Soba Boro Package

I didn’t realize but I buy soba boro (蕎麦ぼうろ) fairly often. I like them. My dog likes them. I think that they have a distinctly Japanese taste yet are not challenging to the non-Japanese palate like tea ceremony namagashi might be. I reviewed Kyoto handmade soba boro ice cream here on KyotoFoodie and that is some wonderful stuff!

While soba boro is not a distinctly Kyoto confection, there are a number of shinise shop in Kyoto that are famous for them. One of my favorites is located near the Kyoto Gosho Imperial Palace and is called Kawaramachiya (丸太町かわらまち屋). In addition to soba boro, Kawaramachiya also is famous for their soba manju confections.

Kawaramachiya Soba Boro

How does Soba Boro Taste?
Soba boro has a very pleasant taste and texture and is not high in calories, for a sweet. It is hard and crispy but far less dense than traditional biscotti. Though it is very crunchy, it melts upon meeting the mouth very quickly. The soba and sugar creates a slightly earthy and caramely taste.

ingredient list:
wheat flour, sugar, egg, soba buckwheat flour

Kawaramachiya 'Honten' Store

SHARE! Kyoto Support Forum: Shopping, Souvenirs and Kyoto Meibutsu

Tweet! Tweet! Find out what’s going on in Kyoto right now, follow me on Twitter.

English:
English menu/signage: none
English website: none
Service/Staff: so-so
Price: 300 – 1,500 yen.
Location and Access: Kawaramachiya is located on Marutamachi Street between Teramachi and Kawaramachi Streets, on the south side of Marutamachi. The closest station is Jingu Marutamachi Station on the Keihan Railway, just across the Kamo River. The Marutamachi subway station on the Karasuma Line is about a 10 minute walk to the west. Many bus lines pass through this neighborhood too.
Address: Kyoto-shi Kamigyo-ku, Marutamachi-dori Kawaramachi Nishi-iru, Shintomi-cho 331
(京都市上京区丸太町通河原町西入信富町331番地)
Telephone: 075-231-2146
Near Sightseeing Spot: The Imperial Palace (5 min. walk to the north-west) and Shimogoryo Jinja Shrine and Teramachi Street

Map:

View OpenKyoto/KyotoFoodie Map in a larger map

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.

Map

View OpenKyoto/KyotoFoodie Map in a larger map

This morning, once again, Tanigawa-san from Kichisen called and asked me to accompany him on a little culinary adventure up to Kibune. Kibune is a village in a mountain gorge in the north mountains above Kyoto, it is a top foodie (and date) spot, especially in the sweltering Kyoto summer. In Kibune they put deck-like constructions with tables over the mountain stream and people enjoy a wonderful meal of river fish while sitting atop the cool, gushing river.

I was out back in my new garden planting habanero peppers when Tanigawa-san showed up at my place in his 1988 Mercedes Benz 560 SL convertible — with the top down, wearing Ray Bans and this really horrible gangsta rapper t-shirt (see photos below).

We zoomed up to Kibune at top speed chatting about European brands, the size of the engine in his car (compared to that of the other Mercedes Benzs that we pass), business and food and then somehow I was made to give an recounting of my girlfriends and relationships since I came to Japan. (Five in ten years really isn’t that many but he seemed somewhat incredulous. Not that Tanigawa-san is in a position to be envious, his wife is extremely HOT.) As we zip up the the mountain road nearing our destination I ask him why we are going to Kifune. He corrects me: Kibune. (Officially it IS Kifune, but ‘real’ Kyoto people say Kibune, or so it has seemed to me over the years.)

Kifune Kawadoko, literally ‘River Floor’

Kifune Kawadoko

Kifune Kawadoko, The Mountain Lane and Tourists

Kibunejaya Entrance

Kibunejaya – We Have River Trout Tempura

Kibunejaya – Interior

Kibunejaya – Interior

Kibunejaya – Interior

Kibunejaya – River Fish Holding Tank

Kibunejaya – River Fish Holding Tank

Kibunejaya – Tanigawa-san, Okami-san and Deshi Kid

So, we get up to Kibune and pull into this kawadoko restaurant called Kibunejaya and one of his students appears from the kitchen. The last time I saw him he was being dropped off at Tanigawa-san’s friend’s stall at the Kyoto Wholesale Food Market to clean fish all day. The time before that he was literally beaten out of the kitchen by Tanigawa-san for scooping rice the wrong way, or some other little minor infraction. Minor to me, at least.

I was glad to see this kid up in Kibune. I sensed that Tanigawa-san was starting to believe that he just might amount to something.

Kibunejaya – Tanigawa-san and Okami-san

Kibunejaya – Cold Somen Noodle Lunch with Tanigawa-san

We had a quick lunch and I made friends with the family that runs the restaurant. They invited me back to do a proper interview and photoshoot for KyotoFoodie. I just have to make sure that I go on a sunny and warm day so that we can get some photos of people on the kawadoko. Kawadoko literally means ‘river floor’.

Kibunejaya – Cold Somen Noodle Lunch

Kibunejaya – Cold Somen Noodle Lunch

Kibunejaya – Cold Somen Noodle Lunch

Kibune is about 30 minutes by train up into the north mountains from the city. It is a little village with an ancient shrine, a beautiful stream gushing through it and numerous restaurants.

The restaurants are unlike anything you can find in other regions of Japan, or so they say. Even my professor of urban design in graduate school told me that by law placing restaurants, or any other constructions over rivers is prohibited in Japan. The restaurants have deck-like constructions right over the top of the cool, gushing river stream. See, Kyoto is pretty hot and steamy in the summer. People go up to Kibune, sit atop this stream and are literally cooled by the temperature and the sound of the running water.

It really is chilly up there. We turned toward Kibune at the intersection for Kibune and Kurama and it was instantly colder. Tanigawa-san said 5 degrees (centigrade).

People in Kyoto love to go up to Kibune and have lunch or dinner atop the river and enjoy the refreshing chill of the water and breeze while enjoying mountain vegetable and river fish cuisine.

Kifune Shrine

On the way home, we zoom down the mountain a few hundred meters then Tanigawa-san parks. Where he parks isn’t a no parking zone, it isn’t somewhere that anyone would even consider parking, it is the entrance of a shrine! We climb the very steep stairway to the top and pray.

Kifune Shrine

Kifune Shrine Water – Take Out

Kifune Shrine – Mitarashi

This is where you wash your hands and purify yourself before entering the shrine proper.

Kifune Shrine – Going Home: Strike a Pose

Kifune Shrine – Going Home: Strike a Pose

Kifune Shrine – No Parking

Kifune Kawadoko: So Kyoto

This is the most elegant, famous (and expensive) restaurant in Kibune. This is the epitome of Kyoto to me. You are offered just a glimpse of the rushing river down this stone stairway and under a intimately scaled bridge-like passage way. Of course as you walk down the lane you can easily hear the rush of the river anywhere in the village, even if you cannot see it. The glimpse is so Kyoto.

Today, while passing through Demachiyanagi, there wasn’t usual huge line at Demachi Futaba Mochi Store, so I peeked in and noticed that in addition to the usual line-up of mame-mochi (mochi with whole beans) they had kuromame daifuku, mochi made with black beans from Tamba, in rural Kyoto prefecture. The recently harvested kuromame are gigantic and of course tasty.

Beans in Mochi
Demachi Futaba is a very famous shinise mochi shop in the Masugata Shotengai shopping arcade in the Demachiyanagi neighborhood. There are usually very long lines for their famous mame mochi.

Demachi Futaba’s mame-mochi is known for the softness and quality of it’s mochi and the interesting contrast of sweet azuki bean paste filling and the light saltiness of the beans impregnating the outer mochi layer.

Kuromame Daifuku: Served

Azuki and Anko
Anko, or azuki bean paste, I don’t usually like because it usually just too sweet. Cheap mochi invariably contains anko that is too sweet. Demachi Futaba, in addition to selling their name, uses excellent quality mochi and the anko isn’t too sweet. One mame-mochi or daifuku costs about 150-180 yen, which is a bit more than what is available in supermarkets, but a few pieces of the good stuff ought not to break a traveler’s budget. Even with green tea from a vending machine, enjoying on the nearby riverbank, a few pieces of mame-mochi makes for a nice snack.

We reviewed Demachi Futaba in this article early last summer and introduced their mame-mochi. At first glance, they might look the same, but tamba kuromame beans, which are black, are much, much larger than the regular beans, which are dark brown.

How Did it Taste?
Demachi Futaba’s kuromame seemed more sweet than salty. The taste is big, earthy and rich, the sweetness is subtle and complex and had a slight maple-like syrupiness. I don’t recall ever having mame-mochi that tasted like that.

Kuromame Daifuku

Kuromame Daifuku: Served

For Comparison: ‘Regular’ Mame Mochi

This image is from Mame-mochi and Kuzu-manju, our article we did last summer.

Kuromame Daifuku: Cross Section

Demachiyanagi Neighborhood
Demachiyanagi is the jump-off point if you are going up to Kurama, Kibune, Hanase and probably Ohara. If you are heading up that direction, you will probably change trains at Demachiyanagi, so this is a good opportunity to purchase some yummies to take up to the mountains with you. Also, if you are going to the Imperial Palace, Demachi Futaba is less than a 10 minute walk from the north-east side of the palace grounds.

If you are looking for a place to live in Kyoto, the Demachiyanagi neighborhood is a great place. This is north Kyoto and is considered the nicest part of the city, the mountains are always in sight and historic shines and temples abound, including a number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Demachiyanagi is right next to the Kamo River and not too far from Higashiyma (the East Mountains) and the Imperial Palace grounds, so there is plenty of green space nearby. There are several universities in neighborhood so there are plenty of reasonably priced apartments and restaurants. The Demachuyanagi shopping arcade has about 35 shops and two grocery stores that are among the cheapest in Kyoto. Demachiyanagi is just a 10 minute bicycle ride from the center of the city.

English and Access

English menu: No and N/A, just point to what you want in the showcase
Service/Staff: so-so (typical Kyoto shinise service)
Hours: 8:30am-5:30pm, closed Tuesdays and 4th Wednesday of every month

Location and Access: Demachi Futaba is located on the west side of the Kamo River about a 3 minute walk from Keihan Demachiyanagi Station and Eizan Demachiyanagi Station. The store is facing Kawaramachi Street, just north of the Kawaramachi-Imadegawa intersection. Demachi Futaba is just south of the entrance to the shopping arcade.
Address
: Kyoto-shi, Kamigyo-ku, Kawaramachi-dori, Imadegawa-agaru, Seiryu-cho 236 (京都市上京区河原町通今出川上る青龍町236)
Telephone:  075-231-1658

Near sightseeing Spot: Demachi Futaba is near the Kamo River, Shimogamo Shrine, Kyoto Gosho Imperial Palace and Shokokuji Temple. The Masugata Shotengai shopping arcade, just around the corner is also quite interesting.

Map

View Larger Map

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.

Master Chef’s Daily Routine
We continue our visit to the Kyoto Wholesale Food Market with Kichisen owner and master chef, Yoshimi Tanigawa. Part 1 is about morning prayers and selecting fish for osechi.

Kichisen Osechi: Searching the Kyoto Vegetable Section

Kichisen Osechi: Kyoto Vegetable Section

Kichisen Osechi: Tanigawa Chats with Vegetable Vendor

In many shops, the kerosene stove is a popular destination for both staff and customers.

Kichisen Osechi:

Kichisen Osechi: Kuwai

Kichisen Osechi: Maru Daikon and Kintoki Ninjin Carrot

Kichisen Osechi: Saya Ingen

Kichisen Osechi: Ingen Mame

Kichisen Osechi: Mini Daikon

Kichisen Osechi:

Kichisen Osechi: Rape Blossoms, Nanohana

Kichisen Osechi: Red Turnip, Aka Kabura

Kichisen Osechi: Turnip, Kabura

Kichisen Osechi: Osechi Kyo-yasai, Ebi Imo

The nine boxes in the center ar filled with ebi-imo, literally ‘shrimp potato’.

Kichisen Osechi: ＠Young Bamboo Shoot, Waka Takenoko

Kichisen uses fresh, ‘winter bamboo shoots’ from Kyoto — we had never heard of these before.

Kichisen Osechi: Kyoto Fruit Section

Kichisen Osechi: Dried Persimmons, Hoshigaki

Dried persimmon are used in a New Year’s decoration called Kagami Mochi.

Kichisen Osechi: Kumquat, Kinkan

Candied kumquat are an important feature of osechi.

Kichisen Osechi: Japanese Citrus, Yuzu

Kichisen’s osechi has candied yuzu peel in it, which we had never heard of.

Ramen Breakfast
We stopped in at a ramen shop near Kyoto Station for breakfast and there I realized that I had been eating ramen ‘the wrong way’ all these years. I always mix everything up before I start eating, but Tanigawa told me that the best way to enjoy the variety of ingredients is from the middle of the bowl, pull up the noodles with whatever ingredients happen to be on top. Interesting.

Kichisen Osechi: Ramen Breakfast

Kichisen Osechi: Ramen Breakfast

I asked if it was alright to take his photo eating ramen, thinking that it might be scandalous.

Kichisen Osechi: Ramen Breakfast

Back at Kichisen

Upon hearing the car horn while we passed by on the other side of the street, the students rush out and assemble to unload and clean the vehicle.

Kichisen Osechi: Unloading

Kichisen Osechi: Unloading

Kichisen Osechi: Unloading

If you look down into the basement garage you can see the master’s punching bag and red Ferrari.

Kichisen Osechi: Unloading and Accounting

Kichisen Osechi: Unloading and Accounting

Kichisen Osechi: Unloading and Accounting

Kichisen Osechi: Unloading and Accounting – Kumquats

These will go into osechi, they were ordered from southern Japan. The kumquats having the green leaves still attached is essential for osechi.

Kichisen Osechi: Unloading – Kyoto Ice

Kichisen Osechi: Unloading – Live Eels

These eels will be cooked for Tanigawa’s aging dogs.

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.

Master Chef’s Daily Routine
Tanigawa wakes at 5 am and leaves Kichisen at 5:30 for the market. His students, who have only gone to bed a few hours before, have already prepared the vehicle and gather at the door of his apartment, they greet and bow to their master when he appears.

This has been the routine at Kichisen for 28 years. Even though some of his students are experienced and have the eye to choose superior ingredients, Tanigawa goes to the market and chooses everything served at Kichisen himself.

In the car, he listens to NHK radio news and makes a stop at Rokkakudo Temple in central Kyoto located near Shijo-Karasuma intersection.

Kichisen Osechi: Morning Prayers at Rokkakudo Temple

Kichisen Osechi: Morning Prayers at Rokkakudo Temple

Kichisen Osechi: Morning Prayers at Rokkakudo Temple

Kichisen Osechi: Pure Land School Founder Shinran

Every morning Tanigawa stops at Rokkakudo Temple and prays. Rokkakudo is one of the oldest temples in Kyoto. The temple’s record says that it was built in 587, which is 200 years before Kyoto became capital. It is known as the origin of the Ikenobo School of flower arrangement. Rokkakudo Temple is also known for the pilgrimage of Buddhist monk Shinran, who is the founder of Jodo Shinshu, or the Pure Land School sect, Japan’s largest sect. Shinran walked down from Mount Hieizan to Rokkakudo every day for 100 days. On his 95th day, while circumambulating the temple he experienced a vision that led to the creation of the Pure Land School.

Tanigawa visits this temple daily seeking enlightenment and direction in his life’s work.

The gates opens at 5:50 a.m and he is usually the first person to enter.

At the Market

Kichisen Osechi: Local Newspaper at the Ice Vendor’s

The first stop is the ice vendors, Kichisen uses the best ice too! While the lad prepares the ice, Tanigawa scans the proprietor’s Kyoto newspaper.

Kichisen Osechi: Kyoto Wholesale Food Market Auction

(Tanigawa doesn’t participate.)

Kichisen Osechi: Asking the Price for Tarako Cod Roe

Kichisen Osechi: Tarako Cod Roe

Kichisen Osechi: Bodara Dried Cod

Cod is caught in Hokkaido and dried whole exposed to the sun and wind for several months. They are rock hard and require about 2 weeks of soaking to reconstitute and prepare for cooking. At Kichisen, cooking takes two days.

Kichisen Osechi: Bodara Dried Cod

Kichisen Osechi: Examining Live Flounder

Kichisen Osechi: Examining Live Flounder

Kichisen Osechi: Fugu

Kichisen Osechi: Cleaned Fugu Pufferfish

The skin is mighty tasty but the lips are poisonous. One fugu has enough toxin in it to kill about 50 people. (Fugu is not used in osechi ryori.)

Kichisen Osechi: Check Out

Kichisen Osechi: Tuna Dealer – Maguro

Maguro does not appear in osechi ryori.

Kichisen Osechi: Tuna Dealer – Maguro

Kichisen Osechi: Tuna Dealer – Maguro

The tuna’s answer to ox tail.

Kichisen Osechi: Tuna Dealer – Maguro

Kichisen Osechi: Check Out

It is cold at the market in this season. Notice the woman on the right giving change, she has an electric blanket wrapped around her legs.

Kichisen Osechi: Uni Sea Urchin Dealer

Kichisen Osechi: Dried Sardine Dealer

Kichisen Osechi: Dried Sardine Dealer

Kichisen Osechi: Dried Sardine Dealer

Tanigawa swears by this dealer’s dried sardines. He scooped up some for us to eat and told me to remember the taste.

Kichisen Osechi: Really Tiny ‘Jako’

Kichisen Osechi: Inspecting Karasumi, Dried Mullet Roe

This stack of white boxes contain about $10,000 USD worth of karasumi.

Kichisen Osechi: Karasumi

These are huge egg sacs and the highest quality, each pack costs $200-300 USD. This is excellent stuff!

Kichisen Osechi: Red Snapper

Kichisen Osechi: Monkfish and Liver

Monkfish is popular in nabe in the winter but it is not used in osechi.

Kichisen Osechi: Monkfish Liver, Made in USA

An kimo, or monkfish liver is said to be the native foie gras of Japan. It is very good.

Kichisen Osechi

Kichisen Osechi: Namako, Sea Cucumber

(not used in osechi)

Kichisen Osechi: Shellfish

(not used in osechi)

Kichisen Osechi: Kazunoko – Herring Roe

This salted herring roe is from the US. Kazunoko is a prominent feature in osechi.

Kichisen Osechi: Crab

Kichisen Osechi: Inspecting Dry Goods, Kombu and Shiitake

Kichisen Osechi: Inspecting Dried Kombu

Kichisen Osechi: Inspecting Dried Shiitake

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!

Paku Says: Best Mikasa in Japan, Do Not Miss!
Shimogawara Azuki (also spelled Aduki) is famous for their mikasa, also known as dorayaki in other regions of Japan. Their sweets are really famous with locals. I used to stop by very often to buy one of their mikasa for a snack when I used to live near there. You can buy Shimogawara Azuki’s mikasa at department stores in Kyoto too, but the mikasa from the original store is different and really fresh! Fresh, puffy and even warm if you get there at the right time!

Shimogawara Azuki’s Mikasa

The waffle is soft and fluffy and the anko (azuki bean paste) is not too sweet, so you can still taste of the original flavor of the azuki beans. (Azuki in Japan is often overly sweet, sometimes extremely sweet.)

The mikasa are just 160 yen each and I think that this store offers the best mikasa in all of Japan. If you are in the neighborhood, I recommend that you try this shop for a traditional Kyoto snack. You can get a few to take out and eat them on the way up to Kiyomizu Temple.

Inside the store is a tiny seating area and you can try sit down and eat their other sweets; like maccha ice cream with mochi and azuki beans, anmitsu and zenzai. In the summer they have kakigori which is very good and refreshing. (For more about kakigori in Gion, please see this article.)

xox, Paku

Shimogawara Azuki’s Famous Dorayaki (Mikasa)

Shimogawara Azuki’s Famous Dorayaki – detail
This one has a white azuki bean filling.

Show Window: Shimogawara Azuki’s Famous Complete Dorayaki Lineup

Showcase: Zenzai and Anmitsu

Showcase: Extra Large Mikasa

This is a fine example of Japan’s plastic display case food. This magnum sized mikasa has both white and red azuki bean paste filling.

Teppan Metal Grill for Cooking the ‘Pancakes’

Kitchen Staff Filling Mikasa with Azuki Bean Paste

Shimogawara Azuki Storefront

Shimogawara Azuki Show Window

English and Access

English menu: none
English website: none
Service/Staff: so-so (go for the dorayaki, not the conversation)
Hours: 9am-6pm, closed Wednesdays
Location and Access: Shimogawara Azuki is best accessed on foot. It is located just down the street from the south gate of Yasaka Shrine on Shimogawara Street. From Shijo-Higashiyama intersection and Yasaka Shrine it is about a three minute walk.
Address
: Kyoto-shi, Higashiyama-ku, Gion, Kamibenten-cho 428 (京都市東山区祇園下河原通八坂鳥居前下ル上弁天町428)
Telephone: 075-561-3977

Near sightseeing Spot: Shimogawara Azuki is located in the heart of scenic Gion/Higashiyama near the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Kiyomizu Temple and other historic places such as Yasaka Pagoda and Kodaiji Temple.

Asuka is a restaurant that I have been going to since even before I lived in Kyoto. It has never disappointed me. Asuka serves ‘teishoku‘ set menu meals and offers ‘ippin‘ a la carte dishes. The atmosphere is friendly, the prices are reasonable, the home cooking style food is delicious and it is located near the museums and Heian Shrine in Okazaki Park. Asuka is very popular with locals and foreign visitors.

Downhome and Tasty in Stuffy Old Kyoto
Asuka, run by several yakety-yak older ladies, is down home and low key in a way that very few restaurants are in Kyoto. Asuka reminds me more of an Osaka restaurant than one in Kyoto.

As the restaurant is just a 30 second walk from the Higashiyama Subway Station on the Tozai Line, which is the jump-off point for the museums in Okazaki Park and Heian Shrine, Asuka always seems to have several foreign customers. Asuka is about the most foreigner friendly place I know in the city. A wholesome and tasty teishoku meal can be had for under 1,000 yen, which makes Asuka a good deal.

I stopped in the other day on an early winter day for a late afternoon lunch. I ordered a set meal that included simmered fish head chunks, however most dishes at Asuka a lot more conventional and ‘foreigner friendly’.

Buri-ara Nitsuke Teishoku

Buri-ara Nitsuke: Yellowtail Head Chunks Simmered in Shoyu

Buri-ara Nitsuke: Yellowtail Head Chunks Simmered in Shoyu – detail

Teishoku
Teishoku, literally ‘set meal’ in Japanese, is very common and economical, especially for lunch. Teishoku usually includes fish, a rice or noodle dish with 3 or 4 other small side dishes and miso soup. Asuka offers several Kyoto-style noodle dishes and always several seasonal teishoku meals, usually featuring fish.

I had the seasonal buri-ara nitsuke teishoku, that is chunks of yellowtail head simmered in sweetened soy sauce and ginger. The other dishes included rice, miso soup, tofu, simmered vegetables and pickles. Plucking out the bits of meat from a fish head is not for everyone and Asuka offers plenty of other dishes that are far easier to eat.

Ippin
Ippin, literally ‘one dish’ is popular fare at drinking establishments such as izakaya. Asuka offers a huge menu of seasonal, ippin dishes that go well with beer or sake or add some bulk to a teishoku. (If you are a sake aficionado, Asuka’s sake selection is nothing to write home about. You might want to stick with beer.)

If you are going to Asuka for a leisurely dinner, you can order a number of ippin dishes and split them among your party. This a very popular way to eat out with friends in Japan.

Asuka Interior

Asuka offers a small counter with chairs and four tables on tatami mat. If the restaurant is smoky you can ask to be seated upstairs.

Asuka Storefront

English and Access

English menu: yes (understandable English)
English website: none
Service/Staff: Very friendly
Hours: 11am-11pm, closed Mondays
Location and Access: Asuka is just a few steps from the North exit of Higashiyama Station on the Subway Tozai Line.
Address
: Kyoto, Higashiyama-ku, Sanjo-dori, Jingumichi Nishi-iru Nishimachi 144 (京都市東山区三条通神宮道西入西町144)
Telephone: 075-751-9809

Map

View Larger Map

Near sightseeing Spot: Asuka is about a 5 minute walk from the museums in Okazaki Park and Heian Shrine. The start of the Philosopher’s Path at Nanzenji Temple at the foot of the Higashiyama Mountains is about 25 minutes away.

Rakanmochi is sesame flavored mochi encased in a firm but dry and crumbly block of Japanese wasanbon sugar and requires a slight bit of excavation in order to enjoy.

Peko discovered this unusual and very tasty wagashi from Tawaraya Yoshitomi while working on the ayugashi article.

About the Mochi
Rakanmochi comes packed in dry wasanbon sugar which in addition to sweet has distinct butter and honey overtones and is very creamy on the tongue as it quickly melts. The mochi tastes and feels completely different from the wasanbon. The outside is somewhat tough and al dente, but inside it is moist and gooey. It is dark, reddish brown and rich and complex in taste. Sesame is prominent with a base taste that is nutty and molasses-like due to the traditional Japanese sweeteners used.

Rakanmochi is genteihin (限定品), or a limited product. It is only sold at Tawaraya Yoshitomi Karasuma location. At just 157 yen, it is a steal!

Rakanmochi Under Excavation

This image makes me think of images still in my mind from stone quarries.

About Wasanbon Sugar
Today, wasanbon is mainly used for high quality Japanese confections. Traditionally, sugar was an imported luxury that most people had never even seen, much less tasted. In Kyoto only a handful of wagashi stores were licensed to use sugar.

In the early 1700′s (Edo period) domestic sugar production was encouraged by the Tokugawa Shogunate. Of the main islands of Japan sugar cane would only grow in a few areas. In Shikoku, mainly Tokushima chikuto, or ‘thin’ sugar cane was cultivated and modern-day wasanbon sugar was produced there.

Chikuto sugar cane only grows 2 meters high and is not even as thick as a corn stalk. Therefore, it is called ‘thin’, as compared to sugar cane that grows in tropical areas.

Wasanbon, literally ‘Japanese three tray’ sugar as the purification process of pressing, washing and kneading was done three times on wooden trays. This labor intensive process is still done by hand but usually done 5 times rather than just 3.

In appearance wasanbon at first seems like Western powdered sugar, however it has slightly larger granules. The color is slightly golden rather than pure white, it looks and feels more natural than overrefined white sugar.

The taste of wasanbon is different than normal sugar. It has that natural flavor of raw sugar that has not been too refined, even though it is quite refined – washed, kneaded and pressed 5 times! It is not overly sweet. It is caramely and earthy, yet dry and crumbly.

When wasonbon arrives on the tongue it melts – it goes from dry and powdery to syrupy and creamy in an instant and then just vanishes into a sweetness on the tongue.

Rakanmochi Package

On the top it says, 羅漢餅 (rakanmochi).

Rakanmochi Package

Sorry, I didn’t research the story of the two characters on either side of the package.

Rakanmochi Straight Out of the Package

Rakanmochi ‘Excavation’ Process

Starting to breaking it apart

Rakanmochi ‘Excavation’ Process

It’s actually quite a bit of sugar which can be used for creating other yummies or just nibbled upon.

Rakanmochi Served

Rakanmochi – bite

Wasanbon – detail

Tawaraya Yoshitomi Karasuma Store 俵屋吉富 烏丸店
Location and Access: Approximately 5 minute walk from Imadegawa Station (Karasuma Subway Line).
Address: 602-0021 Kyoto-shi Kamigyo-ku Karasuma-dori Kamidachiuri-agaru Yanaginozushi-cho 331-2 (京都府京都市上京区烏丸通り上立売上ル柳図子町331-2)
Telephone: 075-432-3101
www.kyogashi.co.jp/b-1.html (Japanese language only)

Demachi Futaba is one of Kyoto’s most popular shinise mochi shops, famous for tasty confections and long lines! It is common to see taxis waiting while tourists make a last minute purchase of Kyoto yummies before jumping on a bullet train and going back home. Backpacker tourists can often be seen down at the nearby Kamo River bank munching away on some seasonal mochi too.

Mame-mochi is Demachi Futaba’s undisputed favorite. It is a favorite of Kyoto residents and well known throughout Japan. It has big, black beans in soft, chewy mochi. Demachi Futaba’s mame-mochi is nadai (名代), or ‘famous’.

We picked up some mame-mochi and a summery kuzu-manju.

Kuzu
Kuzu-manju is a lightly sweetened gelatin made from the starch of the kuzu root and is filled with azuki paste, this all wrapped in a fresh tree leaf. (We think it is sakura, but are not positive.) Kuzu is well-loved by Japanese and the most sought after kuzu comes from Yoshino in Nara Prefecture, just next door to Kyoto.

Kuzu is appealing to Japanese sensibilities as a cool and refreshing summer treat because chilled, it looks ice-like and contains a lot of water. Things that not only are cool, but look cool, water or ice-like do the trick for Japanese, it seems.

Demachi Futaba is located in the Demachiyanagi neighborhood up on the north-east side of the Imperial Palace, next to the Kamo River. It is near Keihan Demachiyanagi Station. If you are heading up to Kurama and Kibune or Ohara and Yase, in the north mountains, this is a great place to pick up some shinise snacks to take a long. We have also reviewed several restaurants in the neighborhood that serve fine dinners.

Throughout the year, Demachi Futaba has a wide assortment of seasonal mochi treats, be sure to sample some of them in addition to the ‘nadai‘ mame-mochi. (And come back to KyotoFoodie and tell us what you thought!)

Demachi Futaba Package

Your order is nicely packaged and the blue sticker reads; “Nadai (famous product) mame-mochi Demachi Futaba”. And on the upper right; “Please eat today”.

Mame-mochi

Kuzu-manju

Cooling, light, summery and fresh.

Demachi Futaba Showcase

The showcase contains a variety yummies that changes throughout the year.

Demachi Futaba Shop

Production is done just behind the counter, in plain view and it is a beehive of activity. Demachi Futaba is far and away the busiest mochi shop I have seen in Kyoto.

Demachi Futaba Shop

It is not uncommon for their to be 30 or 40 customers waiting in line, especially in the late afternoon. (This photo was taken first thing in the morning.)

Demachi Futaba

This detailed Japanese language map is printed on the wrapping paper.

English and Access

English menu: No and N/A, just point to what you want in the showcase
Service/Staff: so-so (typical Kyoto shinise service)
Hours: 8:30am-5:30pm, closed Tuesdays and 4th Wednesday of every month

Location and Access: Demachi Futaba is located on the west side of the Kamo River about a 3 minute walk from Keihan Demachiyanagi Station and Eizan Demachiyanagi Station. The store is facing Kawaramachi Street, just north of the Kawaramachi-Imadegawa intersection. Demachi Futaba is just south of the entrance to the shopping arcade.
Address
: Kyoto-shi, Kamigyo-ku, Kawaramachi-dori, Imadegawa-agaru, Seiryu-cho 236 (京都市上京区河原町通今出川上る青龍町236)
Telephone: 075-231-1658

Near sightseeing Spot: Demachi Futaba is near the Kamo River, Shimogamo Shrine, Kyoto Gosho Imperial Palace and Shokokuji Temple. The Masugata Shotengai shopping arcade, just around the corner is also quite interesting.

Map

View Larger Map

Ryuen specializes in a simple and elegant wagashi that combines a center of candied kuri (chestnut) embedded in koshian (sweet azuki bean paste) with a coating of sugar and kuzu (arrow root starch), some with the addition of sugary green tea powder (maccha).

Ryuen‘s wagashi is decidedly classical in look and feel, expressing the aesthetic of wabi-sabi and is popular with many of the Kyoto temples that are closely associated with the tea ceremony.

Ryuen is a shinise (an old and long-loved store) in Kyoto that is just down the street from the Imperial Palace (Gosho) and creates a series of wagashi that one could easily imagine as a purveyor to the imperial court for a millennium. (Actually, Ryuen’s history only spans some 60 odd years.)

Ryuen’s wagashi is considered by many to be to well express the ancient Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi, a beautiful and natural expression of imperfection. Wabi-sabi is of course deeply associated with the tea ceremony, as is wagashi. Ryuen’s wagashi is used by such temples as Ryoan-ji and Myoshin-ji.

Ryuen’s Meibutsu: Rakuseki
All of Ryuen’s wagashi are pressed into shape in wooden forms. This one of the classic wagashi. The basic shape and ingredients remain the same but various design motifs are available. Many are related to the seasons, flower blossoms and so on. Others are symbols adopted from ancient Chinese culture and also Kyoto’s architectural heritage.

The confections, especially the white one, with the azuki brown of interior showing through in a most irregular way, have a pronounced rough-hewn quality. This is wabi-sabi — in food. Looking at these confections in the showcase, one immediately realizes that no two are alike.

Raku (楽) Seki (石), literally means ‘happy stone’. The chinese character, raku ‘楽’ (‘樂’ is the classical way to write the character and the form that appears on rakuseki) can be seen on the top of the confection. And seki (stone) comes from the shape of the confection.

There are two varieties, sugar and maccha.

Meibutsu: Rakuseki

Meibutsu: Rakuseki

Here the interior is exposed. The candied chestnut is the yellowish center. Notice the thickness and granular quality of the green maccha rakuseki as compared to the white.

Ryuen Storefront

The white noren, or shop curtain has the shop name whiten in brush and ink. The art of the noren is another subject that an entire blog could easily be devoted to. Originality and beauty, right down to the quality and beauty of the fabric is fascinating.

Notice the flower arrangement (ikebana) in the window on the right.
Ikebana

Ikebana flower arrangements are ubiquitous to the ‘nice’ shops and restaurants of Kyoto. The wooden plaque on the right states the name of the ‘school’ of ikebana and the master’s name.

These flower arrangements change every few days and invariably express the season. Here are plum blossoms and the green leaves are nanohana (rape blossoms), a popular, attractive and tasty late winter and early spring green in Kyoto.

The Neighborhood: Sighting Spot

This is Shimo Goryo Shrine, right across the street from Ryuen. It is quite a delightful shrine and is no doubt the perfect place to sit down and enjoy some Ryuen rakuseki!

The Neighborhood: Shimo Goryo Shrine

Notice the pink plum tree.

The Neighborhood: Shimo Goryo Shrine

A plaque explaining the history of the shine. These are everywhere in this historic city, written in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean.

The Neighborhood: Shimo Goryo Shrine

Plum blossoms.

＊Tell’em all about it!: When you visit a restaurant or shop that you heard about from KyotoFoodie, please tell them about us. Thank you!

＊Link Love: Are you a foodie blogger? Would you like a link from our Link Love page? Details right this way.

English:
English menu: none
English website: none | Japanese language website (nice photos)
Service/Staff: so-so
Price: 600 – 1,200 yen. (no sit down area, take-out only)
Location and Access: Ryuen is located on Teramachi Street just south of Marutamachi-dori (street), on the south-east corner of the Imperial Palace (Gosho) grounds.
Address: Kyoto-shi Nakagyo-ku Shimo Goryomae-cho 644-1
(京都市中京区下御霊前町644-1)
Telephone: 075-222-0500
Near Sightseeing Spot: Kyoto Gosho (Imperial Palace). Shimo-goryo Shrine, a small but delightful, and historically significant shrine across the street from Ryuen.
Map:

View Larger Map

Paku and I were invited to Uichiro, an elegant handmade soba and udon restaurant yesterday by one of Paku’s foodie friends. Uichiro is in a beautiful old machiya (traditional Kyoto house), has excellent food, great atmosphere and very friendly service.

I had kamo nanban (鴨南蛮そば), which is a popular Kyoto dish combining thick sliced roast duck breast, roast scallions and soba. The roast duck lends a distinct, pungent barbecued taste to the dashi soup.

Dessert was a true novelty; soba kanten jelly! Unheard of!

Article Update: Unfortunately, this commendable restaurant has closed. (20.10.2009)

Duck (kamo) is very popular in Kyoto, and is a ‘winter food’ as it is rich and nutritious. Kamo is enjoyed in soup, ham-like thick sliced roast and the luxurious kamo-nabe.

Uichiro’s rendition of kamo nanban is exquisite because the kamo and scallions have been well grilled before added to the dashi soup. Dashi is already rich and pungent thanks to the katsuobushi (shaved skipjack tuna) that is the base of the soup stock, but this combination takes it over the top. The three of us has never had a Japanese soup that tasted anything like this, it was sublime! And perfect for a snowy, winter day.

Steaming Kamo Nanban Soba

note: The dipping sauce on the left is not for kamo nanban soba, but for the croquettes (see below).

Kisetsu-no-gozen (Seasonal Dish Set) – first course

note: The bowl on the left is delightfully and playfully in the form of a radish! Nuta (left) and mushi-zushi (right).

Kisetsu-no-gozen (Seasonal Dish Set) – main course, tempura soba

Kisetsu-no-gozen (Seasonal Dish Set) – final course, soba kanten jelly

Kisetsu-no-gozen
Gozen is the polite was to say ‘meal’ in Japanese. Traditionally it was reserved in use for members of the nobility. Now, ‘nice’ lunch sets are often called Gozen… and usually incorporate a rice dish.

Kisetsu in Japanese means, ‘season’.

This one consisted of four dishes in three courses.

Nuta: a fish salad dressed with a miso-vinegar based dressing.
Mushi-zushi: This is a steamed (mushi) variation of the ever popular chirashi-zushi. None of us had ever had this dish before as sushi is not a warm or hot dish. Again, seasonal — it’s winter. The sushi rice seemed to have dashi in it, making it more hearty. The yellow topping is slivered egg. The green leaf garnish is sansho.
Tempura Soba: Shrimp and Sato-imo tempura served on soba.
Soba Kanten Jelly: Simple yet astounding! Again, none of us had ever heard of this dessert. Kanten is a naturally derived jelly that is made from sea vegetables used for many popular desserts in Japanese cuisine. Traditionally it was produced in cold mountainous regions in the winter as freeze drying was essential to creating kanten.

This dessert is unique because the kanten is heavily flavored with soba, probably soba-cha (soba ‘tea’). The reddish-brown garnish sprinkled on top of the jelly is cracked, roasted soba kernels.

The black beans are the well-loved sweetened kuro-mame, literally ‘black bean’, from the Tamba region of Kyoto.

This is one heck of a dessert!

Sato-imo (Japanese taro) Croquettes

Yummy!

Japanese Lacquerware – Urushi

Everything in this photo is lacquered, even the tray. Japanese lacquerware, or urushi, often incorporates fabric. Notice the square at the bottom of the bowl, that is fabric that has been lacquered over. The lip of the bowl is also covered with fabric, as is the grip of the spoon. Urushi is another subject that an entire blog could easily be devoted to. Be sure to stock-up on urushi when you visit Kyoto!

Uichiro Exterior

The Genkan, or Entry Vestibule
A fountain, a cast iron lantern and the ubiquitous ikebana flower arrangement greet the guest upon sliding open the door.

The Front Dining Room

Several obi (帯), or kimono sash decorate the dining room. Perhaps this machiya was once an obi store.

The Front Dining Room

The Front Dining Room – Mochi-bana

This is a winter decoration called mochi-bana, literally ‘mochi flower’. Pieces of red and white mochi (rice cake) are put on willow branches to simulate blossoms. This decoration is a part of the New Year’s (shogatsu) celebration.

SHARE! ‘Kyoto Support’ Food and Drink Forum

Tweet! Tweet! Find out what’s going on in Kyoto right now, follow me on Twitter.

English:
English menu: none
English website: none
Service/Staff: Very friendly
Price: 700 – 1,800 yen.
Location and Access: Uichiro is located a few blocks to the west of Teramachi and Kawaramachi Steets, about 15-20 minutes north of the Shijo/Sanjo Kawaramachi and Shijo/Sanjo Karasuma areas. Probably best accessed on foot.
Address: 604-0944 Kyoto-shi Nakagyo-ku Oshikoji Fuyacho-higashi-iru Tachibana-cho 616
(京都市中京区押小路通麩屋町東入ル橘町616番地)
Telephone: 075-211-8138
Near Sightseeing Spot: The Imperial Palace (10 min. walk to the north), Teramachi Street, Kamo River, Kyoto International Manga Museum.

Map:

View OpenKyoto/KyotoFoodie Map in a larger map