ONGOING REVIEWS

UPCOMING REVIEWS (Places You Should Patronize)
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TAKANAMI CAFE
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HULA CAFE
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RIKA
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FLOWERS
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RAMEN TARO
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TORIMASA
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WEXFORD TAVERN
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After my initial posts last year, I did research on a couple more restaurant entries. Then I lost my precious Moleskine notebook with those listings and have been in a blogging funk ever since. And then procrastination set in, concrete on the feet of the potential restaurant reviewer and person about town!

But enough is enough! Back into it!
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WAFU DINING CHOBOYA
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http://homepage3.nifty.com/chobo-ya/, http://choboya.net
(their own blog, in Japanese: http://chobo.way-nifty.com/)
This little place always caught my attention before we finally got enough nerve to go inside and try it out. We were pleasantly surprised. Dark interior; a little moody. But good for adults and also fine for kids. Affordable prices. Nice customer service, although we had to wait quite a bit for the food to come out on the weeknight we visited; the guy looked like he was understaffed but he had close to a full house. Good chuhais (all 200 yen!) to quench the hot summer thirst. The chicken mochi gratin (850 yen) was really good, as was the avocado tofu salad (650 yen).  We ordered a bunch of other things but I guess the 200 yen chuhais started to catch up with me! Nothing was bad. Check out the coupons at the entrance for a discount on the meal.

ThatMan

ThatMan
Here's another great local blog.

Scribbler's Cafe

Scribbler's Cafe
A very good read from someone else in the city. Check her out. I'll have to ask her about where that crazy restaurant is in Umeda...

Pizza Delivery !?!

OK, I know this is a bit sad, and it's not particularly creative, but everyone has to start somewhere. And who can say they don't get the craving for a pizza every now and then.

LITTLE PIZZA PARTY
http://demae-can.com/litopa/order/shop_top.html?kukaku=28204083000
http://www.litopa.com (general)

This is one local chain that both has a physical store in Shukugawa, and takes both phone orders and, a first for me, Internet pizza orders. This is a nifty trick and the main reason I use them--I'm a sucker for glitzy tech solutions, I guess. To make 'net orders you have to set up a free account and password the first time. They give out coupons and Internet specials. There are other stores in Takarazuka and other areas.

The pizza is not super, but it's good enough, in my opinion. We've had the okonomi-yaki, too, and it's pretty good.

Menu: Everything from sets and specials to order-made pizza from 1710 yen for a large with no toppings. Toppings, special crusts and the like are added to the basic price. Also has okonomi-yaki, yakisoba, fries, beer, and other side orders.

Phone for orders: 0798-71-2277
Located on Koshikiiwa-suji between Shukugawa Stn. and Kurakuenguchi Stn.
Language: Japanese only, I think.

Japanese maps of Kurakuenguchi environs

Hankyu's Kurakuenguchi Station is near Kikutani-cho, Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan

This is a guide to the neighborhood around Kurakuenguchi Station on the Hankyu Line in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture in western Japan. I will start by looking at the area around Kikutani-cho near the station, but if other people in the neighborhoods nearby have other tips I'd love to see postings about them, too.

I want to fill the gap in information in English on the stores, restaurants, and bars in the neighborhood.

I'll get a photo or two online later.

Ariki