World Foodie Guide

After travelling to see the Jigokudani snow monkeys (see Snow Monkeys and Soba Noodles) in the Japan Alps, we returned to Yokohama to repack our bags before leaving early the next morning for Kyoto, Japan’s old imperial capital.

Planning the three days was harder than I thought. I had to drop many of the items on my wishlist, including day trips to nearby Osaka and Nara. It would also have been wonderful to spend the night at the Buddhist temple on Koyasan (a World Heritage site) and sample shojin-ryori (Buddhist vegetarian cuisine). Most of all, I wanted to return to Kobe, where I had one of the most memorable meals of my entire life, a simple but spectacular dish of Kobe beef. In the end though, rather than rushing about trying to fit in multiple locations, I decided to plan a relaxing three day stay in Kyoto. It’s easy to forget how exhausting travelling can be.

Kyoto Day 1:

Arashiyama is a renowned area of natural beauty to the west of Kyoto and popular in the autumn for viewing the changing leaf colours. Best of all, it’s just a 15 minute train journey from Kyoto station. As the ryokan check-in time wasn’t until 2pm, I thought it would be a good idea to arrive at Kyoto station, leave our bags in coin lockers and head out to see the famous symbol of Arashiyama, Togetsu-kyo, the wooden (and concrete) ‘Moon Crossing Bridge’, and wander through the bamboo forest.

I had planned a shojin-ryori lunch at Tenryu-ji Temple (?3000, ?5000 & ?7000 set lunch menus, plus a ?500 admission fee to the temple grounds), however they were fully booked when my friend called to make a booking a month in advance. I then briefly considered Nishiki and their kaiseki bento lunch box as well as Sagano for their yudofu (Kitcho, with its recently awarded three Michelin stars, offered unaffordable kaiseki at ?35-40000 /£232 – £265 (prices from a few years ago)). In the end, I decided to just turn up and see…

Arashiyama turned out to be very touristy, with teenage schoolchildren everywhere. The best part was the bamboo forest, which would have been even more magical without the rickshaws and the Japanese tour groups. I took one look at Togetsu-kyo and was most unimpressed. A simple lunch of kitsune udon, zaru soba and zaru udon saved the day. There are many restaurants lining the road where Tenryu-ji Temple is located, but somehow we managed to find one that didn’t have a single domestic or overseas tourist (Aratozuki, Tel: 075 882 9884, towards the Togetsu-kyo end). Incidentally, the addition of a creamy raw quail’s egg into the dipping sauce really made a difference!

Dinner had been booked weeks in advance at the 120 year old kaiseki restaurant Rokusei Nishimise, just a few minutes away from the hotel, so that was another reason not to splurge on lunch. Kaiseki ryori is the haute cuisine of Kyoto and if you’re visiting the city, it shouldn’t be missed. Kaiseki restaurants usually offer lunches which are a more affordable way of sampling kaiseki, perhaps in the form of a bento box or set lunch menu. Many of the luxury ryokan also offer kaiseki dinners. The formal meal follows a rigid structure, with multiple small dishes following each other in a traditional order. Fresh, seasonal ingredients are emphasised and much time is spent on each creation, hence the steep prices.

The Rokusei menu was analysed in depth and translated for me by three different sources before we settled on the Teoke Kaiseki set menu (?7350 / £49) and the Hana set menu (?8400 / £56). The ‘real’ kaiseki dinner menus were out of our price range (from?12,600 /£83.50 to ?31,500 / £210), given that we had to stick to our two week budget. Strict instructions had also been conveyed to the restaurant regarding the husband’s dietary requirements.

So it turned out that he had the better meal and better dining experience, whereas I was felled by a dish early on in the meal, of chawanmushi (egg custard) with suppon (soft shell turtle). I have to say, it was one of the most bitter and foul-tasting dishes I’ve eaten in living memory. I felt like Mr Bean when he ordered steak tartare by mistake and was literally looking for places to dump it. In the end, I swallowed half of it before conceding defeat and abandoned the rest. That one dish overshadowed the rest of the meal and I left still reeling from the shock. The husband was beaming though! However, please don’t let my description of one small dish affect a visit to Rokusei that you may be planning. Everyone I mentioned it to had heard of it, whether in Kyoto or Tokyo, and I would still highly recommend it. My favourite part was the food served in the teoke (a pail made out of cedar), which I think is how Rokusei used to deliver their bento boxes in the old days. Just don’t nod when the server asks if you can eat chawanmushi with suppon!

Kyoto Day 2:

Higashiyama (the Eastern Mountains) is said to be one of Kyoto’s most charming & well preserved areas. Although there is no getting away from the tourists and schoolchildren (the above photo is most deceptive!), I must admit I rather liked Higashiyama. We certainly spent enough time in the area, eating both lunch and dinner there. The streets Ninen-zaka and Sannei-zaka on the way up to Kiyomizudera temple are packed with restaurants and small shops selling specialist food products (Kyoto is famous for pickles, snacks (rice crackers, cream puffs & a million and one types of wagashi (Japanese sweets served with tea) and arts & crafts. I stocked up on shichimi togarashi, my favourite Japanese seven spice pepper, and also yuzu with pepper at a specialist shop, established in 1655, that only sells shichimi togarashi, called Shichimiya or Shichimi Shop (2-221 Kiyomizu). The little packets make fantastic presents as well.

Lunch had been booked at Okutan, a famous yudofu ryori restaurant with a branch near Nanzenji temple and one near Kiyomizu. We chose to go to the latter branch (Tel: 075 525 2051, at the junction where Ninenzaka meets Sanensaka). We had no idea where the restaurant was, and by coincidence stopped in front of it to check the characters of its name in the guidebook, looked up and we were there!

Yudofu is tofu simply cooked in a pot in a kombu (kelp) broth, then eaten in small bowls with hot soy sauce and chopped spring onion. It has become a Kyoto specialty because good quality tofu requires good quality water, which Kyoto happens to have. We ordered the yudofu course (?3150) and the special tofu course (?4200). The only difference was that one consisted of a very silky-smooth tofu while the other had a slightly rougher, but still incredibly smooth, texture. Preceding the yudofu courses were yam soup (as light as foam), sesame tofu with wasabi, grilled tofu with sweet miso and vegetable tempura. Okutan is all tatami mat seating and is a veritable maze of dining rooms, some private, and we were fortunate enough to be seated by the tranquil Zen garden.

After that delicious and healthy lunch, we went to visit 400 year old Tenneiji temple. The temple belongs to a friend’s family, and so we were shown around not only the spectacular gardens, which are open to the public, but also the interior, which is only open to relatives of those who are buried in the temple grounds. We relaxed over a bowl of frothy matcha and marron wagashi (chestnut sweet) and the temple owners also gave us tickets for the night opening of Kiyomizudera temple. The temple is usually closed at night, but we had just arrived for a special few weeks of night openings at various temples, to enable visitors to admire the autumn leaves in beautiful temple settings.

After a quick dinner at Kamanza on Ninenzaka (Tel: 075 531 1719) – namafu dengaku (wheat gluten grilled with miso paste), yuba set course (yuba is the skin by-product of tofu and heavenly when served fresh) and unagi don (grilled eel on a bowl of rice) – we wandered back up the hill to Kiyomizudera temple. At around 8.30pm, it wasn’t particularly crowded, and anyway the temple complex and grounds are so enormous that it was quite easy to wander around and appreciate the views without feeling claustrophobic. Another good time to visit Kiyomizudera is at 6am when it opens, to avoid the tourists.

Kyoto Day 3:

Located in eastern Kyoto, the Philosopher’s Walk is a 1.8 km leisurely stroll down a cherry tree-lined canal from Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion) in the north to Nanzen-ji in the south, with various temples along the route. As our ryokan was located closer to Ginkaku-ji, we started at that end, fueling up on a couple of custard and matcha cream puffs made with brown rice (and a warm rice cracker made with shichimi togarashi). And before we started the walk, an elderly Japanese man on his bicycle approached us and gave us a lengthy description of how to find Honenji, with peaceful temple gardens that are free to enter, before apologising for his (perfect) English! Naturally we followed his directions and it was most definitely worth a short visit (there are signs if you want to go too). The Philosopher’s Walk was easily one of my favourite parts of the Kyoto trip, as it was magically tranquil (I could just imagine how unpleasant it would have been with hordes of tourists). After all, the time should be spent philosophising while strolling down the canal and admiring the scenery…

Nishiki Market is Kyoto’s famous food market, located one block north of Shijo-dori, running from Teramachi-dori on the east to Takakura-dori on the west. There are over 140 stalls selling everything from fish, tofu products to pickled vegetables and Kyoto’s chefs all shop at Nishiki, as do locals. The well-known Aritsugu knife shop is at one end of the market (a friend said that when she gets married, she wants her father’s wedding present to be a set of Aritsugu knives!). The market is covered and there is just a narrow path down the middle. Again, when we visited (Saturday around noon), it was just some locals doing their food shopping. There are also restaurants and stalls selling snacks such as okara (soymilk) doughnuts.

We ended up having lunch at Katsukura, a famous tonkatsu chain (although I didn’t know that at the time when I found it by chance near one end of Nishiki market). I ordered 70g of the Yonesawa Sangen fillet cutlet (I prefer fillet to the other option, loin) (?1280) and the husband had yuba and vegetarian croquettes. We had to make our own tonkatsu sauce (no Bulldog brand here!), by grinding roasted sesame seeds in a pestle and mortar and adding a variety of condiments – yuzu in a thinner sauce, the standard sauce and a rich, thick one. This was then poured onto the tonkatsu, which was unbelievably tender and succulent. Finely shredded cabbage could be topped up at any time, and there was a jar of pickles on the table to eat with rice. This was an excellent meal considering it was unplanned!

After lunch, we did a spot of shopping around Shijo Kawaramachi, the shopping area located along a stretch of Shijo Dori and Kawaramachi Dori. I was pleased to come across the main branch of the famous Yojiya, a cosmetics shop at the corner of Hanamikoji-dori and Shijo-dori. Founded in 1904, its best-selling product is aburatorigami or facial oil blotting paper dating from 1920, which actors and geisha traditionally used over their thick make-up. I stocked up on these as well as yuzu-flavoured lip balm.

I also developed an obsession for furoshiki or Japanese wrapping cloths and must have bought around 10 or 12 on the trip, mostly from a small chain called Raak (there is also Enveraak). Each shop sells different designs, so furoshiki fans, be warned! There are a myriad of ways in which furoshiki can be used, such as to make tissue box covers, water bottle holders and bags, and they can also be framed.

In terms of food shopping, we came across Eirakuya, an elegant shop dating back to the Edo period, selling wagashi and tsukudani or preserved vegetables and fish. The manager invited us to sit down for tea and to sample the products we were interested in, namely yuzu jam (which incidentally is sublime! Eirakuya is a perfect place to select food gifts and souvenirs. We also bought some apple-based wagashi for friends.

The day concluded with a stroll down Pontocho Alley, a traditional geisha entertainment area, and lined with tempting restaurants (for the next trip) before making our way back to Kyoto station and returning to Tokyo, tired but happy…

A few things I didn’t get to do but were on the list:

Owari-ya is one of the oldest soba-ya (soba restaurant) in Kyoto. Located near Kyoto Imperial palace, it’s recommended by Durston and also fellow foodie Simon P, who ate there recently. It is open from 11:00-18:30 and closed on Wednesdays

Toji Temple market is supposed to be the best for vintage Japanese crafts, and also offers street food. It takes place on the  21st of each month.

Fushimi Inari shrine (2 hour hiking trail) – located just outside JR Inari Station, the second station from Kyoto on the JR Nara Line. The train ride takes 5 minutes and costs ?140 from Kyoto Station.

Practical Information:

Travel -

It is expensive to travel from Tokyo to Kyoto if you buy standard tickets (?13,200 (£88) one way), but we had bought Japan Rail Passes (£191 for a 7 day pass) from the UK to cover all the other train journeys on our trip, so the travel budget was effectively taken care of. I used Hyperdia to research train times and reserved the seats after activating our Rail Passes at Narita airport. The journey takes around 2 hours 40 minutes on the Hikari shinkansen (the Nozomi is the fastest train by about 20 minutes but isn’t covered by the Rail Pass). We travelled from Shin-Yokohama, so the journey was slightly shorter.

There are different ways to reach Arashiyama from Kyoto, but for us, the quickest route was from Kyoto Station to Saga-Arashiyama on the JR Sagano (or Sanin) line. The journey takes 15 minutes and costs ?230 one way. Central Arashiyama is just a short walk away.

Hotel -

As Kyoto was added to the schedule at the last minute (six weeks is last minute for me!), I had a minor panic trying to find a hotel as most were fully booked for the two nights that I wanted. The ryokan I had my eye on were also expensive, but on the other hand, I didn’t want to stay in a business hotel. It was a relief when The Three Sisters Inn Annex informed us that they could accommodate us. Run by three sisters, it’s a five minute walk from Heian Shrine, with no meals included, plus a private bathroom (essential for us). The annex caters for non-Japanese visitors only, while the main inn has been around for 14 generations, although I only discovered all this after making the booking (see Japan Times article). Two nights cost ?36340 (£245) total for 2 people.

The Three Sisters Annex
89 Irie-cho
Okazaki
Sakyo-ku
606-8322 Kyoto
Tel: 81-(0)75-761-6333
Fax:81-(0)75-761-6335

Guidebook -

I was last in Kyoto over 20 years ago, and with hardly any recollection of it, decided to buy Diana Durston’s Old Kyoto, a guide to all the traditional artisan shops, ryokan (traditional Japanese hotels) and restaurants that are unfortunately dwindling in a fast-changing city. Although it was written in 1986, it was reprinted a few years ago and many travellers to Kyoto swear by it. I found Rokusei and Okutan through the book.

Useful links -

• Kyoto Guide – a most informative guide to Kyoto, and where I found our ryokan & transport tips

• Kyoto Foodie – regarded by many as the definitive guide to all things gastronomical in Kyoto

• Chubby Hubby’s Kyoto Guide 2009 – although all their restaurant recommendations were beyond our budget, it was still a useful guide to take with us

• Financial Times: Kyoto’s Haute Cuisine – an informative article on kaiseki cuisine

• Japan Planning – my original post on researching the Japan trip

• Snow Monkeys & Soba Noodles and Tokyo Stories – the other two posts from the Japan trip

Helen Yuet Ling Pang @ World Foodie Guide

Tags: dining out, food, food & travel, Japan, Japanese, Japanese food, Kyoto, restaurants, travel, traveleating, vegetarian