Shojin Ryori (Buddhist Cuisine) (1) at Tenryu-ji Temple, Arashiyama

Having local food is one of the enjoyments of travelling.

Sushi and Tempura were the only major requests from visitors I met 5 years ago. In recent years requests are much more varied, from ramen noodles to Kobe beef. Some would like to try a bento box others want Japanese curry. I feel Japanese food has become much better known overseas.

Kyoto's well-known cooking styles are;
Obanzai (the home cooking Kyoto style)
Kaiseki cuisine (both Kaiseki as course meal 会席 and meal at tea ceremony 懐石)
Shojin cuisine (Buddhist vegetarian meal).

There are many headquarters of temples in Kyoto and they all receive visitors from the parishioners of their branch temples. Some of them offer accommodation and will provide food or have catering services. I mentioned before in this blog about Okutan (a yudofu restaurant) which is one of this kind of facility at Nanzen-ji Temple. Okutan is a private restaurant, not run by the temple.

visiting Japanese Sake breweries

Sake brewing is one of the oldest industries in Japan. Some brewers have given up the business over the years, but some claim to be 400 or 500 years old. Nada in Kobe has the biggest number of breweries and the largest production of sake in Japan. Fushimi in Kyoto ranks second.

The photo is of the Gekkei-kan Brewery, one I haven’t visited.
I had read about the process of making sake a couple of times before but could never really imagine it. Looking round and hearing the explanation it became much clearer. Different kinds of sake were served after the tour and it was the first time I thought sake was nice. I also felt the smell of koji was kind of nice when I left the brewery.

A yudofu set meal at Nanzenji Temple

Okutan Nanzenji branch, Nanzen-ji, Kyoto
奥丹 南禅寺店

When I say I come from Kyoto, some say that I am lucky to live Kyoto and they start talk of temples, gardens and YUDOFU(湯豆腐). Yudofu is a very simple dish, tofu in konbu kelp broth cooked in a large pot then dipped into sauce with chopped spring onion.

Where to eat Yudofu? Yudofu is home cooking for me. Once a couple told me they came to Kyoto all the way from Hiroshima, 500km to the west, just to have yudofu.

What?! Were they crazy?

It seems like yudofu must be something different from what I know. It must be, otherwise nobody would pay for simple tofu at a very expensive restaurant. I went with a friend, who likes tofu and had had yudofu at restaurants before, to an old restaurant which claims to be the oldest yudofu restaurant, Okutan(奥丹).





There’re many restaurants which serve yudofu around Nanzen-ji temple. We picked Okutan because the menu, actually only one set menu, seems to be more basic. –Some places serve it with sashimi and other things.



First of all sesame tofu and grated yamaimo,
similar to Japanese yam with wasabi, are served.


Then skewered baked tofu
coated with Japanese pepper, sansyo, miso.
They are lovely!


Then Shojin-age vegetable tempra.




Then yudofu boiled tofu.
Tofu test like real rich soy beans flavour,
which means I usually eat the one isn’t good quality…

Finally a bowl of rice and pickles.
Their boild rice is lovely!!
-I asked if I could have another serving,
which charged extra 200yen,
but I was so full after having the whole meal
and couldn’t ask another.


Unexpectedly the meal was filling and I had to skip dinner. The atmosphere was great and food was good. I think it was worth paying for eating out yudofu now, but not often…

-Okutan also has another restaurant at Kiyomizu-zaka near Kiyomizu temple.

a day out to Uji: Tea

Taiho-an Tea House, Uji, Kyoto Pref.
対鳳庵(京都/宇治)

The city of Uji has a tea house, Taiho-an(対鳳庵), open to the public to experience tea ceremony for 500yen.



It literary means
"a hut opposite phoenix hall"
meaning that
it was located the opposite
Byodo-in Phoenix Hall.


It has a small
but decent "roji" garden.


It was built in 1993
and meant to be suitable
for any school of tea ceremony,
include ryurei(立礼), a bench seated, style.



15 of us were
in an 8 and half
tatami-mat size room.


Usually a sweet is served with tea
and corresponds with to the season,
or suited the theme of the tea ceremony.


The sweet had a Kakitsubata iris(杜若) motif
and later a tea was served in a bowl
with a matching motif.
The day I went was a Sunday and many people were waiting. 15 of us were squeezed into a room and the door could hardly be closed. It wasn’t the serene atmosphere needed to appreciate tea ceremony I must say. I recommend that you visit during weekdays or off-season to enjoy a better atmosphere.


You can also enjoy a boat trip on the Uji River.

Since Uji is an important tea producing area, you may see various kinds of green tea flavoured foods.


Green tea flavoured noodles(茶蕎麦) are one of the local specialities.


Cha-dango(茶団子), sweet green tea flavoured sticky rice cakes, are my favourite.

a day trip to Shiga: a party with local specialities

Our original plan was having a barbecue at our friend’s garden and later visiting Kaigake-dani(鎌掛谷) which is a valley full of rhododendron(ホンシャクナゲ). Unfortunately the weather didn’t let us follow our plan, it started raining.

We had to put off visiting Kaigake-dani till next year and instead of having had barbecue in her garden we enjoyed local foods inside.

The old name of Shiga prefecture is “Omi” (近江). The region neighbours Kyoto and its population has increased as the commuting time to Osaka and Kyoto has decreased. Some of the area is still heavily cultivated and is the home of “Omi beef” (近江牛) which is one of the best known brands of marbled beef as well as “Omi-mai” a well-known type of rice.

I’m personally not a fan of beef, especially the marbled beef which I think too fatty, but I thought I should try what the locals recommended, usually they know best. Unexpectedly the beef was good and made me realise that it isn’t as bad as I thought. This area is also well-know for pork. We had miso marinated pork grilled on a charcoal fire, which was delicious.

Our friend had served us many local delicacies. This is one of them. This is a once a year festival dish from her area, but she was kind enough to have made it especially for us out of season. The fish is a sea bream with “somen”, thin noodles. We have somen in my area, but it’s never served with seafood.

We also had a pork “shabu-shabu” hot pot. I don’t know how we managed to finish it all.

"Gochisosama-deshita."