Minazuki is an early summer wagashi that from centuries ago commoners ate on the day that royals ate — ice.

In preparation of the 30th day of the 6 month, I (Peko), stopped by Sentaro (reviewed previously here) in the food court at Takashimaya Department Store and picked up some minazuki and chadando.

Minazuki: Minazuki is a layer of uiro with azuki beans on top. Uiro is similar to mochi, but instead of being steamed rice that has been pounded, uiro is mixture of flour, rice or, more often, wheat, water and sugar that has been streamed.

Minazuki is only eaten in June. In ancient times the imperial court celebrated the end of the first half the year on June 30 with ice. Ice, an out-of-this-world summer luxury, was frozen in winter and stored in a subterranean building that can still be seen today at the Kyoto Imperial Palace (Sento Gosho). (For more about ice and summer treats see the Gion Koishi ‘Shaved Ice’ article.)

This minazuki is green as it is green tea flavored but the traditional would be white. Both colors are available now. The white color represented ice to the commoners of ancient Kyoto.

Chadango: Chadango is a classic green tea flavored dango. Sentaro sprinkles some tea leaf on it. Chadando is available year-round.

Unwrapping Chadango and Minazuki

Chadango Served

Minazuki Served

This minazuki is green tea flavored.

Minazuki Detail

English:
English menu: none
English website: none | Japanese language website (nice photos)
Service/Staff: So-so
Price: 500 - 1,000 yen. (no sit down area, take-out only)
Location and Access: Sentaro Honten (main store) is located on Teramachi Street about a 2 minute walk south from Shijo Street.
Address: 604-8032 Kyoto-shi Shimogyo-ku Teramachi-dori Bukkou-ji agaru Nakanomachi 576
(京都市下京区寺町通り仏光寺上る中之町576)
Telephone: 075-344-0700
Near Sightseeing Spot: Sentaro Honten is located in the center of Kyoto near Shijo Kawaramachi. This area has several department stores. It is the main shopping area of Kyoto. Shijo Karasuma is about a 10 minute walk.
Map:

View Larger Map

In Kyoto summer is here! It’s time for cold noodles and vegetables.

Natto: Have you heard about natto? Natto is fermented soybeans which due its pungent smell has many detractors. Many people dislike, some even hate natto. But here at KyotoFoodie, we think that good natto is a wonderful thing! In addition to its ‘challenging’ smell, natto is very ‘nebaneba‘, meaning ’sticky’ and ’stringy’. Like, sticky in a way that you have probably never experienced! And, in Japanese cuisine there are a number of ingredients that are sticky and gooey, we combine several here for a yummy, healthy and cooling summer noodle meal.

Nebaneba Hiyashi Udon with Natto, Nagaimo and Okra is one of Paku’s original creations that Peko absolutely LOVES! There are many ‘hiyashi‘, chilled noodle dishes in Japan, but this is a masterpiece! Sawara with Minty Miso Glaze Peko made with some inspiration from Marc. Paku was dubious about mint and cilantro flavored miso but loved it! Mizunasu is a kind of early summer tsukemono in which fresh, young eggplant are lightly picked in saltwater and served chilled. This all goes really well with beer!

Natto and Nagaimo
Natto and nagaimo (Japanese mountain yam) are generally available in Western countries now, so we hope that you will give this one a try. Some natto, especially the ‘cheap’ stuff we don’t like. You probably cannot get kuromame (black bean) natto abroad but in our experience, the bigger the beans in the natto, the better it tastes. Also, don’t make too much of the reputed smell of natto, natto, especially modern natto is not that smelly. Western cheeses are far more pungent than natto.

Preparation
Here are the ingredients and basic preparation methods. As with all our homecooking articles here on KyotoFoodie, we just give you the basic idea and as you are all foodies, you can adapt and refine for your tastes. If you haven’t used tsuyu before check if you need to dilute it with water and of course, follow the instructions or your noodles could be far too salty. The photos below illustrate the process and steps.

Nebaneba Hiyashi Udon with Natto, Nagaimo and Okra

• nagaimo (or yamaimo) about 10-15cm, wash or peel and grate
• okra 10-12, blanch in salt water, rinse to cool and slice
• natto 2-3 packages
• scallion 5 chopped
• udon boil and chill (’fresh’ udon is preferred but high-quality dried udon will work fine too)
• tsuyu 1/2 cup per serving (dashi broth with soy sauce)
• egg yolk 1 per serving (optional)
• shiso leaf (optional)
• jyako (optional)

Boil the udon, rinse well with cold water. Prepare the other indgredients.

Serving: In a large bowl, place several ice cubes. Place the udon noodles over the ice cubes and add the other ingredients in layers. Grated nagaimo goes down first, then well stirred natto. The veggies go on next, if you like raw egg add a single yolk. Finally pour on tsuyu and serve. The noodles should be well chilled when they go into the bowl and by the time it is eaten, the ice cubes should be almost completely melted.

Sawara with Minty Miso Glaze

• sawara (Spanish mackerel)
• fresh mint
• fresh cilantro
• miso paste (white, light, sweet recommended) 3-4 tablespoons
• sake or cooking sake (ryori shu) 2 tablespoons
• mirin 2 tablespoons

Finely chop the mint and cilantro and combine with miso, sake and mirin into a creamy consistency. Save some chopped mint and cilantro for garnish. Marinade the sawara or similar fish for 12-24 hours. Before grilling, wipe off excess miso marinade. When cooking, excessive heat will cause the miso glaze to burn.

Mizunasu Tsukemono
Although we bought our mizunasu it is not difficult to make. We can find a recipe if anyone is interested. It ought to be quite simple; it is eggplant, salt and water.

The ‘Nebaneba’ Ingredients

Natto, nagaimo and okra are stringy, sticky, gooey - not to mention very healthy and delicious! In the liquid-filled plastic bag in the center is mizunasu tsukemono, literally ‘water eggplant’.

Ingredients for Sawara with Minty Miso Glaze

This was inspired by Marc’s Salmon with a minty miso glaze and uses sawara (Spanish mackerel) which is in season now.

Peeling Nagaimo

I (Peko) sometimes don’t peel it, I just scrub it vigorously and that removes all the yucky stuff. I think that Japanese always peel it though.

Grating Nagaimo

Grating nagaimo is kind of enjoyable. It’s like the proverbrial hot knife though butter.

Natto Packaging

Two small packets of mustard and soy sauce are included.

Kuromame ‘Black Bean’ Natto

Stirring Natto

Ice Cold Udon Noodles

Cold udon in often served with a few chunks of ice in the summer.

Pouring on the Grated Nagaimo

A Final Stir of the Natto

Adding the Natto

The Masterpeice! All the Toppings and Tsuyu

On the left, okra, on the top and bottom is kuromame natto, on the right scallions and in the middle an egg yolk. Around the egg yolk Paku sprinkled jyako (tiny dried, seasoned fish fry) and finally a few tablespoons of tsuyu (cold noodle dipping sauce) is poured on. Tsuyu is just dashi with a fair amount of shoyu (soy sauce).

Dinner is Served

Nebaneba cold udon, minty miso glaze grilled sawara, mizunasu tsukemono and of course Japan’s best beer; Yebisu. This makes for a mighty fine summer dinner!

Eating Nebaneba Cold Udon - Stir Well and Gobble

Eating Nebaneba Cold Udon

Eating Nebaneba Cold Udon

Hannari Brand Umeshu: The tastes of Kyoto are subtle and refined, this umeshu was designed to be hannari, or delicate. In addition to classic umeshu, there are four imaginatively ‘Kyoto’ flavored versions; cinnamon, yuzu, green tea and shiso.

As foodies well know, fine ingredients make for fine tastes. Kitagawa Honke produces its own rice shochu for its umeshu. The shochu, straight out of the still is 35.5% alcohol, shochu sold retail is 25%. As the ume extract and sugar will significantly lower the alcohol content of the finished umeshu, 35% is considered the minimum. The finished product will be about 15%. Lower alcohol content can allow fermentation and spoil the liqueur.

Kitagawa Honke Hannari Brand Umeshu

Hannari Umeshu (はんなり梅酒): Hannari umeshu is made with rice shochu that has been aged 2 years, then after steeping nearly ripe ume fruit for 9 months, the umeshu is aged for 1 year. This process produces umeshu that is complex in flavor and mellow.

Yatsuhashi Umeshu (八ッ橋梅酒): Yatsuhashi is a popular Kyoto omiyage (souvenir). It comes in a myriad of forms and flavorings, but it always includes sweetened mochi that has been flavored with cinnamon, which was a very unusual spice in Japan. This umeshu is flavored with cinnamon! We have never heard of this before. Wow, this is not only clever and imaginative, it tastes very good too!

Nigori Yuzu Umeshu (にごり柚子梅酒): Yuzu, the lemony Japanese citron we have talked a lot about on KyotoFoodie quite a bit last winter. Here the yuzu juice is nigori, or cloudy, unfiltered. (Unfiltered sake is called nigorizake.) Yuzu umeshu is fairly common and this is best rendition I have had of it. Very, very nice!

Uji Gyokuro Umeshu (宇治玉露梅酒): Now here is a masterpiece! Gyokuro is very high quality green tea which Uji, in the south of Kyoto produces. Gyokuro flavors the umeshu which is blended with umeshu made from sake, not shochu. The umeshu is a very gentle background taste with an unbelievably astringent gyokuro green tea flavor raging above it. I have had green tea umeshu before, it was sweet and juice-like. I was stunned when I first tried this umeshu. It is not unlike maccha! As an aperitif or digestif, this is sure to blow guests away! This is a DO NOT miss if you are in Kyoto.

Ohara Shiso Umeshu (大原紫蘇梅酒): In the North Mountains above Kyoto, the village of Ohara is famous for its production of shiso that is usually used in tsukemono, Japanese pickles. Ripe shiso, which is a reddish purple adds a delicious taste and vibrant color to this umeshu. At a recent party at my house, the gals finished a bottle of this umeshu in a flash. I guess this is one of those flavors that is especially popular with ladies.

‘Kiki’ in the Lab

Kiki - Shochu Tasting with Tashima Toji (Brewmaster)

Tashima Toji gave me two kinds of shochu to taste. One is fresh out of the still, this year’s production and the other is aged 3 years. The fresh stuff was pretty rough around the edges, but the aged shochu, though high-powered was drinkable straight at room temperature. The difference that aging makes was obvious to me.

Reference: Green Ume

These were in the lab, they are the typical unripe, green ume. These are from Joyo, a suburb south of Kyoto. I think that they are planning top secret 梅酒R&D with them. Green ume typically produce umeshu that it sweet, but not especially complex.

Over at Okinaya

Kitagawa Honke operates this small store on the main street, next to the river where their sake and good rice can be purchased. We introduced this store in this article about learning to make sake. (map and photos at the bottom of the post)

Ume and Umeshu Lineup

On the left is a bag of ume that was used to make umeshu. These make great snacks! In the middle, the jar contains a generous amount of ume and umeshu. The small jars on the right are about a single serving of umeshu and contain no fruit. These are all Hannari brand.

Ume in Umeshu

Ume in jar detail.

Hannari Umeshu

This is the classic, unflavored umeshu, available in 1.8 liter and 720ml bottles with no fruit.

Hannari Umeshu ‘Kyoto’ Flavors

From left to right; yatsuhashi (cinnamon), yuzu, gyokuro (green tea) and shiso.

The Series
Learning to Make Umeshu: Part 1
Learning to Make Umeshu: Part 2

Kuromitsu Dango is a simple and tasty wagashi that combines mochi, syrupy kuromitsu and powdery kinako.

What is Dango?
Dango is a popular treat in Japan; it is mochi, usually balls or cubes served impaled on a stick. It is sometimes grilled and usually has some kind of sweet sauce poured over it, or the mochi itself is sweetened and flavored.

The Ingredients
Mochi, as you probably know is ‘rice cake’, a paste made of steamed and pounded glutinous rice. Mochi comes in a plethora of tastes and forms and it is always chewy and yummy.

Kuromitsu, literally ‘black syrup’ made from kokuto ‘black sugar’, Southern Japan’s famed sugar is mineral rich and very earthy in flavor. Kuromitsu is nearly identical to molasses in consistency and quite similar in taste.

Kinako is soybean flour. Soybeans are roasted and then ground into flour. It is very healthy, containing vitamins and protein. The taste is quite similar to peanuts and is common in many dishes in Japanese cuisine. Kinako is often sweetened with sugar.

Mochi dango is squired on a stick, thick kuromitsu is poured over the top and is sprinkled generoursly with kinako, then you’ve kuromitsu dango!

A Serving of Kuromitsu Dango

Kuromitsu Dango - Detail

Kuromitsu Dango

Kuromitsu Dango ‘Bite Away’ View

This shows a cross section of the kuromitsu dango.

Kuromitsu Dango in Package

This particular store sells them in packs of 10 dango heaping with kinako.

Umeshu: Japanese plums, called ume (梅) are mainly used to flavor alcohol and vinegar and to make the incredible umeboshi, pickled plum. In early summer, it is popular to make ume flavored alcohol, called umeshu (梅酒) at home, but we were fortunate enough to get to learn from the pros this year.

Our friends and KyotoFoodie fans at Kitagawa Honke Sake Brewery showed Peko how they make their one-of-a-kind, Hannari (はんなり) brand ‘Kyoto style’ umeshu.

Umeshu (梅酒)
To make umeshu, the ume fruit are steeped in shochu (焼酎) for 6-9 months. The shochu is quite strong, 35% alcohol, but the finished umeshu is usually less than 15%. The shochu draws out the ume extract, ume extract combined with the sugar halves the alcohol content. If steeped longer than 6-9 months, the shochu will start to leach out the bitterness of the ume pits. After removing the fruit, umeshu can then be consumed or aged.

Umeshu is not fermented, therefore it is NOT ‘plum wine’. It is a liqueur.

The steeped ume fruit can be eaten and are sweet and tasty, yet quite intoxicating. It is common at New Year’s and other family gathering occasions in Japan to see some children red-faced and buzzing thanks to Grandpa fishing a few ume out of the jar for them to eat.

Now there are many kinds of umeshu available, many combining novel ingredients but it is always sweet and plum fruity. In the winter umeshu is excellent served with hot water and in the summer on ice or with soda water.

Umeshu is often made of the green ume fruit, however Kitagawa Honke uses fruit that are slightly more ripe, being more yellow in color. This creates a mellower and more full-bodied, complex flavor. (More about Hannari brand umeshu in part 2, and the recipe in an upcoming homecooking article.)

Umeshu Production Process
The process for making umeshu is quite simple.

1. De-stem the ume fruit.
2. Check quality, remove any overly ripe or rotten fruit.
3. Wash
4. Place in container with sugar and alcohol (35% by volume).
5. Seal container and place in a cool, dark place for aging.

Ume Season
The ume is in the plum family, but it is actually more closely related to apricot than what Westerns would usually think of as a plum. In the Kyoto region ume blossom in later winter, usually February. If you are lucky, you can see ume blossoms in the snow! The fruit is mature by early summer and often used when green and unripe.

Wakayama Prefecture, to the south-east of Kyoto produces the best ume in Japan. Vitually any high quality ume product in Japan uses ume from Wakayama, or Kishu (紀州) as it was once called. Kitagawa Honke selects ume from Kinan (紀南), which is the southern most part of Wakayama. The warm, mild climate makes for excellent ume.

Sake is made during the cold months so the brewery is not so busy in the summer, however in mid-June, when the ume are in season there is a 10 day flurry of activity when umeshu is made. Early every morning several tons of ume arrive and the fruit are sorted and de-stemmed. In addition to the kurabito (brewery workers) crew, the warehouse crew and the employees that work in the office walk down the street to the brewery and help out. All of this work in finished in the morning. After lunch, the kurabito crew wash the ume and place them in tanks with shochu and sugar.

Shochu
In Japan there are numerous kinds of shochu. The most common shochu are distilled from sweet potato, barley or rice. Many other ingredients are used now; soba, black sugar (kokuto 黒糖), sesame — even milk!

Kitagawa Honke makes the shochu that is used in their umeshu, and as they are a sake brewery, they make it from rice. Rice shochu is fairly close to vodka in taste.

As I approached the brewery this morning, the fragrance of ume fruit was heavy in the neighborhood!

Making Umeshu at Kitagawa Honke Sake Brewery

Crates of Nicely Ripened Ume

All Hands on Deck

70 Crates of Ume

Seventy crates of ume today to sort and de-stem.

De-stemming and Sorting Ume

Everyone in the company joins in, even the ’suits’!

De-stemming and Sorting Ume

De-stemming Ume - Before and After

The stems are plucked out with a simple needle-like metal instrument.

De-stemming and Sorting Ume

The ume on the left are ‘B’ quality, they have some bruises and blemishes, the ume on the right are ‘A’ quality. When the umeshu is finished, the ‘A’ quality ume will be added to bottles or bagged and sold separately for eating. ‘B’ quality ume taste just fine. (see part 2)

Weighing Ume

The de-stemmed and sorted ume are carefully weighed in preparation to adding to the tanks.

Hues of Ume

From green to yellow, orange and even red, this variety of color produces a more complex flavored umeshu than the usual unripened green fruit. More precision and labor is required, but the quality of the end result is obvious.

Final Check

Two tanks, differing in size will be filled today. Brewmaster Tashima (left) oversees the final check of the recipe and crate count for each tank. The shochu and sugar has already been added.

Washing Ume

The ume absorb water which will affect the taste of the umeshu, so they have to be washed quickly, and of course, thoroughly. Kitagawa Honke uses rather ripe ume fruit, so they are easily bruised by the mechanical brushes in the washing machine. The ume are washed for just 35 seconds.

Washing Ume

As the ume spin on the cylindrical brushes, one of the crew hoses them with Fushimi water.

Washing Ume

After washing, the ume are returned to clean crates then allowed to drain but not quite dry for about 20 minutes. Excess water can cause the umeshu to spoil later.

Steeping Ume

The ume are lifted with the forklift then unceremoniously dumped into the tank.

Steeping Ume

Steeping Ume

I love this shot! And, I got splashed taking it!

Steeping Ume

The ume are all submerged in shochu and then the tank is covered. See you in the springtime, ume.

The Series
Learning to Make Umeshu: Part 1
Learning to Make Umeshu: Part 2

Father’s Day, ‘Kyoto’ style. Yummy wagashi on the theme of work, fishing and love. Thanks Dad!

While wandering around Gion, Peko dropped into one of his favorite wagashi shops and discovered these delightful Father’s Day themed wagashi set. Kawaii indeed goes a long way to communicate feelings of love and affection.

The Wagashi

Salaryman Shirt and Tie Wagashi

Work: Dads work hard!

Creel with Ayu Wagashi

Weekends: Dads like to fish. This is a woven fish basket with ayu. Ayu is a very well-loved river fish that is in season here in the early summer.

Rose Wagashi

Love.

Father’s Day Wagashi Set

The Package

Box: Wrapped

Box: Unwrapped

The message, “お父さん ありがとう” means, “Thanks Dad”.

Box: Opened

‘Cute’ (kawaii) in Japan is all pervasive … and it sells. The other day I ran across this lovely and whimsically designed sake bottle from a brewery in Fushimi. It got me thinking…

A recent remark by one of my professors from undergraduate school who is in Kyoto on a Fulbright Scholarship researching manga and anime made me realize our difference in perspective on the phenomenon of ‘cute’ in Japanese culture, especially in advertising and marketing.

As someone who has done a good deal of creative direction and product development, I have had occasion to work with numerous Japanese designers, illustrators, ad agencies and clients.

My professor had remarked that ‘cute’ is a ploy for the accumulation of capital only, something phony and manipulative. But that has not been my experience at all.

‘Cute’ does indeed sell in Japan, and people in other countries now seem to like it, usually chuckling in mild disbelief of their own fondness of kawaii. My experience in Japan is that creators and purveyors of ‘cute’ are indeed sincere. There is no intended button pushing going on.

In that sense, kawaii is something quite deep.

The name of this sake is natsu-no-tawamure (夏の戯れ), it means, ‘play in summer’.

Cute Summer Sake Bottle - Goldfish

Foodies of the world, what do you think? Do goldfish go with sake? Do you think of summer, or fetid water?

Product Name
Natsu-no-tawamure (夏の戯れ)
Brewery Information
Shoutoku Brewery Co., Ltd.
English website

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.

map:
View Larger Map

Hello foodies and thank you so much to everyone that took the ‘Win Junk’ survey! We are very happy to receive more than 70 replies with a lot of really great feedback! Your feedback has created a ‘To Do’ list for us and pointed us in the direction to go for the next 6 months.

Thank you!
Thank you!
Thank you!

Winners
First we’ve got some winners for you, be sure to visit their blogs. This is an informal dealie, so we are going to keep it simple. Feedback is reported below in an overall with a generalized way. There were no ideas submitted that struck us as ‘insanely great’.

Big Prize (as advertised)
Lori madehealthier.com
Lisa Kuo (no site)

Small Prize (honorable mention)
diva sugarbar.org
Stuart Lindsay flickr.com/thingsimade
Christa isaacstudio.com
Jacelyn Sng daintyflair.net

＊note(s):
Honorable mention was added to show our thanks for all the responses.
More winners were chosen but we are waiting for permission to publish their names.

Background to Survey
Conducting surveys is something Peko sometimes does at his day-job. All bloggers should know that getting feedback from your readers is REALLY, REALLY important. This survey was most inspired while listening to Jay’s interview with Avinah Kaushik on the Ten Golden Rules podcast (info|podcast) while jogging around Kyoto. Avinah works at Google and he mentioned his Three Greatest Survey Questions and we added a fourth to our ‘Win Junk’ survey.

Some of the early feedback from the survey said that people wanted to know more about us - Paku and Peko. People said they really want video. (Our first video was us announcing the survey.) At the same time, I (Peko) had picked up Robit Bhargava’s new book Personality Not Included. Robit’s blog is one that I read a lot to learn all about blogging. Here is a REALLY wonderful video post (PNI Goes On A BeachWalk With Rox) that just sums everything up so well.

So, we are doing more video.

I. KyotoFoodie ‘To Do’ List

A. Content

Do Not Miss List
Feedback: Create a Do Not Miss List for foodie visitors to Kyoto.
KF Reply: Yep. Please stand by.
Status: Not done

More Wagashi
Feedback: More wagashi posts.
KF Reply: Yep. Working on them right now. Regular wagashi posts planned.
Status: In progress.

Q & A Page or Forum
Feedback: A place for Q & A please.
KF Reply: Right. Thinking about what technology to use. Just a single page isn’t going to suffice.
Status: Not done. Investigating.

Video Content
Feedback: Want more videos, want to see Peko and Paku, hear you guys speak, get a feel of the Kyoto atmosphere, etc.
KF Reply: Roger. More on the way.
Status: Done. Three up on KF, 5 on the Mac, more on the way.

Shorter, More Frequent Posts
Feedback: One: “Post more frequently.” Two: “Shorter posts OK.”
KF Reply: Roger. Do keep in mind that KyotoFoodie is a labor of love and that we have day-jobs. Aiming for 2.5 posts per week (two short, one longish), 10 total per month.
Status: In process.

Maps
Feedback: Use one single map and have all restaurants on it.
KF Reply: Right. We are working on it but now we just found that there is a bug in our current version of WordPress that is causing GoogleMaps not to be displayed in posts. Sorry, can’t find the fix yet.
Status: In process. Working on It

More Recipes
Feedback: More recipes. And stuff that we can really cook out here in Kansas. (and Bosnia Herzegovina)
KF Reply: More recipes we can do. As for authentic ingredients, if you don’t live in a huge city over there, dunno. Did you try ordering online? Also, send us photos of your local Japanese food store shelf so we have a better idea of what is available over there.
Status: In progess. More recipes on the way.

Podcast/Videocast
Feedback: A podcast would be cool.
KF Reply: Yes, it would be cool indeed. A podcast is a good deal of work. Would like to do it. How about next year?
Status: Thinking about it.

More Budget, More Super Expensive
Feedback: More budget, more exclusive restaurant reviews.
KF Reply: OK.
Status: Not done. Thinking about it.

Category Organization
Feedback: Categories not organized well.
KF Reply: We agree.
Status: Not done. Be done soon.

B. Visual

Layout
Feedback: Layout is too dull. Grey? Come on! Spice it up, make it as delicious as the food!
KF Reply: Yeah, we don’t like it either. Peko has spoken to some designers about a custom design but we need a budget.
Status: Not done. Will try to make a smart and sexy custom design this year (2008).

More Food Porn
Feedback: More food porn. More big, colorful, super seductive images.
KF Reply: Ah yes, sweet seduction. Peko installed this NextGEN Gallery dealie but hasn’t released it yet. Also, we want to use larger images in posts but need a new page design to accommodate it.
Status: Not done. Working on it.

C. Fun

Contests and Prizes
Feedback: Have more contests and prizes, something like Daring Bakers.
KF Reply: Oh yeah! Want to do! Will need to drum up some sponsorship in town though.
Status: Not done. Peko will court sponsors this summer.

Organize Tours
Feedback: You guys know the town, offer tours.
KF Reply: Yeah, we did think of this and Paku has done this kind of thing. Please see Paku’s Kyoto ‘Experience’ Tour page for details.
Status: Open for business.

Feed Me
Feedback: Will access KyotoFoodie for food.
KF Reply: Ah, we can deliver digital food but not physical food, via the web. If you REALLY want food from Kyoto, visit Peko’s Source Delish! page for details.
Status: Open for business.

Kyoto Foodie Meet-ups
Feedback: Get people together in person and chow.
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Status: Not done.

II. The Good and the Bad

Good
lots of images
nice mix (restaurant review, homecooking, etc)
in-depth reports (sake, etc)

Bad
too infrequent posts
dull interface
impersonal: Show the hosts, Peko and Paku more.
no video
poor category organization
multiple maps

III. KyotoFoodie No-Can-Do

Every thing that we can’t do we would like to do, so thanks so much for the input! Maybe in the future.

Searchable Index of Recipes
Why not: Huge project, a whole new site.

Non-japanese Food in Kyoto Reviews
Why not: You can only get Kyoto cuisine in Kyoto, so eat it up while you are here!

Other Places in Japan
Why not: We will do day-trips from Kyoto, but generally this topic is a huge project, a whole new site.

Non-culinary Kyoto Topics (other sightseeing destinations, festivals)
Why not: Huge project, a whole new site.

Fast Food and Junk Food Articles
Why not: Great, great subject. But, huge project, a whole new site.

Tsunoki is more than 200 years old and is the place in Kyoto to purchase fine sake, shochu and Japanese whiskey. The friendly 8th generation owner of Tsunoki, Teruo Fujii, speaks some English and is always happy to make recommendations to visitors.

Where are you going to get fine sake in Kyoto?
We have done a number of sake related posts now and no trip to Kyoto would be complete without sampling some fine sake, so we thought we would tell you where in Kyoto to get a hold of some. For retail, our recommendation is Tsunoki.

Secret: Fine Sake Often Not Offered at Fine Ryokan
Many visitors to Japan enjoy staying at traditional Japanese inns called, ‘ryokan’ of which Kyoto has many, many to offer. A stay at a ryokan usually includes dinner and breakfast. Dinner is often excellent and while ryokan often stock several varieties of sake to serve guests with dinner it is often poor quality, the same stuff you can buy from a vending machine or a convenience store. The best sake I (Peko) have ever had at even a very expensive ryokan was mediocre. So, consider bringing your own.

Several liquor stores in Kyoto offer good selections of fine sake, however Tsunoki offers far and way the best we have seen with an excellent selection of sake produced in Kyoto. Service is friendly and helpful, prices are average and being centrally located in Nishiki Market, a destination that any visitor to Kyoto will surely want to experience makes Tsunoki the place.

About Tsunoki
Tsunoki is a rare find indeed, it’s like shinise (old and famous store) meets rarified boutique. The 8th generation owner, Mr Fujii greatly increased the variety of fine sake. Now Tsunoki stocks rare and premium sake from not just Kyoto but other breweries from the Kansai region. An assortment of shochu and fine Japanese whiskey which is especially popular with foreign visitors these days is also available.

When you visit Tsunoki look for liquor license issued some 220 years ago hanging above the door at the back of the store.

About the Proprietor
Teruo Fujii is a very interesting dude. Not only is the English speaking 8th generation owner of the historic sake dealer in the heart of Kyoto and Nishiki Market, he is a local rock star, aspiring novelist, accomplished calligrapher and web-savvy blogger.

Mr Fujii offers sake recommendations for customers based on the weather and season, accompanying meal, the customer’s character, specified tastes and so on. Often several kinds of sake are available for tasting.

Mr Fujii choses the sake he stocks in a unique way. After consistently hearing good things about a brewery in the media and word-of-mouth, he contacts the brewery and arranges a visit to meet the brew master first hand and samples the brewery’s sake. If it passes muster, he will stock it in his store.

Tsunoki Storefront in Nishiki Market

If you would like to sip some yummy, chilled Fushimi Daiginjo sake as you take in Nishiki Market, you can get a generously filled paper cup full for around 630 yen from the tank at the front of the store.

Try Some Daiginjo Sake

The 8th Generation Proprietor, Teruo Fujii

Mr Fujii is quite a calligrapher, his ‘kyo’ (京) adorns this label.

The Proprietor Counseling on Sake

The Proprietor Counseling on Sake

Pasteurized Sake

Pasteurized sake can be kept at room temperature. If you want to take some sake back home with you, pasteurized sake is what you want.

Pasteurized Sake

Unpasteurized Sake

Unpasteurized sake must be refrigerated. If you purchase unpasteurized sake, you will want to keep it cool and drink it while you are in Kyoto.

Selection of Shochu

The large ceramic pots are fill with shochu, customers can bring their own container and have them filled by the staff.

The Proprietor Blogging

Unfortunately it cannot be seen in this photo, but Mr Fujii’s desk sits atop several Marshall amplifiers. Not your usual shinise! The refrigerated cases in the background display unpasteurized sake.

Fine Japanese Whiskey

Mr Fujii says that recently many foreign visitors are looking for Japanese whiskey.

Yamazaki Single Malt Whiskey

The Suntory Yamazaki Distillery is located in a suburb of Kyoto.

The Proprietor’s Calligraphy

Calligraphy in Japanese or English.

The Proprietor’s Calligraphy

The Proprietor’s Calligraphy

This makes for unique gifts.

Tsunoki Storefront in Nishiki Market

Note: Some ryokan do not like it if you drink your own sake in your room. The main reason to have your own fine sake is that the ryokan has failed to prepare it’s own. Don’t accept this. Many ryokan have their own private label sake and they are often just mediocre with a nice label and high price.

Our recommendation:
1. DO NOT stay at a ryokan that doesn’t allow guests to enjoy sake of their choice in their own room.
2. DO NOT stay at a ryokan that charges extra if guests drink their own sake.
3. If a ryokan has such terms as the above, they have to be stated clearly in the reservation process or when checking in. If terms are not clearly stated, it is perfectly natural by Japanese custom to refuse payment.
4. If you have a bad experience, send us an email as we are considering a ‘Hall of Shame’ page.

There are a lot of cheap, crappy and stuck-up restaurants, shops and inns in Kyoto. If you are visiting Kyoto from abroad, you will have spent a lot of time and money to get here and you deserve to be treated well!

＊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!

English:
English menu/pamphlet: none
English website: none
Service/Staff: helpful and friendly
Hours: 9:00 am-6:00 pm, closed the second Wednesday of each month.
Price: 500-10,000 yen. (credit cards are not accepted)
Location and Access: Tsunoki is located in Nishiki Market.
Address: 604-8055 Kyoto-shi Nakagyo-ku Nishiki Ichiba Tominokoji Higashi-iru 194
(京都市中京区錦市場富小路東入ル194)
Telephone: 075-221-2441

Map:

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