Kinana - Kinako Ice Cream

Kinana - Autumn Chestnut Parfait

Kinana ‘Dekitate’ Ice Cream and Kodawari
Kinana makes six flavors of ice cream; kinako (roast soybean flour), azuki (sweet red bean), kurogoma (black sesame), kuromitsu (black sugar syrup), maccha (powdered green tea) and yomogi (mugwort), all real traditional Japanese flavors! To get the real Kinana ice cream experience, I really recommend the just made ‘dekitate’ ice cream as it is heavenly, impossibly soft and creamy. Once ice cream is frozen it loses this fantastic texture. I think that the kinako flavor is the only fresh, ‘dekitate’ ice cream that is served. If you just ask the friendly staff what the ‘dekitate’ flavor is, they should have no trouble understanding. (Many customers eat the dekitate ice cream while standing at the counter on the first floor. Try this if the sit down area on the second floor is full.)

Kodawari is an essential concept in Japanese culture, especially in culinary culture and all kinds of product development. Kodarari means picky or particular. Owner, ice cream chef Omoto-san is very picky about what goes into his ice cream. He uses no additives, fillers or artificial ingredients. His kinako powder is a original blend of roasted ‘kuromame’ black beans from the Tamba region of Hyogo and Kyoto and ‘daizu’ soybeans from Hamanaka-cho in Hokkaido. He traveled to both regions to inspect producers before selecting the best.

Any business in Japan that isn’t into kodawari really isn’t worth patronizing. If you like Kyoto culinary culture, it is probably due to kodawari.

Kinana - Autumn Chestnut Parfait

Kinana Parfait
Kinana has three parfaits that are available throughout the year. There is Kinana Hapon (warabi mochi), Berry Berry Kinana (yogurt and frozen berries) and Kinana Italian (tiramisu). Then there is a seasonal parfait that changes every few months. All use several flavors of Kinana ice cream and Western-style baked confections like cookies and biscotti, all baked in-house at Yakitsukasa Kinana, Kinana’s second location. The fresh-made ice cream is not used in the parfaits because it is too soft for layering other ingredients upon. I tried both the Berry Berry Kinana and Kinana Italian and thought that they were fine but not exceptional. Two foodie and chef friends agreed with me on this. I can see how these parfaits would appeal to Japanese women that visit Kinana fairly often or want to try something non-Japanese.

The autumn seasonal parfait was quite another story. Now, Japanese are really into parfaits and I have had a lot of great Japanese-style parfaits in Kyoto but this one was the most memorable and original. It was over-the-top amazing!

Chestnut Autumn Parfait
The seasonal Kinana Chestnut Parfait features two kinds of ice cream, mochi, anko (azuki paste), soba boro (buckwheat cookie), two chocolate cookies (actually more like little cakes), a chocolate and kuromame biscotti with lots of chestnut mousse all topped with a candied chestnut.

The chestnut mousse topping was amazing, thick and rich, just overloaded with chestnut flavor. The nuance of the biscotti really got me, like all the other baked items it is made at Yakitsukasa Kinana. It is dry and crunchy like traditional biscotti, it has some chunks of rich chocolate but the kuromame black beans, though baked and encased in crunchy biscotti they are still soft and chewy! There is some kodawari at work here. This contrast in texture and attention to detail really impresses me. The chocolate cookies are really moist and dense, about a mouthful each. The soba boro are cracker-thin and very crunchy. I have never had sobo boko like that.

Kinana only makes 20 of the autumn parfaits everyday and usually runs out of the key ingredient, chestnut mousse by 2 pm, earlier on weekends. This parfait will only be available in October and November. I am looking forward to the winter seasonal parfait, and the autumns to come!

Gion Kinana Owner Ice Cream Chef Katsuji Omoto

About Kyo Kinana (京きなな)
For many years owner chef Katsuji Omoto had a French restaurant near Kitano Shrine, which is a somewhat outlying area of Kyoto. In 2002 he decided to move into the center of town and to close his restaurant and open something like a cafe with baked sweets. He rented a space in Gion but after he signed the lease and moved in he was told by the owner that he couldn’t use heat or flame in the space. He was quite shocked and felt deceived. Nevertheless, he took the high road and persevered. He cooly thought about what he could make without cooking and decided that it would have to be ice cream. At his French restaurant he had made his own baked desserts and ice cream, so this wasn’t entirely new territory for him.

His initial location was not ideal and it was tough going, however his ice cream was soon noticed by the media and he was featured on a television program and from there Kinana started to get very busy and develop as a new Kyoto brand.

In 2004 Omoto-san moved to his current location which has become a Gion fixture and is a very popular destination in the neighborhood for visitors to Kyoto. It is even popular with the neighborhood maiko and geiko (geisha), you can see their traditional fans displayed on the wall.

Based on Omoto-san’s original intention to do baked sweets in Gion, in 2006 he opened Yakitsukasa Kinana. (I haven’t been here yet but the baked goods served at Kinana are made here. And, they are great!) Yakitsukasa Kinana is located near Kiyomizu Temple in the scenic Higashiyama district.

Kinana is a very popular and seating is only available on the second floor. If you can’t get seated upstairs or you just want ice cream, you can have that at the standing at the ice cream counter on the first floor. Don’t go away without some dekitate kinako ice cream even if you cannot get seated!

Foodie Souvenirs
For take out Kinana offers milk jams, cookies, biscotti, candies and a few other yummies. I haven’t tried any of them but they look very interesting. I think the milk jams would make very novel ‘omiyage’ souvenirs for visitors to Kyoto.

Kinana Souvenir - Kinako Milk Jam

Kinana Souvenir - Kinana Cookie and Kinako Candy

Kinana Interior - Gion Maiko Fans

Kinana Staff Making Parfait

Gion Kobu Neighborhood (祇園甲部)
Kinana is located in one of Kyoto’s most scenic and historic neighborhoods: Gion Kobu.

Kinana Storefront

Kinana Neighborhood in Gion

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brand name: Kyo Kinana (京きなな)
Gion main store: Gion Kinana (祇園きなな)
Kiyomizu store: Yakitsukasa Kinana (焼司 喜七)

Gion Kinana in English (Main Store)
English Menu: no
English Website: none (Japanese language site: www.kyo-kinana.com)
Service: friendly
Hours: 11am – 7pm (6:30 pm last order)
Address: Kyoto-shi, Higashiyama-ku, Gion-machi Minami-gawa 570-119 (京都市東山区祇園町南側570-119)
Telephone: 075-525-8300

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Mamezen Soba: Soymilk Ramen

Mamezen is the creation of a young Kyoto chef named Minoru Yonegawa. His family owns a very nice yudofu (simmered tofu hotpot) restaurant in Kyoto called Toka. Toka make their yudofu in a soymilk-based broth, which is very unusual, creating a very ‘Kyoto’ luxurious and rich broth with which to simmer your tofu in.

Chef Yonegawa worked at his family’s restaurant for several years and noticed that local Kyotoites really don’t come to yudofu restaurants, even if you make your broth with soymilk! He wanted to serve food that was in keeping with his roots, being based on soy but also something that would appeal to Kyoto people. Of course travelers are welcome too. While he had never seen or heard of tonyu (soymilk) ramen, he thought that he ought to be able to pull it off and that Kyoto people would like to eat it regularly. He was right, he started out serving it privately just to friends and then soon realized that he had to open his own restaurant!

Mamezen Soba: Soymilk Ramen - detail

Mamezen Soba: Yuba Donburi - detail

Developing Soymilk Ramen Recipe
When Chef Yonegawa was developing his soymilk ramen recipe his wife was pregnant with their first child and the recipe is quite informed by that time in their life.

Japanese ramen is usually very salty and very high in calories. It is often said that you should not drink the soup after you finish the noodles. Children, pregnant women and elderly are told not to eat ramen as it is really not very healthy and their bodies cannot take the extremes of the dish. Mamezen Soba, on the other hand is made with a deeply flavored but gentle Kyoto dashi broth and rich, healthy soymilk, so drink it up!

Mamezen Soba: Ramen or Soba?
Ramen comes from the Chinese, la mian. Soba is an indigenous Japanese word. Originally, in Japan ramen was called chuka soba, lit. Chinese noodle. Today, ramen is the most common term for this dish in Japan, but chuka soba is still quite common. Ramen and chuka soba are the same dish.

I have only been to Mamezen for lunch but they do offer a dinner menu that includes the Mamezen Soba dishes and a limited number of soy-based a la carte yummies as well and quite a good selection of Japanese beer, shochu and sake, among others. Refreshing Chinese tencha is served. Tencha is the Japanese name for this tea which is made from rose buds. It has a subtle sweetness but is only very slightly flowery.

I ordered the set lunch that includes Mamezen Soba and a donburi of yuba and ankake over rice. The donburi was quite good and unlike the kumiage yuba donburi that I am familiar with.

Mamezen Soba: Soymilk Ramen - detail

Mamezen Soba: Yuba Donburi

How Did Mamezen Soba Taste?
Very good! I hadn’t been to Mamezen for quite awhile, about a year, and realized that I would be going there more often now.

Soup: This being Kyoto, we must be dashi crazed and Mamezen is right on target. Chef Yonegawa starts by making a very rich katsuo dashi broth and then adds soymilk and simmers it down until it is thick, rich and silky. It is a very unique soup for Kyoto. I recall the soup being lighter in flavor previously. I asked the boss about it. He said that he might be simmering it longer as it thickens up the taste and density. If you like your soup stronger and richer, just ask for ‘koime’. The overall taste and feel of the soup is wonderful, I can’t think of a dish that combines the rich and pungent (dashi) with silky smooth (soymilk).

Noodles: The noodles used are very thin, something like angelhair pasta. They contain egg but I couldn’t really taste that. Personally, I am not really into thin noodles, I like them thicker and meatier. Chef Yonegawa’s choice of thin noodles is to be subtle and delicate, like Kyoto. Though not my fav, I have to agree with his choice. He might offer customers a choice to thick or thin.

Garnish: The dish is garnished with scallions, nama yuba, simmered shiitake and a bit of umeboshi. In the winter and spring, when nanohana (rape blossom) is in season, Chef Yonegawa uses it too.

Donburi: The donburi rice bowl was very interesting because it features a thick ankake sauce that is made with, you guessed it, Kyoto dashi and starch for thickening. Several sheets of namayuba is layed on top of the rice and then it is smothered in ankake with some ground fresh ginger on top.

This was a very interesting take on yuba donburi for me, which I liked very much. However, I like kumiage yuba donburi perhaps a little better. I would love to see how Chef Yonegawa would do that dish.

Veg or Vegan: The dish does use katsuo (bonito), that’s a fish, in the dashi. The noodles contain eggs. By request the dashi can be made without katsuo. Of course the egg cannot be removed from the noodles.

Do Not Miss: I have added Mamezen Soba to my Do Not Miss list in Kyoto. Rich and pungent (dashi) and silky smooth (soymilk) is something not to be missed! However, I do have a caveat. It might be a bit too ‘Zen master’ for those who are not really into Japanese and soy cuisine. The restaurant is a bit out of the way and if you really just want a delicious, but more ‘meaty’ ramen, you would probably be more satisfied with the restaurants on our Great Ramen Shops in Kyoto list. If you are sure you are into the kind of taste described here, by all means, make the trip to Shimogamo! (Twenty to thirty minutes from the city center by bus.) Also, the restaurant is closed often, call first to confirm that they are open when you plan to go.

Mamezen Interior - Counter

Chef Yonegawa, also a Shakuhachi Bamboo Flute Master

Some headgear there! It makes Devo look uninventive. His flute master name is 菊水流尺八道準師範米川翠月. That is a long name indeed! And, many Japanese probably can’t read it.

Owner Chef Yonegawa at the Mamezen Gate

Me at Work on a Sunday Afternoon

Mamezen is located in the historic Shimogamo neighborhood of Kyoto, a bit north-east of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Shimogamo Shrine. Mamezen is a very small and personable restaurant. Owner chef Yonegawa is a really, really nice guy. His wife helps run the restaurant and his two beautiful young children poke their heads in regularly. In addition to being a chef, Yonegawa is also a bit of a Zen master and is a master of the Japanese shakuhachi bamboo flute.

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Mamezen in English
English Menu: yes
English Website: none
Service: Warm-hearted and friendly
Price: 1,000-1,500 yen
Hours:
lunch: 11:30-3:00 pm (2:30 pm last order)
dinner: 7:30-11:00 pm (10:30 pm last order)
closed: Wed, Thurs and some other days (Zen master chef isn’t a salary man), call the mobile number listed below before you go.
Location and Access: Shimogamo neighborhood. Best accessed by bus, taxi, bicycle or on foot. Nearest bus stop is on Kitaoji Street.
Address: Kyoto-shi, Sakyo-ku, Shimogamo, Higashi Takagi-cho 13-4 (京都市左京区下鴨東高木町13-4)
Telephone: 075-703-5731
Mobile: 090-1153-5297
Near Sightseeing Spot: Kamigamo and Shimogamo Shrines, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites. These shrines are older than even the ancient capital!

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Since I started KyotoFoodie I have received numerous inquiries from people asking where to go for teppanyaki in Kyoto. I rarely eat teppanyaki but do like it. I go to the Himorogi teppanyaki restaurant at Brighton Hotel sometimes for business dinners (when I am not selecting the restaurant). It is good but I can never justify the cost of the meal. I guess I cannot forgive bad cost performance. Hotel restaurants in Japan have uniformly bad cost performance and often the food is mediocre.

Wagyu Sashimi

Grilled Duck Breast and Foie Gras

Lobster and Vegetables

Teppanyaki and Kappo
Teppanyaki is usually beef, seafood and vegetables cooked on a hot steel grill in front of the customer. Teppanyaki is perhaps the second most well-known Japanese cuisine in the West. While it was developed in Japan, it was more popular with non-Japanese, until more recently. Kappo is very popular in Kyoto and features a counter seating arrangement in which the chef cooks and arranges the dishes on one side, and the customer enjoys them immediately on the other. Kappo is very intimate and offers the customer a chance to converse with the chef. A good chef quickly discerns the tastes and inclinations of the customer and prepares dishes accordingly. The combination teppanyaki with kappo is the sort of dining you expect to experience in Gion. Nice!

Owner Chef Tsukada Grating Wasabi for Wagyu Sashimi

Teppan Kappo Sou Owner Chef Tsukada (鉄板割烹 爽)
Chef Tsukada started working at a shinise teppanyaki restaurant in his native Kobe when he was 19 years old. He then came to Kyoto and worked at a teppanyaki restaurant at the Granvia Hotel for 10 years and opened his restaurant in Gion in April of 2007.

I asked Chef Tsukada why he decided to do a teppanyaki Japanese wagyu beef restaurant. Being from Kobe, known for some of the finest wagyu in Japan, of course played some part in his decision. However, he said that he really wanted to offer diners the best wagyu available without the prohibitive price of the famous brands like Kobe beef. To do this, he uses non-brand name wagyu. There are 14 grades of beef in Japan and the top grade is A5, the best Matsuzaka beef and Kobe beef are A5. Using A5 non-brand gives the same brand name taste, but costs about 30% less.

In addition to quality at a reasonable price, is individualized customer service in an intimate setting. Chef Tsukada said that he likes the simplicity of the kappo counter format and the direct contact with the customer. If the chef is alone in the kitchen, even if meals for 100 people are prepared, they all will taste identical. Chef Tsukada observes, listens to and gets to know each customer and adjusts the flavors and ingredients for them and recommends seasonal dishes.

He ends his course meals with some contemporary Japanese homecooking, curry rice. At Sou, curry is made with wagyu and an original roux and spice medley that he developed. I am not a big fan of Japanese curry, but many wagyu beef restaurants have their own signature curry dish, which I often like very much – hey, it’s gourmet! – and Chef Tsukada’s could not be topped.

Shark Skin Wasabi Grater

In Action – Photos from the Teppan Grill

Chef Tsukada at the Teppan

Chef Tsukada at the Teppan

Teppan: Mugwort Namafu, Atsuage Tofu and Wagyu

Teppan: Abalone

Teppan: Abalone

Teppan: Final Course, Curry Rice

Teppan: Final Course, Curry Rice

Meibutsu: Wagyu Katsu (Deep-fried Cutlet) Sandwhich

Sou Interior

Highly Recommended
• Teppan Kappo is located in extremely picturesque Gion Shinbashi, one of Kyoto’s geiko (geisha) entertainment districts.
• These districts are known for their very high prices and snobbery but Sou is open, friendly and quite reasonably priced.
• The quality of the wagyu beef is the highest grade available.
• Sou offers an excellent selection of wine, both Chef Tsukada and the manager are sommeliers.
• An English menu (with correct English) is available. The owner chef and manager worked at an international hotel for 10 years so can communicate a little in English.
• Get the meibutsu wagyu katsu sandwich for take out.
• Teppan Kappo Sou is even open until 2 am!

A dinner reservation is recommended. Ask your hotel concierge to make a reservation for you or use the email address below (simple English, please, the manager requests!)

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Teppan Kappo Sou in English
English Menu: yes
English Website: none
Japanese Website: www.teppankappou-sou.com

Service: Very good
Price:
dinner course: 8,400～ (10,500 or 16,000 yen course recommended)
ala carte also available
Reservations: Please make dinner and lunch reservations via email at least 3 days in advance.
Hours:
dinner: 5:30pm – 2:00am (1:30am last order)
Closed Sunday
Reservations: Please make lunch and dinner reservations via email address below at least 3 days in advance.
Email Reservations: teppankappou-sou (at) kki (dot) biglobe (dot) ne (dot) jp
Location and Access: Gion Shinbashi. Teppan Kappo Sou is located on the east side of Nawate-dori street, about 2 blocks north of Shijo Street.
Address: Kyoto-shi, Higashiyama-ku, Nawate-dori Shinbashi-agaru, Nishino-cho 216-2 Onishi Bldg II 1F (京都市東山区縄手取り新橋上る西之町216-2 大西ビルII 1階)
Telephone: 075-551-4515

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Cold Summer Noodles: Zaru Toro Udon at Tsunamichi - Served

Udon for Summer: Zaru Toro Udon at Tsunamichi (綱道のざるとろうどん)
This is a true gourmet masterpiece, country-style. It is just the right meal for Japanese summer!

Noodles: Dense, thick udon noodles, somehow both soft and firm, with lots of earthy, wheaty flavor served cold on a woven bamboo zaru (sieve) inset in a lacquered tray.
Dipping ‘Sauce’: The noodles are dipped into a mixture of grated yamaimo (Japanese mountain yam), raw egg, chopped scallions, fresh grated (real) wasabi and tsuyu. Tsuyu is a mixture of dashi, soy sauce and mirin.

Tsunamichi’s dipping sauce mixture is quite special, it is surely the richest I have had. The grated yamaimo is called tororo and unlike the very gooey (and cheaper) nagaimo usually used for tororo, it is extremely thick. The raw egg adds a luxurious creaminess, the fresh wasabi adds plenty of zing and the tsuyu is quite salty owing to plenty of soy sauce used.

The combination of this heavy, creamy dipping sauce and the heavy-duty country style noodles far surpasses any zaru udon or zaru soba dish I have encountered.

I am not a fan of Tsunamichi’s soba, it is very rough and thick and for me somehow lacks much taste. If you live in Kyoto and can visit Tsunamichi easily and like soba, by all means give it a try and tells us what you think in the comments section below. If you are just in town for a few days and want to try Tsunamichi, I highly recommend the udon over the soba.

Zaru toro udon costs 850 yen – and is quite filling.

Cold Summer Noodles: Zaru Toro Udon at Tsunamichi - Pouring on Tsuyu

Cold Summer Noodles: Zaru Toro Udon at Tsunamichi

Cold Summer Noodles: Zaru Toro Udon at Tsunamichi

Cold Summer Noodles: Zaru Toro Udon at Tsunamichi

All Gone!

More about Tsunamichi and Udon Country
It is mid-summer and hot, hot, hot in Kyoto now. The Gion Festival is over and that means the rainy season is over too. (The rainy season never fails to end the day or so before the Gion Festival Junko (procession) on the morning of July 17.) This is the season for cold and cooling meals.

Back in February of 2008 Miwa and I reviewed Tsunamichi’s very popular winter dish, piping hot miso simmered udon, (miso nikomi udon) and I eat it quite often in the cold months. As much as I like that one, I realized that I like this summer even more, much more.

Tsunamichi doesn’t make Kyoto-style noodles, no, there are thick, heavy and quite rough hewn, actually with more than a few noodles being too short or too thick. Never mind that, the taste is way over the top! Surely this is a dish for foodies not available abroad, not even available most anywhere in Japan!

Tsunamichi is a noodle shop run by a man from Kagawa prefecture in Shikoku. Sanuki is the classical name for this region and Sanuki is udon country! And the proprietor makes his udon, called undon in his dialect, by hand! (His soba too.)

Our previous ‘Udon for Winter‘ article about Tsunamichi has lots more information about udon culture in Shikoku so be sure to check it out!

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English:
English menu: none
English website: none
Service/Staff: Friendly
Price: 700 – 1,300 yen.
Location and Access: Bus, Subway. Tsunamichi is located about a 3 minute walk east from Kitaoji Bus Terminal, Kitaoji Subway Station and Kitaoji Vivre Shopping Center.
Address: Kyoto-shi Kita-ku Kitaoji-dori Karasuma Higashi-hitosuji Kita-iru Kitakamifusa-cho 39-2 (京都市北区北大路通烏丸東一筋北入ル北上総町39-2)
Telephone: 075-492-7860
Near Sightseeing Spot: Daitokuji Temple (10 min. bus)

Map:

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Japanese Western-style cakes and confections, called yogashi, in Japanese, I am not a fan of. They are nearly alaways fluffy, puffy, airy things, short on taste and soul. Western-style cakes and confections available in cafes or for take out in the department store food courts are nearly always a disappointment for me. Some authentic Italian and French restaurants do dessert well, but they are few and expensive. And, when you come all the way to Kyoto I am guessing that you want to try some things you can’t get back home.

When you go to Jouvencelle, you have to try the Gion Maccha Chocolate Fondue!

Gion Fondue

Jouvencelle Gion Cake Cafe
Wagashi, or Japanese confection, I am a big fan of. However, sometimes you’ve got to have some sweets from your homeland. Henri Charpentier is usually great! But, they don’t have a cafe in Kyoto.

Jouvencelle (京洋菓子司ジュヴァンセル) opened it’s doors on the day of the Gion Festival more than 20 years ago and has developed a lineup of cakes and confections that are generally Western in shape and cooking technique, however the tastes and flavoring ingredients are very Japanese, very Kyoto.

Jouvencelle’s Gion Fondue is not a hot fondue. Various kinds of cake, mochi, fresh fruit and so on are dipped into maccha chocolate – like a fondue. After you finish with the dipping the staff brings some hot milk and the leftover maccha chocolate in the dipping cup  is turned into a maccha chocolate au lait. Very nice!

Jouvencelle’s other cakes and confections are available for order and take out.

The second floor cafe has a pretty good view of Higashiyama (East Mountains) and the scenic environs below. The interior is bland as it is new, there is a small veranda that you can sit on which is nice when the weather is pleasant.

Jouvencelle has five other stores in Kyoto including one each in the food courts of Takashimaya and Isetan department stores, but none are sit down.

Dango in Maccha Chocolate 'Fondue' Dip

Strawberry in Maccha Chocolate 'Fondue' Dip

Pound Cake in Maccha Chocolate 'Fondue' Dip

Sakura Mochi in Maccha Chocolate 'Fondue' Dip

Maccha Chocolate au Lait - Just add hot milk!

Maccha Chocolate au Lait

Sakura Chocolate Fondue!

Spring Special Edition Sakura Chocolate Gion Fondue

Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to try this special edition Sakura Chocolate Gion Fondue as it was already out of season when I was there. There was still a poster in the elevator that I snapped this photo of. It looks like it includes candied bamboo shoot! Jouvencelle’s sakura chocolate is amazing and I mentioned in this KyotoFoodie Survey video way back when. I am definitely planning to try this one next spring!

'View' from the Jouvencelle Veranda - Japans Ubiquitous Powerlines, Even in Historic Gion!

Entrance to Jouvencelle

Protect Your Home from Calamity, Visit the Zen Temple Across the Street
After enjoying some Kyoto-style Western sweets be sure to visit the quaint and delightful little Zen temple called Tokei-ji across the street. It is not a famous temple but worth peeking in on. It is dedicated to a Japanese incarnation of Kannon (Avalokitasvara bodhisattva) who is worshipped to protect the home from calamities. Tokei-ji Temple offers  household fire prevention amulets. The are printed and stamped on paper and are attached to the wall of the kitchen. Fire has been the scourge of Japanese cities for centuries so these paper amulets are quite common in Japan. Tokei-ji’s amulet has the most artful calligraphy I have seen. These are cheap and travel well, you might like to get one on your trip to take home with you.

Tokei-ji Temple

Household Fire Prevention Amulet

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Jouvencelle in English:
English menu: yes
English website: none (Japanese site)
Service/Staff: so-so
Price: 800 – 1200 yen
Location and Access: Jouvencelle is located just south of the south gate of Yasaka Shrine, near the Shijo and Higashioji streets intersection. It is a 10 to 15 minute walk from Gion Shijo Station on the Keihan Railway or Kawaramachi Station on the Hankyu Railway. Many bus lines pass through the Shijo and Higashioji intersection neighborhood.
Address: Kyoto-shi Higashiyama-ku, Yasakatoriimae Minami-iru, Kiyoi-cho 482 Kyoban Bldg 2F
(京都市東山区八坂鳥居前南入清井町482 京ばんビル2F)
Telephone: 075-551-1511
Near Sightseeing Spot:In addition to Tokei-ji temple across the street, Jouvencelle is located in the Gion/Higashiyama neighborhood so there are many, many historic temples and shrines including Yasaka-jinja shrine, Kodai-ji temple and Kiyomizu-dera temple.

Map:

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Now, I would be remiss if I did not tell you that I went with a slight bit of trepidation because I have heard from two different sets of foreign tourists that tempura dinner at Yoshikawa was not good. More about that below. We had a very good kaiseki dinner but I just want to show you two dishes; pickled mackerel sushi served on a completely psychedelic colored persimmon leaf and tempura kakiage on rice with tea poured over the top.

Sabazushi Served on Autumn Psychedelically Colored Persimmon Leaf

Kakiage Tempura at Yoshikawa
Kakiage is sliced vegetables and sometime seafood that is mixed together with tempura batter and deep fried. ‘Kaki’ means to mix or stir and ‘age’ means to fry in oil. With tempura, usually the items are battered and deep fried individually. Kakiage can be more oily than regular tempura because it has a lot more surface area and batter.

Yoshikawa’s kakiage tempura was so light and unoily that it was almost not tempura to me. I had a hard time making out what exactly was inside it because everything was sliced so finely inside. It was so light and delicate that it seemed more like quiche or dashi tamagoyaki than tempura to me. At Yoshikawa the kakiage is the last course of the kaiseki meal and it is offered three ways; there is donburi style on rice, something that I cannot recall at the moment and chazuke style on rice with hot tea poured on. Chazuke is a very prosaic home cooking type dish. At a restaurant and inn of such distinction I thought that it must be quite interesting so I order chazuke and was very impressed.

Kakiage tempura was introduced on KyotoFoodie way back when we started in this article about Tenshu in Gion and recently briefly mentioned on OpenKyoto in this article about 500 yen dinner at Marugame in Kyoto.

How to Eat O-chazuke
Here are some photos that show the process of eating chazuke, or more politely o-chazuke. Chazuke works like this; you start with rice and some flavoring on top, pour on hot tea, stir it up a bit and using your chopsticks to eat and/or slurp it.

To the right of the rice bowl is wasabi paste and there is a plate of tsukemono pickles and chirimen jako. The wasabi can be added to the chazuke if you like wasabi but the tsukemono is a side dish and doesn’t go on the top of the rice.

I have found that just o-chazuke for dinner is an excellent way to lose weight.

Tempura Kakiage Chazuke - Served

Tempura Kakiage Chazuke - Pouring on Tea

Tempura Kakiage Chazuke - Pouring on Tea

Dinner at Yoshikawa Ryokan: Tempura Kakiage O-chazuke 吉川旅館 天ぷらかき揚げ茶漬け

Tempura Kakiage Chazuke - Pouring on Tea

Tempura Kakiage Chazuke - Ready to Eat

Tempura Kakiage Chazuke - How to Eat

Tempura Kakiage Chazuke - How to Eat

Yoshikawa Ryokan Inn
Yoshikawa Ryokan Inn and Tempura Yoshikawa Restaurant are at the same location on Tominokijo Street just south of Oike Street. You can go to Yoshikawa for tempura dinner only, or you can stay too. If you go just for dinner, you might ask for a private room.

Historic Yoshikawa Ryokan Inn and Tempura Yoshikawa Restaurant

Misunderstanding, Exaggeration and Lies and the ‘Bucket of Oil for Dinner’ Myth Story
I am a bit embarrassed to tell you about this. The first time I heard about dinner at Yoshikawa from the foreign travelers I distinctly recall hearing that the tempura was served in a bowl of oil. I imagined French Onion Soup in which the bread was the tempura and the soup was the oil. Come on, is there any food, anything, anywhere on planet Earth served in a bowl of oil? No one would eats anything like that, least of all Japanese.

I cannot count the number of times that I have heard fascinating (incredulous) stories from foreigners about all sorts bizarre things in Japan. There are certain things that Japanese just don’t do. In fact there are a lot of things that Japanese just don’t do. Yet, you often meet these fresh off the boat Western foreigners going on and on about how this or that Japanese was doing this weird thing and you are thinking to yourself, Self, in more than 10 years here I have never seen a Japanese do anything like that!

Some of it is just misunderstanding, usually due to language. Still, not excusable. But, the majority is, alas, just lies and exaggeration. When traveling with or hanging out with Japanese abroad I can’t recall once ever experiencing or hearing anything like that. Strange.

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Kyoto Mountain Wild Boar ‘Inoshishi’ Ramen いのししラーメン 京北町
The North Mountains around Kyoto are home to numerous wild boar, deer and bear — wild boar are especially prolific — and these animals sometimes find their way into Kyoto cuisine, usually in nabe. There are several shinise restaurants in the north of the city that specialize in wild boar nabe, see this Kyoto Support forum for details. However, wild game is not very ‘Kyoto’ food, it is ‘mountain’ food.

Today I was up in the mountains researching a new business project and at lunch time my hosts took me to this most unusual ramen joint. The shop is called Inoshishi Ramen Captain. It looks like any other roadside ramen joint in Japan, the kind of place frequented by truck drivers, lowbrow and seedy, with damn good ramen.

Wild Boar Ramen

Wild Boar Ramen

How did it taste?
A ramen dish called Inoshishi Ramen is made with real wild boar meat. It is available in salt, shoyu or miso soup. I chose miso because wild boar nabe uses a miso based soup.

At 1,250 yen, this is rather pricey ramen, but it is novel and tasty. If you are in Kyoto from abroad, sightseeing, I would definitely NOT recommend making the trip all the way up to Keihoko-cho for inoshishi ramen. If you live in Kyoto, have a car and are really into ramen, then, I think that you might put this shop on your list of places to go, sometime. If you are a ramen fanatic, well, then you are going to have to make a trip up to the North Mountains to try wild boar ramen!

Inoshishi Ramen Sign

Inoshishi Ramen Shop Storefront

Coca-Cola and Inoshishi Ramen Sign

I love this sign! Coca-Cola and Inoshishi Ramen!

Inoshishi Ramen Captain (いのししラーメンのキャプテン)
No English menu or service
tel: 0771-52-0489
Kyoto-shi, Ukyo-ku, Keihoku, Hosono-cho(京都市右京区京北細野町)

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Izuju: The Best Kyoto Style Sushi in Kyoto 祇園いづ重 京都寿司
I went to Izuju this morning and met the owner, Kitamura-san and heard all about their authentic Kyoto style sushi. It was quite an experience! Izuju has been in business for almost 100 years and is located on the corner of Shijo Street and Higashi O-ji, right across from the bright orange gate of Yasaka Shrine.

Izuju only makes Kyoto style sushi. The ‘edomae’ Tokyo style nigiri sushi, the kind we are most used to seeing abroad, is not available.

Famed Gion Izuju Owner Chef Kitamura-san

Some of Izuju’s greatest Kyoto sushi hits:

• sabazushi (pickled mackerel on sushi rice)
• sasamaki (sea bream, kinome and sushi rice wrapped in a sasa bamboo leaf)
• hakozushi (literally box sushi, in summer grill hamo pike eel and in winter sawara Spanish mackerel pressed onto to sushi rice in a wooden form)
• mushizushi (literally steamed sushi, this is a winter favorite, usually a lot of dashi in the rice then steamed)
• inarizushi (sushi rice with simmered vegetables in deep fried tofu skins*)

Of course there are other sushi dishes but these are the main dishes.

Inarizushi (inari sushi) is a Kyoto culinary fixture that has never moved me, Izuju’s astounded me though. Miwa says that Izuju’s inarizushi is the best in the world.

Izuju Kitchen Tour

After chatting over tea about sushi and Izuju with Kitamura-san, he invited me in back to see the kitchen. The restaurant is quite small, so I hadn’t realized that there was a kitchen in back. Several dark rooms with soot stained machiya rafters lead to a earthen hearth. I couldn’t believe my eyes, right here in the heart of Gion they are still cooking with wood! Using a handfull of used chopsticks, Kitamura-san fired it up and started simmering the days deepfried tofu inari pockets for inarizushi.

In the adjacent room staff were removing bones from aji horse mackerel for a seasonal sushi.

Gion Izuju Kitchen Tour

Firing up the hearth. On the left is where they cook rice and on the right is where they simmer inari pockets.

Gion Izuju Kitchen Tour

Now this hearth may look old, but it isn’t. They had it rebuilt 5 years ago and it needs repairs fairly often. There is only one person left in Kyoto making and maintaining these hearths, Kitamura-san said.

Gion Izuju Kitchen Tour

Simmering inari pockets.

Gion Izuju Kitchen Tour

Paper talismans from Atago Shrine to protect the home and business from fire is a very common sight even in modern Kyoto. As Izuju still uses a wood fire for cooking, they have a while lot of them stuck to the wall behind the hearth!

In the main kitchen they were cleaning fish and making inarizushi.

Gion Izuju Kitchen Tour: De-boning Aji

They are using metal tweezers to pull the bones out of these horse mackerel fillets.

Gion Izuju Kitchen Tour: Inari Sushi and Rice Stuffing Mixture

Gion Izuju Kitchen Tour: Inari Sushi

Making Sushi: Sabazushi

Back out in front, at the entrence is where they make the sabazushi. Often times sabazushi is formed in a wooden box form, but Izuju makes theirs into a roll. The process is rather simple:

• Layout vinegared mackerel fillet
• Form rice to shape
• Place rice atop mackerel fillet
• Roll inside cloth for form
• Roll inside kombu

How to Make Kyoto Sushi – Sabazushi

How to Make Kyoto Sushi – Sabazushi

How to Make Kyoto Sushi – Sabazushi

How to Make Kyoto Sushi – Sabazushi

How to Make Kyoto Sushi – Sabazushi

How to Make Kyoto Sushi – Sabazushi

How to Make Kyoto Sushi – Sabazushi

How to Make Kyoto Sushi – Sabazushi

How to Make Kyoto Sushi – Sabazushi

How to Make Kyoto Sushi – Sabazushi

Shinise Restaurant Interior

The interior of Izuju is quite an experience. Everything has a meaning and a reason for being there. Most of the decorations are from the restaurants past and were significant to its development.

Gion Izuju Restaurant Interior

Gion Izuju Restaurant Interior: Storefront Sign

This boat and rice paddle used to be Izuju’s shingle! Quite a sign. Izuju developed a trademarked name for their sushi presentation which was served in large wooden ‘boats’ like the shape of the sign.

Gion Izuju Restaurant Interior

Up to modern times, Izuju and similar operations did catering and takeout. These plates are what were used to serve their sushi at nice ‘restaurants’ in Gion. The paper one the wall is musical score from traditional Japanese Noh theater. The name for their trademarked sushi presentation comes from a Noh play, this is the score for that play.

Gion Izuju Restaurant Interior

Interior Details

The narrow vertical peices are Kitayama Sugi (Japanese cedar from the north mountians of Kyoto), the heavily abraded and eroded planks are from the inside of a well! I have never seen this before.

Interior Details

The plank here is from a wooden boat on Lake Biwa. Peices of wooden boats from Lake Biwa are a very common sight in Kyoto. Kitamura-san said that these peices were collected during the war. Even during a time of such hardship the previous owner still didn’t pass up a chance to score some interesting wood!

Kyoto Sushi Facts

I talked to the owner for an hour or so this morning and here are a few things that I learned. (I learned a lot!)

- Traditionally sushi restaurants were closed in the summer months, from right after the Gion Festival (July 17) to September.

- Before World War II most restaurants didn’t prepare food on site. The owner would get a reservation and budget from the customer and then order each dish from speciality shops. For example, Izuju was one of the top choices for sushi in Kyoto.

- Edo mae (Tokyo style) nigiri sushi came to Kyoto thanks to the 1923 Great Kantō Earthquake with sushi shops that relocated to Kyoto.

- Izuju was previously located at the intersection of Sanjo and Kawabata streets. During World War II they came to work one day and found an order posted on their storefront say to leave within one week because the block was going to be demolished by the military government. (A number of neighborhoods in Kyoto were leveled during the war to make makeshift runways, firebreaks and etc. These actions were militarily useless and only increased the suffering of the Japanese people.)

Izuju packed up a wagon and moved to their current location. They never even unpacked as they thought that they would have to move again. Fortunately the war ended soon after, and of course they now have probably the very best location in all of Kyoto. They left the wagon in their storehouse for several decades, as it was when they left their Sanjo location.

- Izuju has used the same rice, fish and kombu dealers for their entire history. No competitive bidding for business here!

- Izuju has not changed their recipes or sushi line-up since they started. (They did have to add one item to the menu based on a law made my General MacArthur during the occupation.)

- They still cook over a wood fired hearth. There is no sushi restaurant in Kyoto that still does and there are only several tofu shops that still do. They use used chopsticks as kindling and the fire department gets called by mistake several times a year by people thinking there is a fire in the heart of Gion!

Highly Recommended

Izuju is a restaurant whose sushi I have had many times take out at friends’ houses, as omiyage, etc, although I have never eaten in the restaurant, even though I walk or bike past it once or twice a week. I was deeply impressed by this casual, friendly, down to earth yet extremely sophisticated and ‘bases loaded homerun’ tasty restaurant.

Izuju is old Kyoto, in the heart of Gion, right across the street from historic Yasaka Shrine. It could be so easy for them to be full of themselves, stuck-up and haughty. Yet Kitamura-san, the owner was so humble and so kind and so sincere in his love of sushi and his restaurant. While I was taking photos in the other room, customers started coming in and I sensed that they were truly grateful to be able to buy his sushi and that he was truly honored to serve them. I can only believe that the soul of this restaurant accounts for the taste. The taste, while sophisticated, historic and deeply Kyoto, I would describe as elevated homecookin.

I was impressed with this restaurant beyond my ability to articulate. It is just so down to earth yet so elevated. I cannot think of a similar restaurant in Kyoto. (I am sure that there are some.)

For a sushi restaurant and a Kyoto shinise, Izuju is not expensive. If you are on a budget, you can enjoy a modest sampling of sushi, the likes of which you cannot find anywhere else in the world, including Japan, for like $10 or so. If you like sushi and are on a budget but can afford to spend like $50 per person on one nice meal on your visit to Kyoto, I would say that Izuju is THE place to go.

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Japan’s Answer to ‘Cookies and Cream’ Ice Cream: Soba boro is a crunchy cookie made of soba flour, sugar and egg, a little bit like a Japanese version of biscotti. Chibeta makes a delicious ice cream flavored with soba boro.

In Japan, soba boro is something like a graham cracker or sugar cookie in Western culture, one of the slightly prosaic, common, cheap sweets that taste pretty good.

Soba boro is made with the same buckwheat flour used for soba noodles, you might not think of it as an ideal flavoring for ice cream, but the soba boro is a nice flavoring for ice cream. This flavoring is pretty clever (though not unheard of) and originally might have been a riff on cookies and cream, which is a very popular Häagen-Dazs flavor in Japan.

Soba Boro Ice Cream

Notice the bits of broken soba boro in the ice cream, those darker bits.

Trypical Soba Boro Package

Soba Boro ‘Cookies’

Soba Boro – detail

Chibeta Soba Boro Ice Cream Package

Soba Boro Ice Cream Served

Kyoto Handmade Ice Cream Shop Chibeta
Chibeta is located on in the Nishijin district of Kyoto on Senbon-dori, just south of Imadegawa-dori. From the intersection of Senbon and Imadegawa Streets, you just go three (short) blocks to the south and Chibeta is located on the east corner of Senbon and Sasayacho Streets intersection.

Chibeta Storefront

Chibeta Interior

Sobo Boro Ice Cream and ‘Cookies’

The presentation in the ice cream case at Chibeta is great, they have whole soba boro cookies on top of the ice cream.

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Kyoto Handmade Ice Cream Shop Chibeta: While Japanese love ice cream and Häagen-Dazs is big here, handmade ice cream shops, the likes or which there are several in my hometown, are a rarity. Chibeta, located in Nishijin, the old weaving district of Kyoto, makes great ice cream in very novel flavors. Inspiration for flavors are either traditional Japanese foods or ingredients or seasonal fruit. When I first walked into Chibeta several years ago, it was spring and I was astonished to see sakura mochi ice cream in the ice cream case. It was quite an amalgam of flavors!

While there is no mochi in this ice cream it is flavored with the salted sakura blossoms (shiozakura) and leaves that flavors sakura mochi. It has the pronounced perfumy fragrance identical to sakura mochi that is provided by the blossom and leaf. The taste of the ice cream is very rich and creamy (low fat diary products are not common, I drink 4.4% milk here) and it is salty. Quite unexpected!

Sakura Mochi Ice Cream

‘Sweet’ plus ‘salty’ is a delicious combination. In the US we have salt water taffy (but the taste is not particularly salty, as I recall from my childhood). Sweet and salty are not uncommon in traditional Japanese sweets. I am unaware of it in ice cream though.

I thought that the combination of creamy, sweet (not too sweet), sakura and salt was well worth writing home about. Salted sakura blossom and leaf ought to be easily obtained abroad, so this ice cream ought to be available throughout the world in the near future, I am hoping! (Aspiring sakura mochi ice cream makers abroad can click the ‘Source Delish!’ link above for help sourcing shiozakura.)

If you are in Kyoto and planning on visiting Chibeta, please keep in mind that sakura mochi ice cream is only available in the spring. There are plenty of other wonderful flavors to try though!

More about Sakura Mochi on KyotoFoodie
Sakura Mochi (History and Kanto-style)
Sakura Mochi (Kansai-style)

Sakura Mochi Ice Cream

Sakura Mochi Ice Cream – detail

Notice the pink fleck on the left center and the bits of leaf on the right.

Sakura Mochi

Again, sakura mochi looks like this.

Chibeta Sakura Mochi Ice Cream Package

Kyoto Handmade Ice Cream Shop Chibeta
Chibeta is located on in the Nishijin district of Kyoto on Senbon-dori, just south of Imadegawa-dori. From the intersection of Senbon and Imadegawa Streets, you just go three (short) blocks to the south and Chibeta is located on the east corner of Senbon and Sasayacho Streets intersection.

Chibeta Storefront

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Unfortunately this excellent restaurant has suddenly closed as of November 2011.

Takaraya (宝屋) features several dishes that are very ‘Kyoto’ in style and taste. The cuisine of Kyoto features subtly complex and sophisticated flavors. To the sensibilities of the ancient capital, the more understated, the better. Typically, ramen is anything but subtle. This makes Takaraya quite a novelty and a must for any ramen connoisseur or visiting gourmet.

Sumashi Ramen (すましラーメン):
Takaraya’s sumashi ramen is a masterpiece, completely original, yet completely ‘ramen’. Completely ‘Kyoto’, Japanese ramen is typically overbearing; rich and heavy. The garnishes are unheard of. Deep-fried gobo (burdock root), mozzarella cheese! Unbelievable!

main ingredients: chicken soup base, slightly flat egg ramen noodles, chicken dango (meatballs) mozzarella cheese, aona (greens), cabbage garnished with thick sliced bacon and pepper sesame.

Takaraya’s sumashi ramen is a ‘10’.

Tamago kake gohan (出町の玉子かけご飯)
(Rice topped with raw egg)

Usually, rice with raw egg is served at breakfast, a simple dish with just a dash of shoyu (soy sauce). Takaraya’s tamago kake gohan is another masterpiece. Imaginatively garnished not with shoyu, but shio konbu (salted kelp, steeped in shoyu). First the egg is mixed into the rice, which is piping hot. The egg is not exactly cooked, but neither is it raw. Then sprinkle on the shio kombu and mix some more. Place a slice of cucumber atop the rice, blanket with a sheet of nori and scoop up a mouthful.

Takaraya’s tamago kake gohan is an ‘8.5’.

Toroniku chashumen (トロ肉チャーシューメン)
Shimofuri (sprinkled with frost) pork. Toro, is a reference to the most luxurious ‘fatty tuna’. Out of an entire hog, only 1 kilo of the Takaya’s toroniku chashu can be harvested. The thinly sliced chashu is soft, it nearly melts in your mouth. It is fatty, but not overwhelmingly rich.

Toruniku chashumen is offered with spicy miso, at no extra cost. (It isn’t really that spicy, don’t shy away from this unique garnish.)

Takaraya’s toruniku chashumen is a ‘7.

About Takaraya ramen noodles and eggs:
The wheat is grown and milled in Nagano Prefecture. The eggs used for the Takaraya ramen noodles and tamago kake gohan (rice with raw egg) contains no artificial or chemical additives. The chickens are fed a natural diet of rice bran, fish bones, corn and soybeans.Raw egg accompanies many dishes in Japan and is safe to eat (whether it agrees with you or not is another matter).

K.F. PakuPaku: I am always surprised to when I enter the shop as there are usually young couples and often foreign travelers. The typical ramen shops are patronized by salarymen grabbing quick and late dinner on the way home. Takaraya has a great, modern atmosphere. I always feel like I want to go back soon. Takaraya serves cold tea, rather than ice water. Thanks!

K.F. PekoPeko: Ramen is actually not a favorite dish of mine. I wouldn’t touch it for many years. If I am going to eat ramen, it had better be damn good. I have eaten at Takaraya about once a week for the last year and a half. I only order sumashi ramen, usually accompanied by tamago kake gohan. I love it!For a quick, reasonably priced, and pretty healthy dinner, Takaraya is a five star choice in my book.The service is excellent. The staff are friendly and well mannered. Overall the atmosphere and dining experience is excellent.

Criticism: gyoza (pot stickers) are run -of -the-mill. By no means bad, just not to the level of the other dishes.

About raw and undercooked eggs: In the years I have been in Japan, I suppose that I have eaten more than a thousand raw or undercooked eggs. I have gotten sick once and the culprit *might* have been raw egg. Some prudent folks avoid raw egg in the summer. You certainly wouldn’t want to ruin a trip to a far away land like Japan with a tummy ache, but neither would you want to miss out on some local delicacies enjoyed by the natives either. In the end, you’ll have to consider your own constitution and decide for yourself.

takaraya website (Japanese language only)

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