i’ve eaten at the best places around the world and there is no place better than right here in japan. the quality, service, and culture is just too good.

this restaurant called “UN” in wakayama is really hard to find. it’s on a back road so you have to know where to look. one of my favorite places to eat in the world.

i can’t read the menu but i know everything is fresh and good.

normal procedure is to start off with an ice cold draft asahi super dry. kanpai!

the master bought out this cool looking shell and then some weird animal crawled out.

it almost came completely out of the shell. it was moving so wildly.

10 minutes later, it was still moving all sliced up on a dish ready for the wasabi/shoyu.

everybody loves ryakyo!

when i first walked in, i was looking for the ika because i love ika. i didn’t see any so i asked. the master said “no, not today.” then while we were eating dinner, he disappeared to the back and came out holding a live ika. then he said “now we have ika.” a local fisherman just caught the ika and brought it to the restaurant. the timing couldn’t have been perfect. from the ocean to my mouth. it was unbelievable!

thank you Kimura-san for taking me to your secret hiding place. i love it!
traveling around in japan to different prefectures is so cool. different kinds of foods in different areas. i’m so fortunate to be able to try everything.
so when people ask me “where is the best food in the world?” my answer is and always will be “JAPAN ICHIBAN!”

Everyday we live off the ocean.
Please take care of her.
Morning session at the harbor.
I love this lifestyle.

just a few weeks after the tsunami, i came to Kobochihama and couldn’t believe the damage. it was a total mess! boats, houses, and just debris everywhere. you could barely walk. then as we neared the harbor, we seen fisherman after fisherman cleaning up little by little. no machines, all by hand. all i could remember was the determination of these amazing men trying to get their fishing village back to normal. so coming here yesterday and seeing the harbor almost complete was a great sight.

and the scallop shells getting ready for oyster season.

it’s amazing how they harvest oysters. a technique passed on from generations to generations.

like always, Kimura-san pulls his boat up and we go exploring the sea of Kobochihama. it couldn’t have been a more perfect day!

the water was beautiful!!!! Hiyori-chan and Ryoko-san enjoying a dip in the ocean. after this, i jumped in and as soon as i hit the water, i felt reborn! such a beautiful place to be!

then we did some fishing on the dock. fish after fish for dinner.

then there was a matsuri or festival going on so we went to enjoy some culture.

and yes, there is hundreds of years of culture in this beautiful village.

it’s so cool how everybody knows everybody. i seen some of the kids we first met on Mission 1 here and they were all grown up.

they just reopened the minshiku here that was flooded by the tsunami. now it’s so beautiful and the food couldn’t get any better. this is the part i love about japan. the food was amazing!

tako and abalone. omg!

and of course, whale sashimi too. this is really good!

the Kimura-san family has a strong presence here in Kobochihama. generations and generations of hard work. a family i have a lot of respect for, and a family that i’m glad to have met. they make me feel like home here and made me really think of living here after i retire. i love the simple life. wake up, go out on the boat and catch dinner, come back and enjoy family time. the old japan fisherman style. i had such an awesome day enjoying and soaking up the true japanese culture.
today we’re going to experience some rare culture, and i’m going to make my long journey back to shonan. it’s always sad leaving here, but knowing i’ll be back again makes me very happy. the passion in the people and the progress going on here makes me understand what the true meaning what “ganbatteru” means. i love it!