One Fish, Two Fish...

Well, I’m back in NY now. Didn’t have time to blog those last few days in Japan – too much going on. Kyoto was fabulous – hiking, shopping, eating strange and exotic food, drinking lots of sake and beer, getting caught in the rain, staying at another (better) Ryokan, and more. I hardly know where to begin.

The ryokan experience is unlike any other. And this ryokan, as Colleen mentions in her blog, was much nicer than the guest house where we stayed on the crazy Fuji weekend. Ryokan Yachiyo was picturesque, clean and comfortable. We were greeted at the door by a man who took our bags and offered us slippers. We checked in, got cleaned up and hurried off to dinner.

dinner at the Ryokan

Dinner and breakfast were included in the deal, and everyday we had a choice of Japanese style or Western style. No matter how strange the last meal had been or how hungry it had left us, we always chose Japanese style for the next meal. I just couldn’t justify ordering a western meal while in Japan. Rice, miso soup and tea were the constants of each meal – breakfast and dinner – and the x-factors were mysteries until (and sometimes after) we tasted them. Usually they turned out to be tofu, fish or egg concoctions. I had a hard time with anything that still had a face or legs and hid those under the garnish. The sashimi was very good, as was the fresh tofu. But I think Colleen and I would agree that our favorite, and certainly most filling, meal was the night we had Sukiyaki. That morning when asked about our choice for dinner, instead of western or Japanese, it was Japanese or Sukiyaki. True to form, we chose the most mysterious of the two.

sukiyaki

Turns out, sukiyaki is thinly sliced raw beef brought out on a lovely platter and cooked at the table with a mixture of fresh vegetables, and then dipped in raw egg. The raw egg kind of grossed me out at first, but I decided to give it a chance. It was absolutely delicious. Portions were huge, but we did our best to clean our plates.

Another exciting food discovery in Kyoto was Unagi – grilled eel. We had unagi at an adorable little restaurant in Gion – the only place we’d been where there was no Western style seating – all the tables were low to the ground, and you had to sit on the floor. I don’t know how on earth the Japanese women do it. The men can sit cross-legged, but the women sit on their heels or mermaid style. I have never been so restless during a meal, switching from one position to another. But the unagi was delicious and made it all worth while.

unagi

Still at the top of my list where food is concerned is the sushi restaurant where Colleen took me on my first night in Tokyo. I went back by myself on Thursday before we headed off to Kyoto, and then Colleen and I ate our last meal there before I caught the bus to the airport on Sunday. The sushi and sashimi there was the freshest I’ve ever tasted. I’m sure it has ruined American sushi for me forever. Colleen made a list for me of what I ate there so that I could order it here if I went out for sushi, but I just can’t imagine anything ever coming close to that sushi place, whatever it was called. And it’s right down the street from her apartment!

typical sashimi meal

Our sushi chef

The food on the flight to NY was disgusting. I barely ate a thing. And when I got home and met a friend for dinner, I really wanted a burger and fries. I rarely eat burgers, but it just seemed like the thing to do after ten days of rice and fish. It hit the spot. But since then I’ve been craving sushi again! I never would have thought...