Sushi, tempura…I was familiar with these and feeling rather smug about it…. but…in Kyoto I experienced the real authentic thing… mouth watering sushi and light as a feather tempura.
Wandering along the river and getting close to lunchtime we ambled down this inticing narrow alleyway and came across a rather posh looking sushi restaurant that overlooked the river. Yes it wasn’t the local cafe price but ohh I can still taste the freshness of the fish, the melt in the mouth marinated mackrel, the velvet textured tuna and the delicate softness of the salmon and of course the sticky rice with the hint of mirin or perhaps even saki. Trying to balance the sushi between chopsticks was a bit of a challenge and in the end I gave up trying to eat half at a time and just went straight for the whole… it was all over too soon!
We got the bus to Maruyamacho, to Imamiya-jinja shrine with its beautiful garden, even in the rain! We started to walk down towards Gion, which is or was the Geisha area. Due to tourist voyeurism enmasse, apart from those dressed up in their kimonos for the day (there are kimono hire shops at almost every shrine and castle we’ve visited and wonderful seeing everyone posing for their selfies in their beautiful costumes!), I don’t think a true Geisha girl, if she still exists, was anywhere near the place. Getting very damp we turned onto the main street and found a tiny tempura restaurant. We sat at a counter facing the chefs as they prepared our meal. I have to say at this point we had already sampled some tempura a couple of days previously but deeply dissapointing more like fish dinner batter than the delicate light crunch I expected. While I hoped our early experience hadn’t put David off completly, we sat and watched the young girl dip our shrimp (shrimp seems to be the name for a large prawn) into the batter…I got what I expected…a whisper of crunch just enough not to hide the flavour of the beautiful sweet tasting shrimp…just didn’t order enough!
And onto the Wagyu beef.
There is a gas ring in the centre of our table and its hot! A plate of thin leaved slices of bright pink perfectly marbled Wagyu beef (sirloin and only 6 slices to share as it is very special) comes to the table together with a small dish of gentle flavoured soy sauce. A brief sizzle on the gas ring, a small dip in the sauce, and…just melts away. The flavour is almost indescribable…gentle yet meaty… Japan’s treasured luxury. Once more, all over too soon.
The wonderfully eclectic mix with at one end the God of meat Wagyu and the other, marinated pieces of chicken thigh, heart and ‘butt’ skewered and barbequed, sinew, intestines, stomach, neck, feet, tongue, heart and liver… nothing is wasted.
Japan has been a fantastic, wonderful and beautiful experience. Once more an apprehension as to what to expect crumbled almost immediatly. There was formality but not overwhelming. When friends met in the street they laughed and smiled and bowed…on the train the guard bowed when entering and leaving the carriage….in the shops even just looking around there was a smile and a bow…when going into a cafe or restaurant (not the posh ones which we only went to for the sushi and the Wagyu) a welcoming roar from all the staff would announce our entrance and armed with the trusty translate “where are you from?” laughter and a “whooo” as the explanation “whisky” helped place Scotland north of England.
We will be back…
