Beef Club Noel
I first visited this yoshoku-style steakhouse in December 2019, then again with Aaron in February 2020.
Four years later, I made a three-hour round trip out of my way to find that the master had handed the business down to his son, and (thankfully) that he was every bit as talented at preparing matsusaka-gyu as his father.
Anyway, here's what 300 grams and ¥15,000 of Japanese sirloin (ロース) steak looks like:
Same as ever. Best steak I've ever had. And compared to Orlando's prices, an absolute steal at $95.
If you like your steak prepared in an American style (that is to say, thick cut, cooked for you, and eaten with a fork and a knife), then this might be the very best way to experience what many consider to be the highest-quality beef in Japan. Super glad I made the trip to come back!
Tabelogged: 魚処やつはし
Tabelogged: 居酒屋 ちょん兵衛
Tabelogged: いきいき亭 近江町店
Ohmicho Fish Market (近江町市場)
I first visited Kanazawa's incredible fish market last year, including this silly video about my hunt for a fresh fish bowl (kaisen-don):
Well I came back today with the intention of getting there early enough to visit the shop I'd originally intended to go to. Last year it was sold out by the time I got there (noon?) and when I told the chef the story this morning he congratulated me on coming back for a "revenge dish".
So here it is, a crab rice bowl (kani-don):
Would recommend! 🦀
Computer Bldg.
I walked in to give them a piece of my mind, but the elevator button didn't do anything no matter how many times I pressed it.
Tabelogged: やきとり家すみれ 鳥取店
Tabelogged: KAEN
Tottori Sand Dunes
So basically there's a large natural sand dune in the least populated prefecture of Japan, Tottori.
As someone who grew up enjoying Michigan's Sleeping Bear Dunes, I agreed to visit them after the lady seated next to me at the SoftBank SeaHawks baseball game suggested I go visit after Matsue.

Well, I did!
Here's to two more weeks of sand in my shoes I can never quite clean out.
Lake Shinji Sunset Spot
Aaron insisted that while I was in Matsue, I visit its renowned sunset spot in a park along the eastern shore of Lake Shinji.
I'm not a huge sunrise/sunset person, but what else was I going to be doing at 7:12pm on a Thursday? So I walked down and checked it out:
It was very pretty. If you're a fan of the life-giving fusion power generator that is Sol, you'd probably dig this view.
Tabelogged: レストラン 西洋軒
Tabelogged: 呉竹鮨
Matsue Castle

The first overnight stop on my tour of the north side of Honshu was Matsue. As its castle is among a handful of original castles to survive in Japan (similar to my adopted hometown of Hikone), I felt obligated to drop in and scope out the joint.
And I'm glad I did! Seriously, this is one of the most beautiful and well-maintained castles I've visited in Japan. Really glad I came.
What it's like traveling with Aaron Patterson
During our visit to Zamami Island with Aaron earlier this week, a young woman approached us and asked if we spoke English. (This is exceedingly rare. In 20 years of traveling to Japan, I don't think anyone has ever assumed I speak anything but English.) She proceeded to ask Aaron if he'd take her group's picture, so I snapped this photo of him obliging:

Later in the day I mentioned having taken a picture of him taking the picture and he responded, "oh yeah, I took a selfie!"
So I zoomed:

And then I enhanced:

Yep. Sure as shit, there's Aaron taking a selfie with this girl's camera.
XOXO is back for one last festival this August. Having always wanted to attend, I was about to buy a ticket when I thought to click through to the COVID policy mentioned in their announcement e-mail:
All XOXO participants are required to wear a high-quality mask at all times while inside Washington High (including Revolution Hall, Show Bar, and all common areas inside the venue), the reserved area for Park Pass holders in the tent, as well as at any festival event on our schedule where masks are required.
I knew XOXO was frequented by hipsters, so I'll grant that an all-N95-all-the-time policy in late-2024 is decidedly vintage.
Park Pass holders will have access to reserved seating in the tent at Washington High Park, a large, shaded, well-ventilated space for viewing the simulcast of our main stage programming. Park Pass holders are required to wear a high-quality mask at all times while in the reserved seating area.
Even outdoors, too? Pass.