weddings and events as well. We booked for lunch at 12:30 and arrived a little early to sit at the tasting area and taste some wines. They mostly specialise in reds and we ended up buying a rose and a Pinot noir from them.

Then it was BBQ time! There are very few – if any – places left in Canberra that do southern BBQ these days so B was very excited. I thought the brisket and pork belly were AMAZING but the ribs were not tender enough for my taste. We will definitely return though! This platter was $50 and we added the Mac and cheese for an extra $5 . They also serve local beers.

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Japan 2020 Day 16+17: Niseko to Sapporo to Osaka to Kuala Lumpur to Sydney to Canberra! Phew

Posted on January 23, 2020 by Mel

I was so excited to see my fur babies again today!

Our trip home was a bloody long one! It’s always challenging coming home/going to Niseko due to the Japan domestic travel legs but because we were flying Air Asia it was even longer than usual. On the plus side, the flat beds were once again very comfortable and I had no knee issues because we didn’t spent 12-15hrs in economy.

We left our lovely Freedom Inn hosts with a parting Australian gift of caramello koalas. While we love this accomodation, I am not sure if we will ever return. The large attraction here for B is that you have access to Hanazono lifts early every day and there is very little accomodation on this side of Niseko so its super quiet until around 11am….however as of yesterday a GIANT Park Hyatt hotel has opened on this side of the resort. That, combined with the increase in smaller accomodation venues nearby, means those quiet lift days will be long gone as Hanazono just doesn’t have the infrastructure to support an influx of that many people. It’s just so pretty though! And I really like the small, no drunken idiots feel they accomplish most of the time.

We departed Freedom Inn for Sapporo using a 2hr private transfer as the coach was going to be problematic in terms of timing. It cost a fair bit more than the coach but the stress was hugely reduced around making flights etc. The transfer dropped us at Sapporo’s New Chitose airport and then we flew on a domestic JAL flight to Osaka.

We accessed the public landside lounge there and it was great for a few hours rest while we waited for the air Asia checkin to open. I really wanted to buy duty free in Osaka (ummm hello sake and umeshu!) but had read a lot of things online saying Australian laws now say it will be confiscated if you are transiting in between where you buy it and your Australian destination. Dammit. I used our 6hr stop over here to sit on hold to NRMA insurance in Australia as both our cars have been damaged in a hail storm back home. I did eventually get through. Position 20 was a great improvement from the day before where I was position 189 and the wait time was over 16000 minutes.

From Osaka we flew with flat beds to KL overnight, then had a brief stop before we transited on to Sydney. The air Asia lounge at KL is pretty shit, we highly recommend the SamaSama lounge if you can afford the $30AUD. You get bette power point access, free food and more comfortable chairs. Plus better toilet and shower facilities. This time around we stuck to our included air Asia lounge access since it was only a short stop over. We also got some duty free here – yummy umeshu (plum wine)!

At Sydney we had planned to try something new. Because our flight got in just as the last flight to Canberra for the day left, we were faced with an overnight stay and then an early flight the next day (lots of $$$) or the 11pm bus which meant a 3 hr wait, then a 3hr bus trip and then a 40 min Uber ride home at 2am. Ergh. So we were going to give RoadJet a go. Basically a private car picks you and your luggage up in Sydney and drives you to your house in Canberra. I booked and paid for it about 3 months ago and they have been great with checking in with me beforehand, reassuring me about road closures due to the fires etc. However when we landed, I got an email telling me our hire car in Canberra had been cancelled and there were literally NO HIRE CARS left within two hours of Canberra. So we cancelled road jet at the last minute, hired a car at Sydney airport for 3 weeks and drove 3hrs home.

We finally arrived home just before 1am this morning. Our next few days will be filled with continuing to sort out insurance as it seems there is a good chance both our cars are likely to be write offs….but at least no bushfires came through!

Categories: Japan Snow Trip | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

Japan 2020 Day 15: Niseko (Hirafu and Kutchan)

Posted on January 20, 2020 by Mel

B went off to enjoy his last day frolicking in the snow and I woke up with a sore throat and the sniffles – lucky me! I caught the shuttle into Hirafu Upper Village to enjoy my last morning soak at Hirafu-Tei onsen. After a very peaceful time on my own in the outdoor bath, I got dressed and headed over to be first in line for Tozanken Ramen again. Yep, the first time must have just been a not-so-good day because the pork ramen was once again DELICIOUS.

After my ramen fix, I wandered back up the hill to Niseko Alpen Hotel where I had been told they sell Milk KOBO at their small cafe. I had been hearing all about this amazing local cream product for the last week but getting to where it is (a dairy farm on the other side of the mountain) on a bus was a pain in the ass. Yesterday, our driver from Freedom Inn mentioned that this tiny hotel cafe often has it in stock – woohoo! They had Creme Catalana which was like icecream but not icecream – it really was delicious. Niseko Alpen Hotel also has feee visitor wifi which is a bonus.

I got the shuttle and walked back to our accomodation around midday, then I had a nap before B returned around 3:30pm. We settled up our account with Freedom Inn and confirmed our private transfer to the airport for early tomorrow morning before heading off to Mt Yotei onsen for one last soak. While we were there I bought some adorable handmade mittens (made by a disability collective) I had been eyeing off for the last week.

Then it was off to eat delicious ramen at Nakama one last time! This time B got the Ume Shio (with pork) which is their “Star flavour” and was recommended by both staff at the hotel and the Michelin guide. He was a fan although he eats pretty much everything.

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Japan 2020 day 14: Rusutsu and Otaru day trips from Niseko

Posted on January 19, 2020 by Mel

Today B went off to Rusutsu (a different powder ski resort about 30 mins from Hirafu) to meet some Australian friends and ski for the day while I navigated the local train system to make my way to Otaru for a day trip.

B used the “Donan” bus service which had a special one running from Hirafu Welcome Centre to Rusutsu and back for the day – we just got our accomodation to call up and book a spot for him since we don’t speak Japanese fluently. The bus was about ¥1000 each way and was fairly easy to use. He liked Rusutsu because it was a bit quieter than Hirafu and the hotels had lots of weird critters.

I had worked out where the local “Niseko United” bus stop at the welcome centre was yesterday so we caught a local bus together from Hanazono Base (a 5 min walk from our accomodation) and then I got on the Kutchan bus while he departed on his day trip with a busload of other snow people. I got off at Kutchan Station (¥400) where I discovered they don’t accept the ICOCA card because they are classified as “rural”. Dammit. It was ¥1290 each way so about $17 and I bought my tickets at a ticket machine. Local trains are waaaaay smaller than usual and this one was pretty full.

The internet tells me “Otaru is a port city known for glass works, music boxes and sake distilleries. They were originally an important fish processing area in the 1920s so the cities series of local canals is a point of difference to other nearby towns.”

I got off at Otaru station and walked down to the canal bridge known as “Chua bridge”. The short walk from here to “Asakusa Bridge” is apparently the most popular for the canal and there were a lot of tourists taking pictures – me included.

From there, I walked about 100m back up to Sakaimaich Street where I started my walk along one side towards the music box museum. I had decided to start at one end and head towards the music box museum, then work my way down the other side of the main street back towards the canal viewing station….checking out all the cheesecake shops as I went. There were a lot of cheesecake shops. And sushi shops. If only I ate sushi! I definitely eat cheesecake though and I enjoyed free samples at every single branch of Le Tao I walked past haha. I also bought some Otaru handmade glass as that’s another thing the area is known for. These were the snacks I brought back for B from the cheese shops.

The music box museum looked cool on the outside but I missed the steam clock out the front by a whole 2 mins and there were A LOT of people inside. I had a quick look through but nothing really stood out as awesome. Apparently there are sections you can go in to where the older music boxes are displayed but there was no signage for this and I gave up trying to find it after doing a few laps.

I then walked back down the other side of the main street and caught the train back to Kutchan Station (it’s worth noting the train both ways is insanely busy and some people had to stand the whole 1hr 20 mins) and then the local bus back to the Hirafu Welcome Centre. I arrived about an hour before B was due back from Rusutsu so I checked out the Niseko Alpen Hotel Onsen while I waited for him. It does not have a no tattoos sign but I had mine covered with white bandage tape today. The outside onsen here also looks on to a ski field which was a nice way to pass the time. Costs ¥1000 which is pretty standard tourist pricing.

For dinner tonight we ordered what one of the workers calls “Japanese McDonald’s” which is known as Hotto Motto. They are all over japan and do cheap bento boxes and curry as take aways so our accomodation arranged to collect it for us and we ate in the room. Not bad for ¥590.

Last day on the snow tomorrow before we start the long trip back to Canberra!

Japanese food eaten: weird breakfast pastry, katsu pork curry, triple cheese cheesecake, cheese biscuits, petit almonds and strawberries from LeTAO

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Japan 2020 Day 13: Niseko (Hirafu Village and Kutchan)

Posted on January 18, 2020 by Mel

This morning I got up with B and caught the shuttle bus from Hanazono to Hirafu with a mission in mind! First – onsen time. I went back to Hirafu-tei and once again had the onsen to myself just before it closed for the lunch break. I then made my way back to the Hirafu welcome centre, purchased a delicious baileys hot chocolate and began a concentrated look out mission for the local bus. There are no labeled bus stops at the welcome centre – it’s a bloody bus/van free for all – and my plan tomorrow is to catch the local bus to the local train station and then catch that train to Otaru for a day trip….but I need to know where the local bus stops first! It was scheduled to arrive at 11:07am and I furtively noted its arrival and departure spot (relatively punctual because this is japan) from my coffee shop location. I also got pretty photos of Mt Yotei which was finally not fogged in.

After playing bus spotto, I wandered down the road to Tozanken ramen and grabbed a number. I was first in line! Woohoo. Their pork ramen is really good although only one slice of pork in the standard dish whereas Nakama (the place we ate last night) had 5 slices in their standard one and it was cheaper. I had the “set” this time which had really good gyoza and was ¥1100. I swear the ramen was better this time than the other day but I was really hungry….

When B got back from the snow we used the private hot bath at the accomodation again so he could relax his muscles and I could float around like a garden fairy while drinking vending machine hot chocolate….coz that’s what hot baths are for right? I also secretly love they are calling him B Smith as his name since I booked all the accomodation this time under my surname haha.

For dinner, we went to Izakaya Nidaime Samurai which was once again recommended by our accomodation. It was kinda like Japanese tapas! Bs friend who was also here skiing from Australia joined us. They had a lot of drink options here and apparently match really well to what dishes you order, we mostly stuck with beer and umeshu though. This place was super reasonably priced – we had 6 shared dishes and 9 drinks for ¥11000 between us all.

The food was excellent – sashimi, pork, chicken, salmon, Japanese omelette and sablefish were all delicious. There was nothing we tried we didn’t like! Except for me who tried sashimi for the first time haha….you can see below for how that went!

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