That Day I Threw Some Japanese Udon Noodles into the Simmering Pot.

This is not a video taken in an udon shop but a hot pot restaurant. In Osaka, there is a hot pot restaurant chain called "Shabutei" that serves shabu-shabu in a single pot dedicated to you. Shabutei impresses customers with its original sesame sauce and locals who have been to this chain will first recall the taste and flavor of that "silver sesame".

Decades ago, the author was in charge of managing a bar in Mitsutera-suji, a sub-area in Osaka's Minami district where, along with more famous Soemon-cho, there are many high-end clubs. I was still in my twenties, and the hostesses of the high-class clubs used to visit my bar as customers. It was around that time that I first encountered the taste of Shabutei.

Shabu-shabu is truly soul food to me as well as most Japanese people, with each guest throwing meat and vegetables into a his or her dedicated single pot although the video contains only Udon noodles, which are a unique part of this shabu-shabu dish. Whenever I visit this restaurant, the udon is my ultimate goal.

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Ohtsuki Mickey(@mickozky)がシェアした投稿

FIREWORKS THAT COULD SET THE FOREST ABLAZE, BUT DON'T WORRY, WE ARE IN A WATER CITY

Last July 25 was the day of Tenjin Festival. However, for the last three years since the COVID-19 disaster, there were no fireworks, a summer tradition. Therefore, last night was the first fireworks display in four years. For several years prior to the Corona Disaster, I was invited by a friend who lives in a cultural property building adjacent to Sakuranomiya Park and had the rare opportunity to view the fireworks from close range of the launching pad.

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Ohtsuki Mickey(@mickozky)がシェアした投稿

Tenjin Matsuri is a festival in the city of water, and fireworks are launched from the riverside. There are a lot trees in the park, and when watched from a close distance, it seems as if the forest is about to be set on fire as you worry as you watch my video. But I don't think we should underestimate the festival in the city of water. Fireworks display with water, sky, fire, and earth in the hot season. I hear that bidding for the Osaka Expo has been stalled, but I think the Tenjin Festival reflects the essence of Osaka as a city with history and culture.