Kyoto

Kyoto was our first stop independently in Japan. While there were things we wanted to see, the list wasn’t too long, so we took this opportunity to enjoy many tours and classes.

Our first full day, we toured around with “grandma,” learning a lot and seeing the big attractions. After that we went on a food tour with Nay. Food tours are truly one of my favorite things to do. When visiting a new place, it’s the first thing I look for. We’ve got a handful of them booked this summer! Food tours usually involve a small group of travelers (who are almost always incredibly fun people), a local guide, and a bit of a progressive meal around town with the history and significance of the food we are eating. It’s a great way to learn more about the food and traditions in a new area. 

Nay took us to four different places. In the first two, we took off our shoes and sat on the floor. While this is very traditional here, it is not something we had done yet. The first restaurant was all tempura, so we ate fried shrimp, a fried white fish (cod?), and fried pumpkin. While all tastily fried in a light batter, the pumpkin was by far my favorite.

Our next stop was an overload of food and flavor. There were five different pickled vegetables: cucumber, radish, cabbage, a root vegetable and bamboo. I did not love the bamboo, but I was thrilled to try it! We also had four different hand rolled rice balls with unique toppings, a corn fritter (wasn’t expecting that out of the south!), and some sort of a soup.

Stop number three was a very traditional food for this area: takoyaki. These are small balls of fried dough with octopus inside. The real flavor comes from the variety of sauces put on top. While at this stop we learned a bit more about geishas. Geishas are young women who have trained to share a talent with the upper class. They lead a very traditional lifestyle as far as food and clothing, and they are almost more like nuns as their lives are very private, reserved, and they do not date. Because of this, it is not too uncommon that they fall in love with one of the men they are performing for and marry out of the life of a geisha. As geishas are supposed to eat only very traditional food, it is in things like takoyakis that they can find small loopholes. Sure, they’ll eat the fried octopus ball, but why not top it with mozzarella and marinara so the ladies can experience pizza? The takoyakis were good, and honestly only took on the flavor of the topping.

Our last stop was at a dessert stand for fish! Don’t worry, there was no actual fish in our dessert, but rather a waffle like texture in the shape of a fish to symbolize good luck and fortune. On the inside of the fish was a vanilla custard! It was hot and delicious!

The next day, we filled our day with classes. We started by making our own chopsticks! Shaving small wooden pieces down, rounding and sanding them with sandpaper, and choosing our personal engraving made them unique and personalized. 

For lunch, we went to a ramen making class where we made our noodles from scratch, flavored the chicken in teriyaki sauce, made our own flavor of soup, cooked the noodles and then enjoyed our creation. I ate every bite! Will I go to that much trouble at home? Probably not, but I got some tips for sure, and I’ll happily share the recipes for anyone who is interested!

Our last class of the day was a pottery class. “Kintsugi” translates to golden joinery. It’s an old practice of taking something old and broken and making it beautiful. Quite wabi-sabi wouldn’t you say? Now, I had a wonderful time with our Indonesian instructor who told us all about her time in university here and her hope to get her masters at a school next to The Hague working on international law. But I must admit that breaking a plate, filing it down, super-gluing it back and then adding gold felt a little odd. No matter what, we had fun and created a fun keepsake! (And don’t worry, it wasn’t expensive! 😉)

We followed another Instagram suggestion and enjoyed a dinner of gyoza (Japanese dumplings) and a bowl of rice and roasted pork at Kyoto Gyoza.

Another Instagram post took us to Thisis Shizen, a fancy ice cream place well off the beaten path. Intricate flowers were made of bean paste to create gorgeous designs then piled on top of vanilla ice cream in a chocolate waffle cone. I had the seasonal one of hydrangea blossoms of three flavors: plain bean paste, strawberry, and sweet potato with the leaves made of matcha. I’d go back for the friendly service and zen feel of the shop as much as for the ice cream! 

Another night, we went to a popular ramen spot, Menya Inoichi, that had the crowds down to an art. We showed up when it opened, got a “golden ticket” with a time to return. Then, when we returned, we stood in a line up against the wall surrounding the twelve or so spots for eating. We ordered before sitting down, then when we finally sat, our food was ready for us! The seared pork and roasted tofu was a delicious start to the meal, and I drained just about every drop of the giant ramen bowl. The beef was seared with a blow torch and as thin as bacon. While the fish flakes were so thin that the air conditioning made them look like they were still moving, and their fragrance was a bit overwhelming, but when mixed in, it seemed to just add to the flavor. The restaurant’s motto (when auto-translated) says, “Happiness that remains gently after you finish eating.” I love this, but my waist band was still a little tight hours later… 

One day, we took Samantha’s advise and visited a temple a little bit out of town: Otagi Nembetsu-Ji Temple and the nearby Adashino Temple as well. As both were off the beaten path, they were not very busy, and much quieter. The first one was built into the side of a large hill and as such had had to be rebuilt many times. But what I loved most was the 1200 unique faces! In the 1980s, a well-known Buddhist monk and professional carver called upon amateurs and professional carvers across the country. They each, with guidance from the monk, carved their own rakan, or disciple of Buddha. The priest gave them free range over their carving. As such, the faces are all perfectly unique! Some are deep in thought or prayer, others are laughing enthusiastically. Many were holding something, probably giving us insight into what was important to the carver. 

The nearby temple, Adashino Nembetsu-Ji was a ten minute walk down hill. I’m not sure I completely understand its history, but it seems that it started in the 800s. It started as a place to bury the dead, but over the years, the stones became scattered over the hillside. In the early twentieth century, they decided to gather all of the Buddhist statues that were scattered throughout the deep woods and bring them all to this one place. Now, over 8,000 statues and grave stones are all gathered together here. There was also a small bamboo grove we got to wander through without the big crowd.

Countless hours were spent wandering the expansive market that takes up multiple city blocks. We tasted some things, but mostly marveled at all the things we could buy (and of course some that we did!). The most entertaining spot was the vintage and used clothes store that was incredibly well organized, and had so many unique finds!

On our last night in the city, we decided to go back to the Fushimi Inari Taisha as we had seen that it was open twenty four hours a day and that evening was a great time to view it without the crowds. We loved wandering through the hundreds of torii gates that were lit up with only a handful of people. It was well worth it!

During our time in the city, we got around with our feet, but also mastered buses, trains, subways and taxis! Apple Maps and Google Maps makes it all incredibly easy! We stayed at a modern, simple hotel in the heart of the city: Kabin Taka (that I would recommend).

Did we see everything in Kyoto? Far from it! But did we make the most of our time? Absolutely! One should always leave things left to explore… for next time! 😉 This former capital city was full of energy, rich in culture, and strikingly beautiful. I’m very glad we chose to put this on our itinerary!