Suminodo is a city outside of Osaka. Right by the train station is where Kumi's parents have a place. I could even see the train platform from their window. In fact that is how Kumi's mom would see Kumi's dad off when he went on trips. After so many years of marriage they still have such a sweet relationship ... I want a partner in life like that too ^_^.

That evening one of Kumi's cousins came to stay the night also. It was decided we would eat okonomiyaki, which is one of my favorite dishes. Okonomiyaki is basically a hybrid between the idea of a pizza where you put your favorite toppings on it and the batter of a pancake (minus all the sweet stuff). You receive all the ingredients raw and you have to stir them together. Then you put them on the flat grill in the middle of the table like you would make a pancake, but believe me, this is no pancake. After a while you flip them over and cover them with sauce, mayo, ginger, bonito flakes, whatever you like really.

Some prefectures in Japan are famous for their version of okonomiyaki. For example putting in cabbage and/or yaki-soba into the batter is supposided to be Hiroshima-style (I think).

On the way back from the Okonomiyaki place I noticed the Katsu-Curry restaurant. My friend Gerard back in Florida highly recommended that I eat Katsu-Curry this time when I visited Japan, and suddenly there it was with it's bright neon sign lighting up the night. But I was full of okonomiyaki already ... Instead we went to the supermarket by the train station just before they closed.

The very next day I had an appointment to meet with a professor at Seiwa University, so I tried not to stay up too late, but it is challenging when I met new, fun and exciting people. Kumi's mom had so many interesting things to talk about. Kumi's sister came back from her concert with tons of energy and Kumi's cousin was so easy to get along with ... I just didn't want to go to bed. It felt like a sleep-over party.

But finally I went to bed.

And the next morning Kumi's mom greeted me with an a washoku style breakfast. And I headed off to brave the underground tunnels of the Osaka stations on my own.