Take me out to the ball game....

I am not a fan of baseball, but I absolutely love going to Japanese baseball games. Do you think that's weird? Before you answer that question, you should go to a Japanese baseball game. Even if you are not really into baseball. Then, if you still think I'm weird, please feel free to come on here and call me weird. It's okay. I can handle it.

This summer has been a crazy one for me so while I have been wanting to go to a baseball game, I just have not had time. Then, last Friday, I finally made it to a game. Not just any game either. They were playing the Yomiuri Giants. The Giants are probably one of the most (maybe THE most) popular teams in Japan. Thank goodness we got there a little early because the game was sold out and we had non-reserved tickets. It's always nice when everyone can sit together.

Once we had found some seats, a few of us made the trek downstairs to the food area. I have to say, the Mazda Zoom Zoom Stadium (I LOVE that name!) has a very impressive food area. There is just about anything you could want from hot dogs to udon. It was super crowded so there were people everywhere, but we managed to find some spots that didn't have super long lines. The game was getting ready to start and I didn't want to miss it! Oh. Wait. I didn't go for the baseball.......really. I continued to wander around trying to take pictures of some of the different eateries. It was hard with so many people walking around, but I did get a few pictures. I also thought it would be a little less crowded if I came back a little later in the evening.

The squid rings were good! If you like squid (I do!!).

Jan Jaka

Jan Jaka is a nice yakiniku restaurant that is not too far away from the base. They have some pretty decent lunch sets so that was where Kimberly and I decided to go for lunch the other day.

They do have English menus and their staff can speak a little English so ordering is not a problem.

After looking over the menu for a few minutes, neither one of us wanted yakiniku. She ordered a salad and some spring rolls (SUPER yummy!!) and I ordered the Ishiyaki Bibinba set. Ishiyaki Bibinba is a rice dish that has vegetables and egg and a little bit of meat in it. It is served in a really hot stone bowl and you are supposed to mix it all up right away and press it into the bowl a little. You can also add some hot sauce to make it spicy if you like. I love bibinba. Even when I go for dinner I order a bibinba with my yakiniku.

Here is the set I ordered -

I took some pictures inside so you could see how nice it is. You can also see that there is a grill in the middle of the table. All of their tables have the grill.

They also have some larger rooms in the back for parties. I've organized a dinner there for 12 people and there was plenty of room for a few more.

It wasn't long before they started bringing our food out. The salad that Kimberly ordered looked so good. The sesame dressing there is AMAZING. I think all sesame dressing is amazing, but theirs is like the amazingest! Is that a word?

AND the dressing comes in these cute little bowls!

Kimberly also ordered some Bibinba Spring Rolls....

......OH - MY - GOSH! They're yummy.

My lunch set came with a little salad and some soup and you could either choose a drink or dessert. I chose dessert.
This is how they bring the Bibinba to you -

and this is how it looked after I mixed it up....

.....and took a few bites. I meant to get a picture right after I had finished mixing, but I was talking and listening and talking....and talking. Hey. Kimberly and I haven't seen eachother in a while. We had lots of talking to do!

Here's my little salad.

They don't put sesame dressing on the little ones that come with the set, but the dressing they do use is very tasty. You can probably ask them to change it to sesame though. The worse that can happen is they say no and you still get some yummy dressing.

The soup is like a broth with seaweed and green onions in it. I really like their broth too.

Especially in the winter time.

I did remember to take pictures from the outside this time. I know. Impressive. It really is. I have to be one of the most forgetful people around. I blame it on getting older, but I think I've been like this all of my life.

To get to Jan Jaka, I prefer to go out of the Monzen Gate. Go right to the main road. Turn left and follow that until you get to a light. Turn right at the light and follow that for a few minutes until you see a road that you can turn right onto. Turn right and you should go over some railroad tracks. At the next light, turn left. After a minute or so, you should see the sign for Jan Jaka on your right.

Here is a picture of the entry with their hours posted on the left.

Great place for lunch or dinner. Kids love it because you get to cook your own food. I think that's why some adults love it too.

Have you been to Jan Jaka? What's your favorite thing about going there? Please share!

Molly Malone

Every now and then I want some good....non-Japanese food. Maybe I should say non-Asian food. I want something greasy and heavy and good! When I get that feeling, I usually head to Hiroshima. I really like KeMBY's, The Shack, and Molly Malone's. I am not sure if The Shack is still open though. I think I heard that it closed....or maybe they moved..?? Maybe I'll have to go to Hiroshima again soon and check it out.

This time I went to Molly Malone's. I love their fish and chips! I also love the fact that I don't feel like I'm in Japan when I walk in. It's a nice little Irish pub. As much as I love Japan, it's nice to escape every now and then for a couple of hours.

They have English menus and our server spoke really good English so no worries there.

I really do love their fish and chips.

So much so that I order it every time I go. This time, I thought I would try something different since Jason was going to order the fish and chips. How boring would it be if I only blogged about the fish and chips? They really are tasty though. I was super tempted, but I figured I could steal some of Jason's food so I went ahead and ordered Uncle Arthur's Pie. It sounded interesting and I had never tried it before.

It was pretty tasty. Like a beef pot pie.

I'm not a beer drinker, but they have Guiness on tap and you can also order a Black and Tan. I'm not sure what that is, but I did take a picture of it. They also have Heineken on tap and they have what looks like an ice box around it. Yeah...I'm not very knowledgable about beer. Apparently having it in an ice case or box is a big deal though because once it was pointed out to me I was also told I had to go back and, "check it out". It looked okay. I think I was supposed to be a little more excited about it. Did I mention I'm not a beer drinker?

I am, however, a lover of dessert.

And their chocolate cake is pretty fantastic. It came with these little coconut truffle-like things that were so good.


I'm going to give very basic directions because Hiroshima is big and there are a couple of ways to get there. I usually take the train, but we drove up this time and parked in a lot that was about 3 blocks from the restaurant. It was 800yen for a couple of hours so parking in Hiroshima can be pricey, but it was cheaper than train tickets for three adults and two children.

Molly Malone's is located across the street from the second Parco building. The second building is the one that is not right across from Starbucks. If you go into the second Parco building from the side where you can see the Starbucks, just walk through to the other side and exit. Once you exit, cross the street and you should see a sign for Molly Malone's. It really is right across the street from Parco. It's a busy main street so make sure you aren't coming out on the wrong side.

The next time you get a craving for some fish and chips, or you just feel like sitting in an Irish Pub and have a Guinness or some Heineken that comes out of a tap that is surrounded by an ice case (Wow!!), you should definitely check out Molly Malone's!