3 November 2011 by Angela

Kyoto is for Eaters, Again

As Dan reported, our recent trip to Kyoto was livelier than expected. While wriggling fish haunt his dreams, all I can think about is this:

Parfait perfection.

Maybe we need to look at that again…

This was lunch. I’m not ashamed. I also wasn’t alone — this is what my father-in-law ordered:

We’re like two ~~peas in a pod~~ sweet beans in a parfait.

But let’s back up. After we arrived at Kyoto station, Dan and I used our keen instincts — we found the only restaurant with a line and stood in it — to track down some seasonal soba.

Clockwise from the top left — pickles, tempura mushrooms and green peppers, warabi (a soybean-powder-covered mochi dessert), soba noodle soup with mushrooms, tempura dipping sauce, yuba (tofu skin, a Kyoto specialty), mushroom rice (kinoko takikomi gohan), and more pickles (another Kyoto specialty).

Nishin soba, another Kyoto specialty.

After lunch we went for a hike. At the peak there was a restaurant serving beer and ice cream, of course. What do you think this shop owner’s commute is like?

When you climb a mountain and meet a guy wanting to sell you ice cream, you can’t refuse. This one was kinako.

Our weekend wasn’t all about food, I swear. We did some sightsighing, and a little more sightseeing. And then after an especially rainy afternoon, we found a charming little omurice restaurant. Maybe not the haute Kyoto cuisine my in-laws were expecting, but it was perfectly placed comfort food for a chilly evening.

And, to round out the weekend (and our waistlines), we ended with a trip to Kyoto Ramen Street.

With a belly full of noodles and a cold beer in-hand, we hopped on the shinkansen for a sleepy trip back to Tokyo. Ah, how I love Japan in the fall.

27 October 2011 by Angela

A Gift for Grace

I have a friend who is very smart, but also very, very stupid.

He is a professor and scientist and an expert in something smaller than I can see with my eye. He is also a college friend, which means I have seen him perform antics not suitable for re-telling on this family-friendly blog.

Recently my friend went to a party, and to bring the proper party pizazz he asked his coworker Grace if he could borrow her jacket. Grace was known for having an eclectic wardrobe, and this was no ordinary jacket. As my friend describes it:

Shiny. Metallic. Vinyl. Bright pink. The only label inside reads “palm tree.” It was a custom made gift from her grandmother in China.

I’m sure you already know where this story is going. My friend went to the party with Grace’s jacket.

The jacket did not survive.

And so my friend contacted me, and with tears in his eyes told me this horrible tale. I was quiet; I let the story sink in. I mourned for Grace’s jacket and cursed my friend. And then I told him he was lucky to know another person who owned a metallic pink jacket.

Maybe he chooses his acquaintances carefully, or maybe he’s just the luckiest bastard I know. But it’s true that I happen to own such a jacket, hanging in my tiny Tokyo closet.

But a simple metallic replacement just wouldn’t do for poor Grace. We had to make up for my friend’s silly, fat-man-in-a-little-coat misstep. So I added sparkle.

And more sparkle.

And a pig wearing a bow.

For you, Grace — may it not replace your grandmother’s gift, but help you forgive my very-smart-but-still-a-little-stupid friend. His heart is in the right place.

16 October 2011 by Angela

A Stylish and Cute Craft Book

If you would have told me a few years ago that after moving to Tokyo I would be ooh-ing and ah-ing craft books dedicated to ribbons and pink bows, I would have laughed in your face.

Only the bows knows who’s laughing now.

I even made a mega bow. I’m not sure what head of hair is ready for this.

This craft book is adorable, full of easy accessory projects to make in under an hour.

I love the brooches and badges. If I wore one of these, I would feel like a winner all day.

I’m not sure what to try first — the bow necklace or the hairy shoulders.

The illustrated step-by-step instructions are really easy to follow, and the assembly techniques heavily favor a hot glue gun. It’s like I’m an 11 year old again!

And get ready for this … scrunchies are making a comeback! A J-pop band even sings a song about them (ponytail to shu shu) though due to gratuitous beach and wet t-shirt scenes, I’ve decided not to link to the music video. Do the work yourself.

9 October 2011 by Angela

Kyoto is for Eaters

Kyoto is so beautiful it almost makes me mad.

But since we’re being totally honest with each other, I’ll admit I was the most excited by this sight:

Black sesame and honey ice cream. With a gingersnap spoon. I shoved it into everyone’s face, insisting they must try the Most Delicious Ice Cream Combo, until I realized that meant less for me. So I sneaked away to lick my cone clean in the dark shadows of a shrine.

We opted for the kaiseki meal in our ryokan, which meant dinner while wearing our pajamas and yukata (cotton robes). While our server delicately described the seasonal components and zen balance of each dish, I was busy taking photos and so I had no idea what I was eating. Vegetable or fish? Who cares! It’s boiled!

It was great, but it made my mouth tired.

Our ryokan also served us breakfast, with amazing little pillow-like cubes of tofu.

I love Japanese breakfasts. I’ll take some rice and grilled fish over an omelet any day.

On our way out of town we stopped for lunch at Katsukura, a tonkatsu (fried pork) restaurant in Kyoto Station.

The sorta-trendy restaurant serves you sesame seeds with a small mortar and pestle, to grind and add sauce to for dipping. I did it wrong. Who knew you could be so uncouth at a fried meat restaurant?

In case anyone is curious we stayed at the lovely, not-too-fancy Ryokan Motonago. The tonkatsu restaurant is located in the JR Kyoto Station, The Cube, 11F (above Isetan).

6 October 2011 by Angela

Truth in Advertising: Super Butter

At first, these felt wrong. The first taste reminded me of the butter in a squeeze bottle that was sometimes offered for our grilled sweet corn when I was a kid. The kind of squeeze butter that, upon closer inspection, says “butter flavor” on the bottle, causing a gut punch of betrayal.

But 5 seconds later, I got over my butter supremacy issues and ate the entire box. These should be called Super Duper Lick-your-Fingers-Clean Butter.

29 September 2011 by Angela

A Peeky Sneak

A teeny, tiny peek at what I’ve been stitching…

More peeks to sneak, coming soon!

27 September 2011 by Angela

These are hedonist times.

Whew, it has been busy in these parts. We’ve had family and friends visiting, which is fantastic. We’re got more family on the way, which is fantastic. It was Dan’s 30th birthday, which was extra fantastic. Oh, and we had this little typhoon last night. No big deal.

There has been some of this:

A lot of this:

(Please notice the sign over the beer kegs says, “Please help yourself!”)

And even a little bit of this:

I am amused that this purikura (sticker picture) makes us look so hip. This booth not only makes your eyes bigger, but plumps your lips, too.

We also found a bar with a pass-through window in the floor — I was handed our drinks from the bartender below just minutes before another customer took a tumble through the rabbit hole and onto the bartop. Exciting stuff.

Through the winding streets of Golden Gai we found Jete. It was so hip, I felt lame taking my camera out once we were inside.

Seeing Tokyo through the fresh eyes of our visitors has been … well, fantastic.

15 September 2011 by Angela

Sumo

I like to cheer for the smaller guy and to point out when someone is exceptionally hairy. I love the way sumo is steeped in tradition, with song and pomp and a whole lot of belly slapping.