Japan – Page 2 – mmm-yoso

Kanazawa – Dinner at Iwashigumi, the Sardine Specialist

March 19, 2018 mmm-yoso Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Kanazawa and Ishikawa Prefecture, Seafood, Sushi and Sashimi, Travel

While planning our visit to Kanazawa I cam across an interesting restaurant named Iwashigumi. I first saw photos on Tabelog and was quite intrigued. So I had a friend make reservations for us. We took a nice long stroll down to the Katamachi district, a popular shopping and nightlife area. Iwashigumi is discreetly located fairly close to the main street.

The style is rustic, old school izakaya. I believe you can purchase a red lantern for the wall if you want.

As the name indicates; this place is all about iwashi……sardines. Yep, a restaurant specializing in sardines, everything from iwashi honesenbei to iwashi croquette. The Missus loves sardines (remember Tito 2 in Matoshinos), so She quickly agreed.

The set-up is like a sushi bar, with a few tables to the side. There's a certain charm to this place…..

When you order sake, they bring you a selection of ochoko (sake cups), some of which are rather interesting.

The Missus had sake and I started with some "nama-beeru"….

So, based on some of my previous posts on this trip, you can kind of figure that I just couldn't get enough of honsenbei, fried fish bone ("crackers"). The Missus was totally over it, but humored me ("for one last time").

Crunchy-savory goodness!

First up was the Iwashi-sashimi. You'd think this would be on the "oily" side, but this was very clean tasting.

There was a slight chew; the flavor and texture was reminiscent of Aji (Spanish Mackeral).

The Iwashi Tataki was another refreshing dish.

Nice crunchy vegetables to add contrast to the toothsome fish. Funny, we really didn't need the ginger for both of these dishes.

When we placed our order, we made sure to first request the grilled sardine which takes about 20-30 minutes.

Good salt and crisp skin. This was quite rich and oily, a bit too strong in flavor for the Missus. I did need the oroshi and lemon, to help cut the richness.

The Missus had no such problem with the Iwashi no Mentaiko.

This was our favorite dish of the night. The rich, grilled sardine, met straight up with the briny and spicy cod roe. Salty, but in a good way, this one made our night.

At this point, I needed to help the Missus with Her sake, so I choose the goofiest cup I could find.

Of course one needs rice to complete a meal; so we ordered the Iwashi Oshizushi, which filled us up.

We really enjoyed our meal. The service was friendly and efficient. One of the young ladies spoke pretty good English as well. Along with Kuroyuri, Morimori Sushi, and our breakfasts, Iwashigumi made our trip to Kanazawa a delicious one.

Iwashigumi
1-7-13 Katamachi
Kanazawa, Japan

Side note: While looking for the address, I noticed that Iwashigumi is on Michelin's Bib Gourmand list. Good for them!

We'd done quite a bit on this day, so we caught the bus back to Kanazawa Station and our hotel. I had some time to relax, catch up on emails, and work on a post.

For some reason, I found the taxi queue, and the patterns for determining which cab was up next mesmerizing……

You could say the same about Kanazawa……

Kanazawa – Kenrokuen Garden, Higashi Chaya District, and Lunch at Morimori Sushi (Omi-cho Location)

March 18, 2018 mmm-yoso Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Kanazawa and Ishikawa Prefecture, Sushi and Sashimi, Travel

After a nice respite at Oyama Shrine we headed out, past the city office and art museum, finally coming to the quiet entrance of Kenrokuen Garden.

Declared to be one of the "Three Great Gardens of Japan", we just had to visit. Kenrokuen was once the outer garden of Kanazawa Castle and was built by the Maeda Clan who ruled the area from 1583 to 1871. In 1871 the garden was opened to the public.

This is Hisagoike Pond.

It was pretty mellow; with tourists having a fun time.

Except for the few knuckleheads who walked over partitions and around the ponds and climbed onto structures like Yagao-tei Teahouse which dates back to the 18th century.

Next to Kasumigaike Pond stands the iconic Karasaki Pine.

According to the story the 13th Lord Nariyasu planted the seed from which this tree grew.

There's a nice plum grove. Plum trees start blossoming before cherry blossoms.

Do you know how to tell the difference between plum blossoms and cherry blossoms? Cherry blossoms have a "split" at the end of each petal, while plum blossoms do not.

We had a nice stroll to the other end of the park.

As we headed put the exit and down the hill we saw this beautiful Cherry Blossom tree in bloom. Or was it?

Yep, cherry blossoms…..

The Missus wanted to visit the Higashi Chaya District, so we headed down the hill.

Along the way we saw a shop doing bustling business. Turns out this was the Ishikawa Prefectural Products Center.

There was, of course, gold leaf products everywhere. I ended up buying some food quality gold leaf. We also sampled a bunch of local delicacies and ended up purchasing dried and preserved fish which was mighty delici-yoso!

I was tempted to buy a couple of bottles of "Lame Spray" for some rather "lame" folks I know……they would never figure out that is should be pronounced "lamé". But they really weren't worth the price tag.

Ishikawa Prefectural Products Center
2-20 Kenrokumachi
Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan

We had an uneventful walk to the Asanogawa River.

And crossed over the Asanogawa Ohashi Bridge, arriving at Higashi Chaya, a district full of historic buildings, faux geishas, gold leaf ice cream shops….

It was quite touristy; but in the low-keyed, mellow, Japanese way. And we ended up visiting quite a few shops.

We had a fun time……and it was the little things that seemed to catch our eye…..

We were starting to get hungry. Not sure where to eat, we decided to walk back to Omi-cho market. There was a Kaiten-zushi shop in the market that always seemed to have a line. I'm not big on conveyor belt sushi here in the states. It's usually of very low quality; but heck, if all these Japanese were lining for it…..

We had a wait of about 30 minutes, not bad….though we were fairly hungry.

You can get your sushi two different ways; by grabbing it off the conveyor (of course)…..

Or ordering from the handy-dandy iPad….with English translations as well!

You get tea from the spigot in front of you; the ginger and wasabi are in discreet containers on the table.

The first thing to arrive was the Aji (Spanish Mackeral). I had expected to be a bit underwhelmed. But I was so wrong. The fish was firm, moist, with a hint of oily-sweetness. The ginger helped cut through any richness and the scallions added a nice bit of sweet-pungency.

We picked the "slime meets slime", the lovely "neba neba" Natto and Okra Gunkan sushi off the belt.

This was quite delicious; the rice was so perfect.

The Hamachi was passable if a bit on the dry side. Good fat content though.

We ordered two different version of Negi-toro.

Both were excellent. The quality for the price was amazing. This is what I truly expect to get in a fishmarket.

We got a three piece combo with Hokkaido Uni, O-Toro, and Ama-ebi.

Based on what we had the day before, I expected the shrimp to be fantastic, and it was. But that uni was so briney, with a buttery texture, and that o-toro…..doesn't it look like beef?

We had a o-toro, which was fine….but not nearly as rich and buttery as the o-toro.

More "neba neba" goodness. Squid and Natto. This was so delicious.

Great textural contrast……

We finished things off with Crab and Crab Butter (Kani Miso). Man, this was so wonderfully savory, briney tones, great richness, the crab was tender and sweet.

At this point we'd had enough. You press a button and they calculate your check based on the plates.

The petite Japanese woman sitting next to us ate as much as the both of us and had a tokkuri of sake to boot!

And you knew she was Japanese….she just left her purse by itself, stood up and went to the restroom, which is outside the restaurant. Yes….this is Japan.

When our bill arrived, I looked at it and blurted out "holy crap"! This Missus was startled and thought something was wrong. And no, nothing was wrong, things were so right. You see, the entire meal came to 3300¥, about $31/US. With toro, real crab, amaebi, uni, real wasabi!!! And in Japan, there's no tipping as well.

Morimori Sushi (Omi-cho)
88 Aokusamachi
Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan

Like I always say; in Japan you can eat for 5 dollars or 500 dollars; it's up to you, and most of it is darn good!

Thanks for reading!

Kanazawa – Japanese Breakfast at Hotel Nikko, Omi-cho Market (again), and Oyama Shrine

February 3, 2018 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Kanazawa and Ishikawa Prefecture, Markets & Grocers, Travel

Both the Missus and I were really enjoying our stay in Kanazawa. In terms of prices, we both found that Kanazawa was very affordable. For the price of a mid-level hotel in Tokyo, we could stay at the Hotel Nikko and the price included breakfast. Over the years, I've mentioned my love of Japanese breakfast, and how it triggers great memories for me. And these days the Missus enjoys it as well.

And the Japanese breakfast option at the Hotel Nikko is no slouch either. You have choice of western or Japanese breakfast. You know what we chose, right?

It's a rather stylish – garden like surrounding.

Though the setting is rather simple as are the tables and chairs.

And, like I said, breakfast is no slouch……

You have a "breakfast set" of your choice along with buffet items.

At times I found myself wondering; "is this really breakfast"…..

I'm glad it really was……

What a way to start the day.

Hotel Nikko Kanazawa
2-15-1 Honmachi
Kanazawa 920-0853, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan

Of course, after such a hearty and delicious breakfast, the Missus would have me walking all day to burn off the calories. So we quickly headed out.

All paths for us during our short stay went thru Omi-cho Market. And just like the previous day we really enjoyed wandering and browsing.

The morning was a fun time because it was less busy and you could really check out the seafood and produce on sale.

It is indeed "Kanazawa's Kitchen". We even noticed a place we'd end up stopping at for lunch.

We exited at the rear of the market and skirted the walls of Kanazawa Castle. We eventually came to the back entrance of Oyama Shrine. The shrine is well known for its distinctive gate, which was once the gate to the palace of Kanazawa Castle.

Along with the mixed Japanese-Chinese influences, the gate also features Dutch style stained glass windows on the upper level. In fact, the upper two levels once were part of a lighthouse! And the lightning rod at the top is claimed to be the oldest in Japan.

This Shinto Shrine was built by Maeda Toshinaga to honor his father Maeda Toshiie who was the granted and was the first ruler of the Kaga (Kanazawa) Han. He was lauded for his skills with the Japanese spear known as the yari. And as you can see, this statue of him proudly holds that spear.

At this time of the day, the grounds of the shrine were empty, so we really had a chance to appreciate the peacefulness and tranquility.

The gardens actually predate the shrine, which was moved here in 1873.

There are several very distinct statues on the grounds of Oyama Shrine; like this one.

After a fairly hefty breakfast, it was quite relaxing to walk around the grounds of Oyama Shrine.

But the day was still young and it was time to explore a bit more.

Kanazawa – Kuroyuri

January 15, 2018 mmm-yoso Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Kanazawa and Ishikawa Prefecture, Travel

We had really enjoyed our first afternoon in Kanazawa; checking out Omi-cho Market and having a nice lunch. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing before heading off to dinner. Which was really close by. I'd had a friend make reservations at Kuroyuri; a Oden restaurant. Kuroyuri is located in the Hyakubangai Shopping Center which is attached to Kanazawa Station. And was rather easy to find.

Man, this place was busy. There's a packed u-shaped bar area on one side of the restaurant and packed tables on the other. And we did have a table waiting for us when we arrived.

I had heard that one of the iconic dishes of Kanazawa is Oden and Kuroyuri has been around for more than a half-century specializing in Oden. The menu has oden; here you order by item and a whole bunch of really good looking izakaya type dishes along with another iconic dish of the Kaga Domain, Jibuni.

So, of course we ordered it all. Along with a nice bottle of sake.

The oden here is very light and clean; not too salty, but with an mild ocean-savory flavor. As a whole, we enjoyed this, but not as much as other items we ordered. Our favorite item by far was the egg wrapped in fish cake. What a symphony of textures!

Our favorite item by far, was the amazingly savory and sweet Kasuzuke (fermented in sake lees) Fugu…yep, blowfish.

We were surprised at how relatively tender (it is after all dried and marinated) the fish was; without being too salty. We actually had a second order.

The Nukazuke (fermented in rice bran) seemed a bit saltier without the complexity of the previous version.

The strong fragrance and oiliness of the Nukazuke Saba(Mackerel pickled in rice bran) was a bit much for the Missus.

It was on the fishy side and quite salty, but I thought it to be really good bar food.

The Jibuni; a classic Kanazawa duck stew arrived in a pretty lacquer bowl.

Man, this was quite rich and hearty. the salty-sweet flavors shone through, along with the gamey duck. Loved the mushrooms in this along with the seitan. Very nice overall.

We ended with a cleansing mushroom – egg drop soup.

And some yaki-onigiri to keep any future hunger at bay.

We really enjoyed our meal at Kuroyuri. The Missus loves izakaya style dishes. The service was excellent as they usually are in most restaurants in Japan.

We'd gladly return….especially for that fugu and more sake of course.

Kuroyuri
1-1 Kinoshinbomachi
Kanazawa, Japan

We walked through Kanazawa Station on the way back to the Nikko Hotel. The gate at the front of the station is called the 'Tsuzumi-mon' (Drum Gate) The two pillars are shaped like traditional hand drums.

The area behind the gate is covered by a large glass dome; known as the 'Motenashi' (Welcome) Dome. This was all built as part of the project that eventually brought the Shinkansen to Kanazawa. If you'd like to read a bit more about the history of Kanazawa Station, click on this link.

It was an easy walk back to our room. I found that the beer I had bought in Hida-Takayama was now nicely chilled.

I had bought this one….well, because it had Sarubobo on it. For some reason, we really took to Sarubobo during our visit to Takayama.

I spent the rest of the evening just watching Kanazawa from the window.

There was something about Kanazawa, and this trip as a whole that really touched us……

Thanks for reading!

Airport Food – Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge (Narita) and Iceland Air Saga Lounge (Reykjavik)

December 17, 2017 mmm-yoso Airport/Airline/Cruise/Rail Food, Iceland, Iceland Food and Restaurants, Japan

Just a short posts on a couple of airport lounges.

One of the perks of flying First or Business Class is use of the lounges. Regardless of how small or limited offerings, it is usually a lot more relaxing then hanging out at the gates. and it makes for a nice break for at least getting some water or coffee.

Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge (Narita):

I'd heard this lounge was always pretty busy, but it was quite empty during our visit. It is a very large lounge!

The food offerings were decent.

Hot options were curry, hamburg steak, and beef bowls.

I went with some curry rice and miso soup. The curry was surprisingly good.

This beer dispenser caught my eye…..

So I had to try it out……

You place the glass on the stand; press the button and the machine tilts the glass and tries to gently pour in the beer. If the idea was to cut down on foam; I don't think it worked real well. Kind of fun to watch though.

On this trip, the lounge was a nice place to wait for our flight.

Iceland Air Saga Lounge (Reykjavik):

On our way back from Iceland, we had use of the Saga Lounge at Keflavík Airport. I really didn't expect much; but man, the variety of decent quality eats was quite impressive.

I also really liked the fact that there were some local specialties included in the offerings.

Like a version of Plokkfiskur (mashed fish).

Hangikjöt (smoked lamb)……

Two types of pickled herring; which was pretty good and of course the rye bread.

I actually preferred this to what was offered in Business Class on our flight back to Seattle.

And, there was one last surprise. While getting a refill of sparkling water, the really friendly young woman brought out a huge platter of battered, fried shrimp. She looked at me smiled and pointed at the plate. Basically telling me I needed to try some; so I did.

I'm not sure how long that batter would hold out before getting soggy…..though I doubt that it stays around very long…… It was hot, the shrimp fairly sweet, and the batter crisp.

We really didn't expect much and this ended up being a nice surprise.

Kanazawa – Omi-cho Market and Jimonotei

October 25, 2017 mmm-yoso Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Kanazawa and Ishikawa Prefecture, Markets & Grocers, Seafood, Travel

Our next stop after Hida-Takayama was Kanazawa. Why Kanazawa? Well, I've heard the city called "Little Kyoto" several times. Kenrokuen Garden is considered one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan, the seafood is supposed to be great, there's Higashi-Chaya, a famous Geisha District, and did I mention the seafood is supposed to be great?

Also, I'd heard that Kanazawa was booming since the Shinkansen extension to the city was completed in 2015. So I thought this would be a fun diversion. We left Takayama, transferred to the Shinkansen in Toyama, and made it to Kanazawa at around noon. I was surprised at how reasonable hotel prices were in Kanazawa, so I figured "what the heck"? And booked us a nice room at the Hotel Nikko. Of course we arrived too early to check in, but were able to drop off our bags at the front desk, and headed off to get some lunch.

I'd decided that a nice place to start would be Omi-cho Market.

If you've read this blog long enough; you know we just love places like this; whether in Laos, Tunisia, France, Vietnam, or where ever, we just love to explore.

And Omi-cho was no exception. You get to see what's in season, what folks are eating, and sometimes other interesting things. Like this film crew……

There are quite a few restaurant in the market area. We just picked one; seafood of course, at random. This one named Jimonotei.

The prices seemed very reasonable and there seemed to be a rather short wait. The customers were a mix of Japanese (both tourists and some folks who seemed to be locals/regulars) and some larger parties of Chinese.

We got seats at the counter rather quickly because it was just the Missus and myself.

Deciding to order was pretty simple; we went with one sashimi combo (1500¥ – about $14 at the time) and an additional sashimi plate (1000¥ – about $9.50). With one "little" addition.

Soon enough the sashimi combo arrived.

Pretty generous for about 15 bucks US. The Missus didn't care for the Chawan Mushi; I think it was the dashi-forward flavor. I enjoyed it. She did enjoy the miso soup, as I never got a shot at it.

The sashimi was solid if not spectacular and at this price point, a bargain. The Amaebi was sweet, the hirame had a nice chew to it, salmon was buttery, the maguro, while not the prime cuts, was passable. Best of all, everything was super fresh. After all, Omi-cho is called "Kanazawa's Kitchen" and has been around since the Edo Period.

As for the other sashimi; with the "special 100 Yen" upcharge?

Kanazawa' history with Gold Leaf goes back to the 16th century and the city now produces 99% of the gold leaf in Japan. The city attributes its mastery of gold leaf production to both craftsmanship handed down over generations as well as to the water in the area. We really weren't going to order gold leaf covered ice cream cones. But gold leaf covered sashimi; for less than a dollar upcharge? Count me in.

While it didn't add any additional flavor; it did give the dish a bit of "bling" don't you think? We couldn't help but laugh……

Jimonotei
Inside Omi-cho Market

After the nice lunch, we walked back to the Kanazawa Station Area. The Hotel Nikko is right across the street from the station. We checked in and it was nap time.

And tonight….well dinner awaited!

Hida-Takayama – The Morning Markets, a Walk Around the Old Town, and Ranka Coffee

October 21, 2017 mmm-yoso Caffeine Fix, Hida-Takayama and Gifu Prefecture, Japan, Markets & Grocers, Travel

Hida-Takayama was one of those places that we wished there was bit more time for visiting. While we'd be leaving that day, we decided to get up early to wander around town a bit before all the day trippers arrived.

As I mentioned in my first post, it had snowed just a few days before we'd arrived. So, even though it was spring, the air was quite crisp. And oh so clean and refreshing.

There are two morning markets in Takayama. We headed first to the Miyagawa Market, located along the river in part of the old town. It was still a bit early and the vendors were either just arriving or just getting set-up.

We decided to stroll on over to the Jinya-mae Market, which is located in front of Takayama Jinya.

The historic streets of Takayama look like something out of a movie set during this time of the morning.

Even the more modern shopping areas have something fun to offer….I've mentioned how charmed we were with seeing Sarubobo everywhere around town.

We crossed over the stunningly beautiful Nakanishi Bridge.

To where the Jinya-mae Market is located. While things were just getting started here as well. It seemed that folks were all set-up for the morning and just waiting for customers.

Along with the usual handicrafts and souvenirs, there were some interesting local products available. We found the varieties of miso to be very interesting.

As well as the local produce.

We decided to return to the hotel and grab a quick breakfast. Which was a very simple western style meal.

We got a kick watching the television show….it featured the "Cherry Blossom" craziness and the news crew was filming from Ueno Park which we had just visited a few days prior.

Since our train didn't leave until 11, we decided to check-out, store our luggage at the hotel, and head back out. While our previous morning walk had been in a clockwise direction, we headed out in the opposite direction this time.

And decided to walk through the more modern shopping street this time. We stopped in at one of the grocers to have a look around.

Boxed Hobamiso ready to take home.

The produce in Japan always looks so beautiful……

One of the souvenir stores was open and we did some browsing. We both got a kick out of the Sarubobo "photo spot"…..they wanted you to take photos here!

It was such a nice morning for a walk….though I don't think this pooch agreed.

And then back on over to the market……

The Missus suddenly remembered that She needed to purchase chopsticks for some coworkers. So we headed on over to Sanmachi Suji one of the historic streets in Takayama.

There was a chopstick shop we had seen the previous day. The shop wasn't open yet, but there was a coffee shop across the street, so we decided to get a little caffeine boost.

This was a pretty classy looking coffee shop.

And the prices were no joke, either.

We were in such a good mood that we decided on splurging a bit and getting that ten-dollar cup of coffee. Which was really smooth. We were instructed to have a walnut with the coffee which really changed the flavor of the coffee, bringing out a bit of acid.

It was a nice little break.

Ranka Coffee (藍花珈琲店)
93 Kamisannomachi
Takayama 506-0846, Gifu Prefecture, Japan

We managed to purchase some nice chopsticks for the Missus's friends and visited some of the shops on the street.

I ended up making a couple of purchases for later on and ran into two older women in one of the stores. They were AJA from Torrance and we chatted for a bit while the Missus shopped. They asked us what tour we were on and were quite surprised when I told them that no we weren't on any tour, we don't speak and Japanese, and we just travelled here ourselves.

By now, things were starting to pick up, and the Miyagawa Market was bustling.

It was also time to pick-up our bags and head to the train station.

We'd miss Takayama; but Kanazawa beckoned!

Hida-Takayama – Sakurayama Hachimangū Shrine and Dinner at Hida Takayama Kyoya

September 13, 2017 mmm-yoso Hida-Takayama and Gifu Prefecture, Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Travel

We took a short nap after visiting Hida Folk Village and having lunch at Maruaki. When we woke, it was close to dusk. We decided to take a walk around Takayama before settling in for dinner. As with many tourist day trip destinations; Hida-Takayama slows down at night. Things were so peaceful and relaxed. We got a kick out of watching these kids having fun around the Miyagawa River. Remember, it had snowed just two days previous, so that water must have been pretty cold.

Of course, the kids here must be used to the cold….I guess.

We loved walking the various "preservation" area streets of Hida-Takayama.

And with no one around; you felt transported back in time.

We saw a couple of sake breweries; you could tell by the "Sugidama" (cedar ball) hung in front of the business.

During this walk; we concentrated on the Northeastern side of the Old Town.

Just as we started walking up the street to Sakurayama Hachimangū Shrine it started….the "Golden Hour".

We got lucky again.

To the right (north) of the shrine is Takayama Yatai Kaikan where the floats for the Takayama Festival are stored, some of which are hundreds of years old. Of course, this was dusk and the place was closed. I'm certain we'll be back one day, so I'm keeping that on the "list".

Sakurayama Hachimangū Shrine dates back to the Fifth Century; you can find the story about the founding of the Shrine here. It's a short, but fun read…..and involves a monster, Ryoumen Sukuna, that has 2 heads, 4 arms and 4 legs! and you wonder where all those Japanese monster movies came from, right?

We made a brief stop to walk around a bit……I loved this poor little snowman, who was just trying to hang in there……

We really enjoyed the walk, but it was getting close to our dinner reservation time, so we headed down the street.

I knew if we found the stream that fed into the Miyagawa River, we'd fine our dinner destination.

And sure enough, a few blocks down we found Kyoya.

While trying to find a dinner spot during our one night in Takayama, Kyoya came up several times as a place to try local specialties.

The interior is rustic and warm.

The folks here are really tourist friendly, several of the folks spoke some English.

There are several "set" options on the menu and you know, the Missus was all about the "Hoba Miso Yaki". So we ordered the Hida Beef Luxury Set and the Hoba Miso Set.

The Luxury set (3000 ¥ – about $27/US) had the Hoba Miso with Beef, which was very nice….loved the flavor of the miso, earthy-beany, not salty, very savory.

But we still thought the nuanced flavor of the beef was lost in this.

There was also a serving of beef and yakiniku items.

While we felt, in terms of tenderness, the beef at Maruaki was better; these cuts had a more pronounced beefiness to them.

The miso soup was just delici-yoso….something I rarely say about miso soup; but man, the local miso is so good. Nice savory-beany tones, not salty, really great flavor.

And then there was the tofu…..man, this was the best bean curd I've had in a while. The look and texture seemed like that of frozen tofu….I asked but no one could understand what I was saying.

The flavor was so condensed…….

The Hoba Set (1300 ¥ – about $12/US) is basically vegetarian and we actually enjoyed it more than the beef….go figure.

Wonderful, creamy, savory goodness.

And this came with a larger portion of veggies and beancurd.

The cucumber had a nice fermented flavor; I'm thinking perhaps kasuzuke? There were two different types of tofu provided; the one that looked spongy really seemed like frozen tofu; I'd never had kouya tofu before and we both just loved it. The Missus loves Her frozen tofu….well, just tofu period and these two version had really condensed bean curd flavor.

Both sets came with pickles, rice, and that miso soup.

Funny, we came for the hoba yaki, but ended up loving the tofu…go figure. Maybe it was the three tokkuri of sake? But I think not.

In the end, perhaps Kyoya is a bit touristy……but it's done in the typical Japanese way, for Japanese and non-Japanese to enjoy. Nothing tasted dumbed down, the flavors were good, and the folks were pretty friendly. The prices may be a bit more, but we really enjoyed the place.

Hida Takayama Kyoya
1-77 Oshinmachi
Takayama 506-0851, Gifu Prefecture

There's a kind of quiet peacefulness to Hida-Takayama at night…….

That just set the right mood for us…..

Thanks for reading!

Hida-Takayama – Hida Folk Village and Lunch at Maruaki

September 9, 2017 mmm-yoso Hida-Takayama and Gifu Prefecture, Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Steakhouse, Travel

Sitting right behind the Engineer made our 2 hour and change train ride from Nagoya go by rather quickly. It was very interesting to watch the Engineer and the different hand signals he used. We arrived at Takayama Station and made our way to the rather humble Hotel Hana. I'd read a bit about Takayama, or to be more precise when talking to Japanese about the town; Hida-Takayama to differentiate the town from others named Takayama. There's a rather well known Old Town, some charming sights, but I had the town on our itinerary for one specific dish….more on that later.

After dropping off our bags. It was too early for check-in. The front desk person didn't speak a lick of English, so you gotta love Google translate. We headed off, stopping first to take a look at the marbled Hida Beef. Hida Beef, especially "Hida-gyu" (versus Hida Wagyu) is considered by many to be even more delicate, with thinner muscle fibers than Kobe beef and is much treasured. We stopped at Maruaki to take a look.

I gotta say; the beef looked quite impressive. This coming from a guy who has had A5 Kobe Beef in said city.

We did stick around very long since I wanted the Missus to check out Hida Folk Village (Hida-no-Sato, 飛騨の里), which was, according to the friendly woman at the TI stand; about 45 minute to an hour walk, or a ten minute bus ride up the hill. Guess which the Missus choose?

Actually, it was a very nice walk. In spite of the sun it was fairly cool. In fact, the day before we arrived I checked the temperature for Takayama and this is what I saw.

I sent this to a friend of mine in San Diego and she said; "oh, it's about the same in San Diego!" And then I mentioned this was in Fahrenheit not Celsius!

It had actually snowed two days before we arrived! During the first week of April. The air was crisp and clean; it was a nice walk as we got to take in the sights along the way.

Including the Teddy Bear Eco-Village. For real…….

And yes, that's snow….. And no, we didn't stop here. Though perhaps you might if you visit Takayama.

There's a certain charm to Hida-Takayama that, combined with a cool weather really put us into a good mood.

In fact, we were in such a good mood when we arrived that we decided to take the touristy photo…..

So who's that charming red faced character….no not me, the other three? Well, we had no idea! We saw this character everywhere, so later in the afternoon, I went to the TI and asked. Turns out, these little fellows are known as Sarubobo (さるぼぼ), which literally means "Monkey-baby". Traditionally, grandmothers in Gifu Prefecture would make these doll for their grandchildren. It's a good luck charm and both of us wished that we'd actually bought one for us….a Sarubobo of our own! Next time for sure.

Hida Folk Village is an open air museum; with 30 structures, some close to 500 years old, many of them moved from their original villages to preserve them.

Of note are the gasshō-zukuri styled houses, thatched roofs built at a steep angle like hands joined together in prayer (gassho).

The farmhouses are beautifully preserved and we get a look into how daily life was in these villages.

And the traditions…..

The snow on the structures and the fact that we had the place almost all to ourselves really added to the atmosphere.

Just think; if we'd arrived just two days earlier, we wouldn't be walking around quite as much.

We took a short break and got some drinks from the ever present vending machines.

And bade our farewell to Hida Folk Village. If you're ever in the area; a visit is highly recommended.

We headed back down to Takayama. The walk had done its work on our appetites. While walking back, we decided to head back to Maruaki and check out the restaurant. Which is located right next to the shop.

The place was doing some major business and the crowd seemed mostly tourists of all nationalities.

On the wall are photos of the farmers who provide the beef for Maruaki.

And while most folks were ordering one of the set meals of Hida Beef; there was one item I was after – Hoba Miso Yaki.

This dish from the Gifu area is meat and vegetables, with local miso grilled on Magnolia (Hoba) leaves. The Missus loved the version we've had at Okariba in Kyoto, so when planning this trip, I added Hida-Takayama to the itinerary.

The meat was very tender, the beefiness mild, as was the miso, beany-nutty, but not too salty. It almost felt criminal to eat such good quality beef this way; mixed with miso and vegetables.

The meal came with a simple salad; very crisp and refreshing, a light sesame dressing.

Salads can be quite expensive in Japan and I think the Missus was missing this; so we ordered a Beef Salad. Man, the seared beef in this was very tender and tasty.

Service was so-so, fairly professional, quite detached, probably a bit jaded with having to work with tourists all the time.

But we enjoyed our meal.

Hidagyu Maruaki
6-8 Tenmanmachi
Takayama 506-0025, Gifu Prefecture

Now it was time to check in and take a load off.

Thanks for reading!

Nagoya – Nadai Kishimen Sumiyoshi

July 22, 2017 mmm-yoso Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Nagoya, Travel

I slowly awoke on our last morning in Nagoya. Unfolding myself from the futon….man; it had been awhile since I've slept on the floor and my body really wasn't used to it. Plus, we'd put in some mileage over the last two days. Still, falling into an exhausted sleep really helped since our apartment was pretty small and the train tracks were literally outside our window.

We got our things together, cleaned up the apartment, showered, closed up, and basically crossed the street to the JR Nagoya Station where we checked out some of the shops featuring local snacks….the ever present Nagoya Teba, in gift boxes for your enjoyment!

Anyway, we headed up to our tracks. We were about an hour early, our Shinkansen wasn't scheduled to leave until around 0845. There was a reason for this. If you recall, the Missus really enjoyed the Kishimen at Kaburaya and I promised Her we'd get another bowl of this Nagoya specialty. But where? Well, on our return trip from Tsumago, I pointed out this little booth between tracks 10 and 11.

This is one of the shops of Nadai Kishimen Sumiyoshi, there's another between tracks 3 and 4 as well. I'd read a bit about this tiny, stand up noodle shop; where you eat standing up, before catching your train. I told the Missus that folks had even recommended making a stop here just to grab a bowl on the train tracks before transferring to the next passing train. The Missus was fascinated with these type of shops, so She was totally game!

Of course ordering was by ticket machine and the Missus being to read Kanji helped a bit. We put our money into the machine and got our tickets. The shop opens at 0730; it was almost 8 and the only other customer in there was finishing up already. We surrendered our tickets and the woman went to work. It was a tidy little shop; a one woman show here….she was super organized and even communicated via sign language to let us know that there already was an egg in what the Missus ordered and did we really want another? The answer of course was yes.

The Missus had ordered the "Shop Special", only for this shop; the Shrimp Tempura Version, 500¥, think a bit over $4.50, with an additional 79¥ for an extra egg.

I got the "Seasonal Special", a vegetable tempura version for 500¥.

Boy, the soup, which tasted like a sweeter, stronger, dashi forward Kitsune Udon broth really had that "aaah" appeal. Very comforting; it was the beginning of April, but there was still a chill in the air. In fact, I'd read and Kat had mentioned to me that it had snowed in several parts of Japan just he previous week. The Missus of course loved mixing in that raw egg…or in Her case, the raw eggs. It's really the noodles that appealed to the Missus, flat and slightly wide, these noodles had a really nice "stretch" to them; what my Taiwanese coworkers would call "QQ"…..enjoyably chewy and toothsome, but not hard. No spoons here….you drink from the bowl! Man, this was good!

Nadai Kishimen Sumiyoshi (名代きしめん) – Between Tracks 10 and 11 JR Nagoya Station
1-1-4 Meieki
Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan

As our train arrived, I went to the ever present vending machines….one could write several blog posts about these; and bought some hot coffee and tea and we boarded.

And we were off. Our reserved seats were right behind the Engineer and I really enjoyed watching him. Taking note of he various hand signals and how he sped up or slowed down.

As we got closer to our destination; there it was….snow!

The Missus and I looked at each other and smiled….whatever was waiting, we'd make the best of it.

And as we had learned during "Typhoon Day" several years back, from Kat and others. When there's a possibility of unknown weather ahead, an important step is to………have snacks!

So, at least we were prepared for that!

Thanks for reading!