Japan

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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.

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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.

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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).

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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.

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I also love it when they tumble. Sometimes they even bounce a little.

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Snack Crack

I’m in love with Pretz — crispy little breadsticks covered in salt and umami.  In Nagoya we did a riverside taste test: clockwise from the top left, we tried salad サラダ, gyoza 餃子, black pepper chicken wings 手羽先, and citrus すだち. The black pepper wings were the obvious winner.

A quick Google search of Pretz cemented my love — check out the YouTube cache here. Warning, it may cause seizures. Please take note that Pretz is pronounced like the classy Pennsylvania gas establishment Sheetz (Ah Sheetz! I dropped my Pretz!), not like the Pennsylvania snack food, the pretzel. The recommended method for eating Pretz is to snap them in half. I prefer to inhale them, teeth continuously chomping like the wood chipper in Fargo. “Where is Pancakes House?” Who cares, I have Pretz.

Snack food companies in Japan are good at throwing new, crazy flavors at you so you’ll continue to buy their products, as if the addict needs another excuse. A recent find, just butter ジャガバタ:

And there are many, many more. Sorry crafts, it looks like I have a new hobby.

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Soba School

While in Nagano Prefecture a few weeks ago, we learned how to make soba noodles from scratch. I’m not going to provide commentary, so you’ll have the same semi-clueless, watch-and-mimic experience as me:

Got it? Now time to eat!  They cooked up our noodles while we headed downstairs to the restaurant.

A satisfying feast.

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Summer stabbin’, had me a blast ♫

Summer stabbin’, happened so fast. ♫

Met a crafter, crazy for me. Met a tea towel, cute as can be. ♫

Ahem. OK, enough of that. Want to know something sad? I actually Googled the lyrics to Summer Nights to make sure I had them right. Of course I had them right. (Head shake.) Silly Angie.

But back to crafting (Dan, I’m back!). I bought this pre-printed cloth from Hobbyra Hobbyre in April. I love the pattern of the dancing fūrin 風鈴, a glass wind chime which catches the wind and creates a quiet tinkling sound. These pop up around Japan during the summer. The delicate sound is meant to remind us of a breeze, to help us feel cool.

I’ve had the windows open a lot this past week, and I can hear a fūrin from somewhere nearby. The clinking sounds, and my blue fingers stained from the indigo-dyed sashiko yarn, remind me of eating blueberries and sitting on my grandmother’s balcony during the summer. She let us make the best forts on that balcony.

This design is different from what I usually do, which is the more traditional white-on-blue. I enjoyed trying something new, even if I learned a few things the hard way.

First, curvy lines are trickier than straight ones. Second, changing colors all the time is tedious. Or maybe I’m lazy. Third, dark thread on a light background fabric means you have to be careful and keep a tidy back, or your fly-away ends will show through and make your finished towel look terrible.  I had to go back with a needle and thread and tack down all my loose ends, which was a bummer because I thought I was done, and then I wasn’t.

Hopefully these summer dreams won’t be ripped at the seams. Whoa-oh-oh. ♫

Anyone else have a summer project?