Dec 31st, 2008 by Kyoto Foodie
Japanese New Year’s Osechi Ryori: Shopping for Vegetables at Kyoto Wholesale Food Market with Kichisen Owner Yoshimi Tanigawa

At Kichisen, they start shopping for ingredients for osechi in July. Most all shopping is done at the Kyoto Central Wholesale Market. After ordering seafood, Kichisen master Tanigawa heads over to the vegetable section to purchase the finest Kyo-yasai, or Kyoto vegetables for his Japanese New Year’s Osechi. On the way back to Kichisen, we stop in at a favorite ramen shop for breakfast and I get a lesson on how to eat ramen properly.
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Tags: Kyoto Central Wholesale Market, Kyoto Kaiseki Kichisen, kyoto vegetable, osechi ryori, Yoshimi Tanigawa
Posted in Japanese culture, Kyo-yasai (京野菜), kaiseki, near sightseeing spot, ramen (ラーメン) | 2 Comments »
Dec 30th, 2008 by Kyoto Foodie
Japanese New Year’s Osechi Ryori: Shopping for Fish at Kyoto Wholesale Food Market with Kichisen Owner Yoshimi Tanigawa

At Kichisen, they start shopping for ingredients for osechi in July. Most all shopping is done at the Kyoto Central Wholesale Market. Every morning, before shopping though is a visit to a temple even older than Kyoto and prayers to a pilgrim from previous millennia.
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Tags: bodara, Kyoto Central Wholesale Market, Kyoto Kaiseki Kichisen, Rokkakudo Temple, Yoshimi Tanigawa
Posted in fish (魚料理), near sightseeing spot | 6 Comments »
Dec 29th, 2008 by Kyoto Foodie
Kichisen Osechi: What is Osechi Ryori? 京都吉泉 おせち料理

Japanese New Year’s, or O-shogatsu is a celebration with ancient roots and perhaps the most prominent aspect of it is food and drink. Osechi ryori, or New Year’s cuisine is preserved food and is intended to last for several days. Osechi is richly fortified with cultural metaphor and visual symbolism. Traditionally this was the only time of the year that the mother of the family got several days holiday. Some families still make their own osechi but it is very time consuming and now it is common to order your osechi at a department store or a famous restaurant in early autumn. Kichisen’s osechi is spectacular; preparation starts in July, it serves 5, contains 41 kinds of food and comes in a one of a kind white lacquered box inspired by Shinto shrines, start saving now for next year because it costs about $1,500 USD.
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Tags: hozonshoku, iwaibashi, Japanese lacquer ware, jubako, Kyoto Kaiseki Kichisen, mochi, natsu matsutake, osechi ryori, otoso, ozoni, shogatsu, Yoshimi Tanigawa
Posted in Japanese culture, Kyo-yasai (京野菜), Sakyo ward (左京区), in depth, kaiseki | No Comments »
Dec 29th, 2008 by Kyoto Foodie
Kyoto Kichisen Master Chef Yoshimi Tanigawa 京都吉泉 谷河吉巳

Yoshimi Tanigawa is an inspired master of Kyoto cuisine who has dedicated his life to food as an art and near spiritual experience. He teaches his students both taste and discipline. He creates pure Kyoto cuisine, without the excessive decoration that has been added in recent decades. At Tanigawa’s Kichisen, in addition to one of the greats meals of a lifetime, patrons are able to get reacquainted with authentic Kyoto cuisine. Tanigawa’s cuisine is unsurpassed Kyoto Kaiseki that draws on the four genres of Kyoto Cuisine; Yusoku Ryori (court cuisine), Kaiseki Ryori (tea ceremony cuisine), Shojin Ryori (temple food) and Obanzai (household food). If you are going to be in Kyoto and you like fine dining, make a reservation at Kichisen.
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Tags: calligraphy, Court Knife Ceremony, Daitokuji Temple, gion, Ikamaryu Shikibocho, ikebana, kyosaku keisaku encouragement stick, Kyoto Kaiseki Kichisen, osechi ryori, Shimogamo Shrine, tea ceremony, Toraichi Takibata, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Yoshimi Tanigawa
Posted in Japanese culture, Sakyo ward (左京区), kaiseki, series | No Comments »
Dec 28th, 2008 by Kyoto Foodie
Osechi: What is Kyo-ryori (Kyoto Cuisine)?

In Kyoto, it is said that the three most sophisticated cuisines in the world are French, Chinese and Japanese; and among these three, Kyoto Cuisine, or Kyo-ryori is the pinnacle of sophistication, visual beauty and subtlety of taste. Kyo-ryori is not just to eat, it is to be experienced by all the senses. It includes aspects of ikebana (flower arrangement) and sado (tea ceremony). Dishes are created with an emphasis on natural beauty and the seasons. Sophistication is achieved by subtlety, restraint and simplicity, not decoration.
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Tags: cha kaiseki, kaiseki ryori, kyo kaiseki, kyo ryori, osechi ryori, shojin ryori, yusoku ryori
Posted in Japanese culture, Sakyo ward (左京区), kaiseki | 3 Comments »
Dec 27th, 2008 by Kyoto Foodie
Chinmi: How to Make Shiokara 珍味: 塩辛の作り方

Shiokara is made of salted squid semi-fermented in its own guts and is a kind of chinmi, literally ‘rare taste’. Japanese like shiokara on rice or with sake. Shiokara is one taste that you might want to miss when you visit Japan, but we show how to make it in this article.
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Tags: Kyoto Kaiseki Kichisen, shiokara, squid, Yoshimi Tanigawa
Posted in chinmi (珍味), fish (魚料理), rice dishes (ご飯類), sake | 9 Comments »
Dec 22nd, 2008 by Paku Paku
Kyoto Style Dorayaki: Gion Shimogawara Azuki Mikasa 祇園 下河原 阿月 三笠

In Gion, on the way to Kiyomizu Temple is a tiny shinise shop that specializes in dorayaki, called mikasa in Kyoto dialect. Dorayaki is sweet bean paste sandwiched between two waffle-like pancakes. Doraemon fans will want to take note of this because Doraemon loves dorayaki, it is his favorite food!
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Tags: anko, anmitsu, azuki, doraemon, gion, kakigori, kiyomizu temple, maccha ice cream, mikasa, shimogawara azuki, Yasaka Pagoda, zenzai
Posted in Higashiyama ward (東山区), near sightseeing spot, shinise (老舗), tea (茶), wagashi (和菓子) | 5 Comments »
Dec 20th, 2008 by Kyoto Foodie
Wagashi: Kyoto Tsuruya Keiran Somen 京都鶴屋 鶏卵素麺 鶴寿庵

For this unusual wagashi just two ingredients; sugar and egg yolk, and some ancient Portuguese technique are needed to make Keiran Somen, literally ‘chicken egg angel hair noodles’.
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Tags: egg yolk, Fios de Ovos, Keiran Somen, Kyoto Tsuruya
Posted in Nishiki Market, noddles (麺類), non-Japanese, shinise (老舗), wagashi (和菓子) | 5 Comments »
Dec 9th, 2008 by Kyoto Foodie
Itadakimono: Maru Daikon and Shinmai (Round Daikon Radish and New Rice) 頂き物: 丸大根と新米

Giving and receiving gifts is an essential aspect of Japanese culture. Gifts are usually small and often given spontaneously. On the way back from an appointment today I stopped in at Kisen to return a very old and precious book on Kyo-ryori to the owner that I had been lent earlier this autumn.
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Tags: autumn, itadakimono, Kyoto Kaiseki Kichisen, maru daikon, new rice, shinmai, Yoshimi Tanigawa
Posted in Japanese culture, Kyo-yasai (京野菜), omiyage, tsukemono (漬け物) | 6 Comments »
Dec 7th, 2008 by Kyoto Foodie
Negi Udon Shop, Yorozuya in Gion, Kyoto 祇をん 萬屋 九条ネギうどん

For lunch Miwa took me to Yorozuya, a tiny noodle shop in Gion that is known for it’s Kyoto scallion udon. If you come to Yorozuya for lunch, you might find yourself sitting next to a maiko also enjoying a bowl of udon heaped with scallions.
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Tags: ankake, autumn, gion, kabuki, kujo negi, maiko, negi udon, scallion, Yorozuya
Posted in Higashiyama ward (東山区), Kyo-yasai (京野菜), soba, udon | 3 Comments »
Dec 6th, 2008 by Kyoto Foodie
Kyoto Autumn Leaves and Ginkgo Leaf Shaped Namagashi いちょう 生菓子

I collected some fallen ginkgo leaves on the grounds of a shrine and a church in northern Kyoto for this article, while shooting these photos I was particularly struck at how similar the namagashi really resembled the actual leaves, both in form and in color.
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Tags: autumn, ginkgo, icho, Kagizen Yoshifusa, kuzu root, namagashi
Posted in Higashiyama ward (東山区), shinise (老舗), wagashi (和菓子) | 5 Comments »