Arima juhachi-ban — Restaurant in Kobe

I'll be honest. The main reason I came to Arima onsen was to re eat this akayashiyaki dish. The first time I ate it , it was good. It's complex and mixes well with local liquor.

Second time. Astounding!

1 year later.... today as I write this review. I have tried so many akayashiyaki places in Osaka. Even made a video of an old master.

Nothing outside compares to this shop. A young couple running this joint.

Yes they accept credit cards too.

The fried tofu in the picture. It's silken tofu. Not the rubber variety... it's the melt in you mouth tofu... it's so good and complex it's insane.

The reason for the 3rd try?

Last two times I came here I was hungry ... maybe that made it tasty.

But no... this shop is artisian quality.

I have to wonder if the michelion judges have come here...

Because this beats other two star restaurants...

(Trip was made back then on 9 Dec 2019, 2 years before the Covid-19 Pandemic hit)

Couldn’t find much lunch options while exploring Yumotozaka, so we ended up at a restaurant which serves akashiyaki and gyoza. The former being a specialty which originated from Akashi.

Think of it as something resembling to takoyaki, except it’s mostly made with eggs and served with a broth instead of sauce. Luckily, we got to try this Akashi specialty since we missed the chance while we’re in Akashi.

It’s a refreshing taste from the usual heavy flavoured takoyaki. Their gyoza was meaty and delicious, and the whitebait rice bowl wasn’t...

Arima is famous for it's onsen, it's senbei (cracker-like disks), and for it's octopus cuisine. If you like takoyaki (octopus balls), you should try the Akashiyaki at this restaurant. Akashiyaki is takoyaki served with dashi soup that you dip the takoyaki in before eating. The takoyaki is super tender, so it may be a little bit difficult to eat if you're not good at using chopsticks. I especially liked the deep fried octopus we ordered on the side. It had really good flavour and texture. It's popular, so you may have to wait in line a while in order to eat here, but it's...